Curatorial Statement
Today there seems to be a disconnect between the influences of the past and our society today. There are influences on our society that come from hundreds of years ago. Romanticism is one of these and I felt it important to show just how influential this movement was. Rather than talking about all the aspects of Romanticism I focused on Romanticism and the natural world. In the exhibit I wanted to give some brief history on Romanticism and the sublime, as those are crucial to understanding the movement and the influences later. In the sublime page, I used three types of sublime artworks that I felt encapsulated the idea of the sublime. “The Toilers of the Sea” shows the mystery and unease, “Hearts of the Andes” shows the grandness and awe, and “The Much Resounding Sea” shows the dangers and terrors. The sublime is not just one thing and I thought that was important to show. American Romanticism was a subtheme of Romanticism because it showed how these ideas of Romanticism were used to create something that was more inline with the ideas of America; an “Americanization of Romanticism”. The paintings I chose to show for this subject were painted by American Romantics such as; Biwestadt and Cole. These works show the natural beauty of America and give the viewers a better understanding of why people from the East were so compelled to move to the West. For environmentalism and Romanticism I wanted to show how the thoughts of the Romantics gave influence to the science community and how many continue to have Romantic ideas about nature. I think it is important to not forget those who started and demanded for preservation of natural lands and overall who started to want a better Earth. The paintings in this section start to show more of the impacts made by man on the natural world. In “An Arctic Summer” There is the ship the Panther and it is looking for a way through the arctic. The crew of the ship has also disturbed the polar bear due to them trying to hunt it. And “A View of the Mountain Pass Called the Notch of the White Mountains” shows the stubs of trees throughout due to the need to clear the forest to have the house made there. These works, while still Romantic and beautiful, start to show the cracks in the relationship between humans and nature. I hope the viewers will take away a better appreciation for the ideas of Romanticism and also start to even think more like a Romantic. There is nothing wrong with appreciating nature and being wowed by the ideas of it.
Biography
My name is Alexis Nelson, I am a junior at Northern Arizona University. My major is Public Humanities and minoring in Public Administration. I am also getting a certificate in Nonprofit and Social Enterprises. In the future I hope to work with nonprofit organizations to help make communities better. Helping and expanding people’s knowledge is something I am very passionate about.