Don Stinson Beyond the Romantic

The tension in the American landscape is not always represented

in landscape paintings. Often instead we see a pastoral or romantic

respite from the urban, industrial realities of our contemporary lives. In

these studies of land art, petroglyphs and historic performance art, I am

looking at the important, if sometimes overlooked presence of certain

art and artists. These artists lend a different view and challenge us to

see beyond the romantic. Their work inspires by drawing attention to

both the cultural complexity and sublime threats of human presence in

the western landscapes of our time.