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“The Earth Exposed” on Exhibit at the Esther M. Klein Gallery In honor of the Association of American Geographers Centennial Celebration, the Esther M. Klein Gallery of Philadelphia will present The Earth Exposed, an exhibit by geographer Stephen S. Young from Salem State College. During March 2004, the Esther M. Klein Gallery will be holding a series of geography out-reach and education programs in association with the exhibit. The Earth Exposed is an evolving exhibit that presents basic scientific and geographic concepts about remote sensing (satellite imaging) through the display of imagery and installations that enter into the realm of a visual art experience. The exhibit not only shows intriguing visual images that engage the imagination, but also demonstrates various techniques that geographers employ to study the earth from space. The Philadelphia exhibit will have four main sections: •Life, Land, Water, and Air: Remote sensing concepts such as scale, wavelengths of energy, pixelization, and visualization will be explored in the context of the four spheres of earth. In addition to the imagery, there will be a guide explaining these spheres and concepts in more detail. •Philadelphia and the World: A collage of over 30 images will link Philadelphia with images from all over the world. The locations depicted are based on cultural and environmental links to Philadelphia. Accompanying the images will be an interactive guide where the viewer can test their geographic knowledge by guessing where the locations are, what cultural or environmental link they have to Philadelphia, and what kind of sensor took the image. •Philadelphia from Space: A large-scale Landsat TM collage will show Philadelphia and surrounding environments from space. •Remote Sensing as Art: The practical attributes of remotely sensed imagery will take a back seat to aesthetic issues and their ability to operate as metaphor, opening the technical facts and information embedded in each image to a larger arena for contemplation. The Esther M. Klein Gallery is a self-supporting branch of the University City Science Center in Philadelphia. Established in 1976, the Klein Art Galley has shown the works of over 2,000 artists. The Gallery’s outreach program provides hundreds of school-aged students with free art education programs and access to the gallery exhibits. The Earth Exposed will be part of the gallery’s Art-in-Science Exhibition Series, which is inspired by the Klein’s affiliation with the University City Science Center. Past artists have included R. Buckminster Fuller, Bruce Pollock, Richard Torchia, Phil Simkin, Sue Horvitz, Warren Angle, and others. For more information about the gallery, visit http://www.kleinartgallery.org/aboutgallery.htm. As the Association of American Geographers move into their second century, this exhibit not only celebrates the technical ability of geographers to study the earth, but also demonstrates the breadth of geography in that the exhibit and its associated geographic outreach is being held in a major art gallery. Stephen Young |