Search

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
"Oil Spill #10, Oil Slick at Rip Tide, Gulf of Mexico, June 24, 2010" by Edward Burtynsky

Unsettled Nature:

Artist Event Series

What is "natural" in a world where the human imprint is everywhere?

In the past exhibition Unsettled Nature: Artists Reflect on the Age of Humans at the National Museum of Natural History, contemporary artists challenged viewers to think about the changes we make to our planet. This series of conversations with them addresses the power of art to illuminate our relationship with the natural world.

On This Page: 

Videos of Past Programs

Click the title to go to each video.

Images from the Exhibit

Tailings Pond 1 by David Maisel
Aerial image of a remote copper mine in Chile. © David Maisel/ Courtesy of Edwynn Houk Gallery
Urban Plants Ellie Irons
Some of the "spontaneous urban plants" that green city landscapes. Courtesy of Ellie Irons
Photo of Andrew Yang's Flying Gardens of Maybe
Andrew Yang's "Flying Gardens of Maybe"
Photo of Bethany Taylor's work in Unsettled Nature Exhibit
Bethany Taylor's work in the Unsettled Nature exhibit
Music for Elephants by Jenny Kendler
"Music for Elephants" by Jenny Kendler
Dornith Doherty Cross Sections of a Tree
Cross-sections of a tree once considered extinct — but discovered growing in Australia in the mid-1990s. Courtesy of Dornith Doherty
Previous
Next

Meet the Artists

David Maisel wearing a blue baseball cap and blue-gray sweatshirt. He is a white man with pinkish skin and a black-and-gray beard and mustache
David Maisel
Ellie Irons in front of a wall with framed artwork on it. She is a white woman with long brown hair and is wearing a blue-gray sweater over a gray t-shirt
Ellie Irons
A man with short brown hair, beard, and sunglasses. He is smiling and wearing a navy blue shirt. There are flowers in the background.
Andrew S. Yang
Bethany Taylor in front of a background with drawings of animals and everyday objects on it. She is a white woman with tan complexion, short dark hair, and is wearing a black sweater or jacket over a black shirt
Bethany Taylor
Jenny Kendler wearing a crown of flowers and a floral print shirt. She is a white woman with pale skin and long brown hair
Jenny Kendler
Dornith Doherty, standing in a snow-covered landscape with the ocean in the distance. She has a white face and light brown hair, and is wearing a ski cap and winter coat and is standing behind a camera on a tripod.
Dornith Doherty
A man with short hair, dark eyes, and a gray goatee

Also Exhibiting

Edward Burtynsky

Learn More About the Exhibit

Image Credits

Top of page: Oil Spill #10, Oil Slick at Rip Tide, Gulf of Mexico, June 24, 2010 (detail) by Edward Burtynsky, 2010 (Photo ©Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Howard Greenberg and Bryce Wolkowitz Galleries, New York, Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto)

Meet the Artists: Top row, left to right: © Lynn Fontana; Dan Phiffer; Eric Yang. Bottom row: Courtesy of the artist; Clayton Hauck for the Chicago Reader; courtesy of the artist.

Also Exhibiting: © Birgit Kleber 2012