Katonah Art Museum: The Edge Effect

Katonah Museum of Art Building

Katonah, NY had always been just a place I drove through on the way to a hike or trip upstate. However, when I found out there was an art museum there, I decided to make a place that had always been simply part of the journey, a destination. I ventured to this exhibit hoping to find some solace in the colors and textures of paintings that always bring me joy. I needed a distraction since I was having a crisis thinking about the state of the environment. Everything I read or watch on the news makes it seem like the planet is going to be up in flames tomorrow; internal anxiety for the environment comes easily for me. 

The exhibit being shown at the Katonah Museum of Art called “The Edge Effect” aimed to use art as a catalyst for conversations about the environment. It was kismet; art and sustainability all at once was too well timed for my circumstances. Many of the works simply portrayed scenes found in nature. Some were straightforward, like Topher Straus’s “Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park,” which was one of my favorites. Others, like Steven Bogart’s “Towards a Singularity,” were more abstract and reminded me of the aesthetics that come from mixing art and biology. Whatever the style may have been, the exhibit got me thinking.

Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park by Topher Straus

Towards a Singularity by Steven Bogart

One piece that really captured the sentiment of the exhibit was Pamela Moulton’s “Red Blooming Algae.” This mixed media work took commonplace items like bottle caps and recycled them to make a new image. For me, the weight of this piece comes from the realization that objects that often pollute the water were being used to create a life form that would be impacted by said pollution. No matter how many articles I read about polluted oceans, nothing seemed to catch my attention to the same degree as Moulton’s work. There is almost a “gotcha” feeling to this piece as it seems to call out a very simply but personal accusation about an individual’s role in pollution. 

Red Blooming Algae by Pamela Moulton

Art can be very powerful in its observations with nature being the theme this time around. I remember learning about the strong influence the Romantic movement, which praised the natural over the artificial and man-made, had on artists. I was reminded of the undeniable and unique beauty of nature in all its forms. I felt the sentiment of the Romantic movement but the pieces were a far cry from classic 19th century Romanticism like Théodore Géricault’s “The Raft of the Medusa.” In fact, my favorite piece in the Katonah exhibit would have astonished Romantics as it was not a canvas but the bark of a tree which was painted with the unnatural colors gold and magenta — Suzan Globus’s “Firebird.” The colors were bold and the name had a force behind it and I thought of a phoenix; “Firebird” is a piece that commands attention. 

The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault

Firebird by Suzan Globus

Even though styles in art change over time, the right pieces can have the ability to leave an impact on their viewers. I was reminded of something traditional art and nature have in common: both can be innately beautiful.