Gallery Drop-in Talk: Climate Science, Climate Fiction
Inspired by The Huntington's PST ART exhibition "Storm Cloud: Picturing the Origins of Our Climate Crisis", join Dr. Michael Méndez, Assistant Professor of Environmental Planning and Policy at the University of California, Irvine, and Rasheedah Phillips, artist, writer, and Director of Housing for Policy Link, for a conversation on the climate past, present, and future as seen through painting, music, and literature. Hosted in the gallery, this informal conversation will reflect on works on view in Storm Cloud and beyond, and be moderated by the Huntington's Karla Nielsen, Senior Curator of Literary Collections.
“Storm Cloud: Picturing the Origins of Our Climate Crisis,” Photo by Elon Schoenholz. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826–1900), Vale of St. Thomas, Jamaica, 1867, oil on canvas, 48 3/8 x 84 5/8 in. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut. The Elizabeth Hart Jarvis Colt Collection. | Image courtesy of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.
Arthur Severn (British, 1842–1931) after John Ruskin (British, 1819–1900), Cloud Study: Ice Clouds over Coniston, 1884, bodycolor on buff paper, 5 x 6 3/4 in. | © The Ruskin, Lancaster University.
Thomas Forster (British, 1789–1860), Researches about Atmospheric Phaenomena, 1815, colored engraving in printed book, 9 1/16 x 5 3/4 in. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
“Storm Cloud: Picturing the Origins of Our Climate Crisis,” Photo by Elon Schoenholz. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
Thomas Cole (American, 1801–1848), Portage Falls on the Genesee, ca. 1839, oil on canvas, 84 1/4 x 61 1/4 in. Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
Mary Parker Macclesfield (British, ca. 1761–1823), botanical sketchbook, 1756–67, watercolor on parchment, 9 3/8 x 8 3/4 in. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg (French‐British, 1740–1812), Iron Works of Coalbrook Dale in The Romantic and Picturesque Scenery of England and Wales, 1805, aquatint in printed book, 15 3/4 x 11 3/8 in. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
John Constable (British, 1776–1837), View on the Stour near Dedham, 1822, oil on canvas, 51 x 74 in. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
“Storm Cloud: Picturing the Origins of Our Climate Crisis,” Photo by Elon Schoenholz. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
Carleton Watkins (American, 1829–1916), Yosemite Falls “front view” (plate 30) in Yo-semite Valley/Photographic Views of the Falls and Valley of Yo‐semite in Mariposa County, California, 1861, albumen print, 19 3/4 x 25 5/8 in. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
Francis Michelin (American, 1809 or 1810–1878), Scott’s European Fashions, for the Summer 1848. No. 146 Broadway, New York, 1848, lithograph with hand coloring, 18 3/4 x 23 3/8 in. Jay T. Last Collection. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
Unknown, Oil Well Fire, ca. 1920s, photograph, 5 3/8 x 3 7/16 in. | The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
Sept. 14, 2024–Jan. 6, 2025 | “Storm Cloud” analyzes the impact of industrialization and a globalized economy on everyday life from 1780 to 1930, as charted by scientists, artists, and writers, and contextualizes the current climate crisis within this historical framework.
The exhibition has been made possible with support from Getty through its PST ART: Art & Science Collide initiative.
Southern California’s landmark arts event, PST ART, returned in September 2024 with more than 70 exhibitions from museums and other institutions across the region, all exploring the intersections of art and science, both past and present. PST ART is presented by Getty. For more information, visit PST ART: Art & Science Collide