|
The James River is Richmonds
pivotal resource, historically sculpting the natural and
human engineered environs at the point where its waters coursing from
the mountains
though the piedmont meet sea level.
Lately all eyes seem focused
on the river as if it were the regions savior, whereas
only in recent memory has it been rescued from decades of industrial
abuse and
mans waste. The river has illustrated that, with a modicum of
care and respect, its
natural cycle can supersede contamination, pollution and neglect, reinviting
the
diversity of native flora and fauna, which sustained it originally.
Who knows, perhaps
our greatgrandchildren may one day try to ride the backs of sturgeons.
Whether providing adventure,
recreation, hydropower, habitat for migrating animals,
potable water or simply refuge from what is manmade, this strip
of wilderness in midst
of our urban center is our greatest fortune.
The James River also has
the power to ignite the creative and in that regard is a
photographers mecca, giving focus, visual arrest or a revelation
to what might seem
illusive or amorphous, even sublime or in the case of science, what
is precise or rare.
This exhibition was conceived as an opportunity for Richmond area photographers
to explore and celebrate the River, to have fun, or in some cases exhibit
the subject
theyve been addictively photographing for yearsthe James
River and everything that
comes with it. Its my hope that this will be one of many such
exhibitions, an artistic or
aesthetic bridge to the sanctuary we call the James.
Tricia Pearsall_12.1.2008
|