Bert Geyer to speak with French-American Photographer Julien Chatelin on How to Make a Landscape Speak? Photography, Aesthetics, and Environmental Histories
May 6, 2025
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Location
Julius Lewis Auditorium (54 W Chicago Ave)
Calendar
Download iCal FileLandscapes hold traces of human histories—political, colonial, social, and economic. If they serve as records of histories and narratives—sometimes violent ones—how do photographers, acting as archaeologists of contemporary landscapes, translate these memories into images? And how do they engage with the political and aesthetic stakes of representing these territories?
Julien will present his exhibition a breathtaking, on view until May 14 at Hana Pietri Gallery (1433 W Chicago Ave), French-American photographer Julien Chatelin captures territories in transformation across the globe, revealing how grand narratives of modernization and development shape both land and perception. His images offer a visual archaeology of geopolitical ambition and ecological fragility.
His lecture will be followed by a panel discussion featuring scholar and artist Bert Geyer, whose research investigates the aesthetic dimensions of U.S. imperial forestry at the turn of the 20th century, exploring how sensory experiences, land management practices, and colonial imaginaries intersect in reshaping environments across the Midwest, Caribbean, and Philippines.
Their conversation will be modified by Hana Pietri Gallery founder Tiphanie Babinet Spencer, and will focus on how visual and historical practices uncover the forces that shape landscapes—past and present—and how aesthetic and photographic approaches can reveal the entanglement of empire, ecology, and memory.
After the program, guests will enjoy a reception featuring complimentary French wine and cheese, where theyll have the chance to speak with the artists.
Doors at 5:30 p.m. Program at 6:00 p.m. Please enter via 54 W Chicago Ave. Non-alcoholic options will be available.
Date posted
May 5, 2025
Date updated
May 5, 2025