Photographer by instinct, Jeff Whetstone combined his interest of zoology and anthropology with photography for a unique display of images and film.
Bringing his talent to the Plains, Whetstone’s exhibit “Pride and Pestilence” opened Feb. 1 in the Biggin Gallery. Through this collection, he worked to challenge the viewer’s perception of the connection between man and nature, as well as suggest their influence on social constructs.
Whetstone earned his MFA from the Yale School of Photography in 2001 and is now a professor of Visual Arts at Princeton University.
The collection “Pride and Pestilence” highlights the timelessness of landscape and culture’s connection.
Sparked by his initial education as a zoology major during his undergraduate years, Whetstone was intrigued by the instincts of animals and the beauty of nature. He focused on how humans, as animals, are shaped and molded by the land we walk on.
“Every time I look at a landscape I see a system of niches, and when I look at a man I see an animal driven by animal instincts,” said Whetstone.
Whetstone was inspired by artist Pieter Bruegal when developing his voice as a photographer, particularly his ability to create an image that seamlessly narrates a scene.
He mastered the balance of providing just enough of the scene to get a gist of what is occurring in the photo, while still leaving an amount of ambiguity for the imagination of the viewer to take flight. Working with this idea, Whetstone utilized the vantage point of an omniscient narrator by placing himself far enough back to capture a large part of the scene but close enough to document what is occurring.
This is a technique he has mastered through his 30-year career.
Influenced by his southern upbringing in Tennessee, Whetstone was intrigued by the traditional American sportsman in this collection.
He worked with their connection to the environment through hunting and challenged the idea of masculinity that surrounds the stereotype.
Whetstone began with the connection of a hunter to the landscape through camouflage. He was inspired by how this uniform takes an image of nature, viewed as beautiful when in landscape form, but shifting toward lethal once it’s on the body. From this Whetstone’s cultural connection of man and the landscape was formed.
“The Earth determines our culture,” said Whetstone “I found that the performance of masculinity in the wilderness was like dress-up."
Through these images he focused on this cultural connection and centered it around the concept of the “demise of man and the rise of the matriarchy,” said Whetstone.
Connecting the dots between landscape and the modern day topic of gender illustrates how Whetstone can form multi-faceted conversations from one image.
In this collection, Whetstone also experimented with the culture that continues to be documented through landscape via cave art.
Exploring the cave system here in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee, Whetstone wanted to highlight the connection with the landscape through the documentation of memories, self-expression and our animal-like tendency to explore present in cave art.
“Caves mark an undeniable chapter in history,” said Whetstone, “They gave an opportunity of taking a modern view of landscape”.
Enchanted by earth’s creation and the human race’s interaction, Whetstone illustrates another example of how man, landscape and culture are intertwined.
“Caves elicit expression and the voice of explorers, Civil War heroes, scientists and more,” said Whetstone.
In-touch with his craft and a remarkable storyteller at that, Whetstone’s exhibit stretches the mind of the viewer and creates a lasting conversation.
His work may be seen until Mar. 2 in Biggin Hall.
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