From Sublimity to Ecopornography: Assessing The Bureau of Reclamation Art Collection

Abstract

Beginning in 1968, during a period of growing environmental activism and concern in the United States, the Bureau of Reclamation commissioned paintings from artists willing to depict the “imaginative aspects of the Reclamation Program.” The result was a collection of paintings, drawings and etchings that often worked within the well known traditions of American exceptionalism and which was used to promote the Bureau’s activities. As such it is possible to view the collection not only as an example of the Bureau of Reclamation’s self-promotion and “issues management” public relations style, but also as an example of ecopornography, a concept which is further theorized in the paper.