
Rick Silva, Still from Western Fronts(Grand Staircase-Escalante), 2018, video. Courtesy of the artist
Rick Silva: Western Fronts
Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Salem, OR - To Dec 3
Rick Silva challenges the familiar beauty of national park landscapes in drone video superimposed with harsh triangles and circles of black digital coal. Silva was inspired, if not scared, by Trump administration plans to shrink national monuments as a prelude to opening them up for mineral extraction. The visual presentation is enhanced by menacing sound design. It’s as though a sci-fi mining operation is X-raying the landscape for goodies.