PHOENIX, AZ--(MARKET WIRE)--May 8, 2008 -- From bird-banders and their fragile catch, to hunters and their prey, from lush green meadows marked by tire tracks to undisturbed champion trees, Human Nature: The Photographs of Barbara Bosworth explores the conceptual relationship between humans and the environment. Opened April 19 at Phoenix Art Museum, Human Nature draws together nearly twenty years of contemporary landscape photography, and demonstrates artist Barbara Bosworth's ongoing interest in peoples' presence in nature.

Nourished by her relationship with the environment, Bosworth's stunning nature photography reflects the beauty she finds everywhere. Although her passion for the subject is evident, her pictures do not pass judgment, nor do they attempt to persuade. The photographer acts as an invested observer, taking a compassionate view of the intricate fabric her human and natural subjects have fashioned in collaboration.

Human Nature features four components within Bosworth's larger body of work including:

 
--  Photographs of birds, focusing on the relationship between natural
    (the fragile bird, momentarily held) and human (the bander, carefully and
    firmly grasping his catch).
--  Images of people in nature, exploring the myriad of ways people
    interact with their natural surroundings.
--  Panoramas of America's national champion trees, listed on the National
    Registrar of Big Trees which are selected by the greatest combined
    measurement of the circumference of the trunk, the height of the tree, and
    the spread of the canopy.
--  Color views of meadows, depicting transition grasslands maintained by
    human intervention in the form of mowing, grazing or fire.

Human Nature is Bosworth's first nature photography exhibition in the American Southwest and features more than 40 prints, including both color and exquisitely printed gelatin silver photographs. In addition, Human Nature will debut a monumental 6 ft x 7.5 ft print of an overgrown meadow; shown on such commanding scale it offers viewers a transporting experience immersing them in the brilliant scene.

This photography exhibition is organized by the Center for Creative Photography and Phoenix Art Museum and is presented in the Museum's Doris and John Norton Gallery. Major support for this exhibition is provided by Aon. Additional support is provided by Steve Woods Printing Company. Promotional support is provided by Bass Pro Shops Mesa.

About the Artist

Barbara Bosworth was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up in the nearby town of Novelty. She was a visiting instructor at Ohio University in Athens, and in 1984 began teaching at Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, where she is currently a professor of photography.

Exhibition Details

Human Nature: The Photographs of Barbara Bosworth will be on view in Phoenix Art Museum's Doris and John Norton Gallery for the Center for Creative Photography April 19 through July 27, 2008.

For more information about this exhibition or Phoenix Art Museum, visit the Web site at: PhxArt.org, or call the 24-hour recorded information line at (602) 257-1222.