National park exhibit comes to Canton

CANTON, Ohio – “These Rare Lands,” an exhibition organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service captures our national parks through the work of photographer Stan Jorstad.

The exhibition opens with a reception June 15, from 7-9 p.m., at the McKinley Museum in Canton. The exhibit is next scheduled to travel to the Burke Arts Council in Morganton, N.C.

The exhibit presents 43 large-format color panoramic photographs that capture the majesty of U.S. National Parks and monuments.

Beginning with an introductory statement by actor, environmental activist, and director Robert Redford, the exhibition includes six text panels describing Jorstad’s career, his photographic techniques, and a brief history of the National Park Service.

From sunrise at Haleakala Crater (or “House of the Sun”) in Maui to moonrise over Death Valley in California, Jorstad captures the diversity of America’s vast wilderness in painterly style.

During the past 40 years, Jorstad has visited and photographed 54 of the United States National Parks, as well as many of the more than 300 wilderness areas and other sites set aside by the National Park Service since 1872.

Jorstad’s incredible images ask us to think about the preservation of America’s remaining open spaces, which include havens for many endangered species and homes for unique geological and archeological treasures.