Author(s): Rebecca Solnit

Culture & Ideas

To Rebecca Solnit, the word "landscape" implies not only literal places but also the ground on which we invent our lives and confront our innermost troubles and desires. The organic world, to Solnit, gives rise to the social, political, and philosophical landscapes we inhabit. In these nineteen quirky, smart, and wryly humorous pieces, Solnit ranges across disciplines to explore nuclear test sites, deserts, clouds, caves, and the meaning of national borders - as well as ideas of the feminine and the sublime as they relate to our physical and psychological terrains. Sixty images throughout the book display the work of the contemporary artists under discussion, including landscape photographers, performance artists, sculptors, and installation artists. Alongside her text, Solnit's gallery of images provides a vivid excursion into new ways of perceiving landscape, bodies, and art. Animals and the human body appear together with space and terra firma as Solnit reconfigures the blurred lines that define nature.