ACS Monterey Bay Program for May 2008

Bryant Austin: An Artist Working Intimately With Whales To Save Them

	Thursday, May 29, 2008 7 p.m. Refreshments, 7:30 p.m. Program Lecture Hall, Monterey Boatworks, Hopkins Marine Station, Pacific Grove (Across from American Tin Cannery Outlet Stores) Speaker: Bryant Austin, Artist and Conservationist
	Bryant Austin signs and numbers his first to-scale photograph of a whale, simply entitled "Humpback Whale Calf I". © Copyright 2008 Studio Cosmos. All Rights Reserved.

Bryant Austin is a fine art photographer who produces life-size photographs of whales to fulfill his vision of inspiring change within countries who continue to hunt or harm these creatures.

While the scale of his envisioned works is impressive, reaching up to 15 feet in height and 90 feet in length, it is the subtle and varied expressions in the eye of the whale and the emotions they evoke in us that he explores in-depth. He collaborates with experienced whale biologists and invests entire seasons with specific whale populations. He seeks out genuine connections with his subjects, and then, at a mere body's length from the whale, he begins the process of composing a series of photographs along the whale's body, ultimately producing a full-size composite.

An exhibition of Bryant's work is now on display at the La Mirada facility of the Monterey Museum of Art through May18, 2008. The next scheduled stop for his exhibit is the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) Annual Meeting in Santiago, Chile. There he will share insights into his joint collaboration with the World Society for the Protection of Animals where together they are working to inspire unexplored thoughts, emotions and ultimately change from the IWC delegates and attendees.

At the May presentation for our Chapter we will receive an exclusive preview of the audio/visual installation Bryant will bring to the IWC Annual Meeting. Please join us to celebrate Bryant's work and his mission to save the whales.

References and related web pages:

• Bryant Austin's Studio Cosmos
• Marine Mammal Conservation Through The Arts
• Biography of Bryant Austin
• Monterey County Weekly article about Bryant Austin
• Exhibitions at La Mirada

• Back to list of previous meetings.