February Issue 2000
Rivers, Land, Trees + Aesthetics, Ethics,
Art = Conservation: The Rivers of South Carolina
A Book Review
by Lese Corrigan
The Rivers of South Carolina is a beautiful book of photographs with a mission. It is a mission essential to our state's well-being in many senses. Tom Blagden presents lovely photographs of the rivers he has traveled by canoe in South Carolina. Barry Beasely's text accompanies the photographs with stories of boating on the local rivers, some of the individuals whose lives have been formed by these waterways and of the necessity for river and land conservation.
This is propaganda, but the kind of propaganda of which we need more. Blagden documents what we have now. The images demand we pay attention, enjoy our environment, take care of it and record it artistically - all for the sake of our physical and mental health and that of future generations. The text tells us what we need to do to maintain its beauty. Developing a " land ethic," which is what Aldo Leopold called it back in the 1940s, is essential. An awareness of aesthetics - an appreciation of the beauty of nature which surrounds us - is paramount. It will remain only as long as we allow it to maintain itself without interference - interference such as destruction of forests, damming of rivers, dumping of waste into the waterways and chemical run off. There is often a general neglect due to the lack of an ethic that acknowledges the importance of the local environment. The rivers and swamp areas provide a water system that when properly used supplies fresh water, healthy fish for eating, power to run electricity, plants and trees that keep the air pure, and locales for refreshing the mind and spirits as well as needed physical exercise. The waterways also provide a training ground for the young to begin to understand and appreciate the world through the microcosm created by moving water, plants, air with sunshine and rain.
A lovely, unexpected turn in the text deals
with the subject of works of art assisting in "maintain(ing)
ecological conscience." Artists should be pleased to see
that their work and impact is noticed. This book will help establish
a need for this consciousness and aid in developing it demonstrating
how a writer and photographer can make a difference. The documentation
of the rivers that Blagden has accomplished, in addition to previous
photographic work in the state, provides pristine examples of
the beauty around us and the current condition of the rivers and
their environs.
It is a bit startling to see the few images which include Blagden
and Beasley and some others at their campsites, photographing
or paddling a canoe. The tarps used for the rain at the campsite,
particularly provide jarring examples of what a visual difference
there is when man separates himself from nature (the rain) with
manufactured objects. If those tarps were left behind or were
trash blowing in off the highways, harm of the environment would
begin. The mark of human presence in the wild must be minimized.
Blagden includes at the end notes on photographic equipment and
shooting methods. This is most often seen in photographic magazine
articles, sometimes in photography books but rarely in other books.
It is a nice addition to The Rivers of South Carolina. As in his
other books and exhibitions, Blagden's work is strong, colorful
and clear, presenting the majesty of God's earth. A particularly
lovely image is that of lily pads and bladderwort at Medway Plantation.
It is not taken with bright sunshine, is practically monochromatic
and almost abstract in its detail of plants on the water. It has
an ethereal beauty in its coloration, which indicates the hand
of a creative professional with an artistic eye.
Where spider lilies can grow is still confusing - only on rocky shoals as stated by Mark Robertson of The Nature Conservancy in his preface or also off the Combahee on Folly Creek as a photograph caption states. The text builds slowly but crests with the focus on aesthetics and a call for all to give their attention to the wonder sites and sights nature provides us particularly in South Carolina. This attention should bring about a positive awareness that will create a moral sense of protection which becomes conservation.
With a foreword by Ted Turner and sponsored by SCANA and The Nature Conservancy with prefaces by both, The Rivers of South Carolina consists of 128 pages. The text is by Barry Beasley with photographs by Tom Blagden, Jr. The book is $39.95 by Westcliffe Publishers, published the end of 1999. It is available at Chapter Two Bookstore in Charleston and other fine bookstores in your area.
Lese Corrigan is a native Charlestonian who is an artist, educator, writer and consultant in the visual arts field. She also is manager of The Verner Gallery in Charleston.
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