Eclipse of the Sun by the Earth, 1930s

Charles Bittinger / National Geographic Society / Steven Kasher Gallery

What a great way to start the New Year, with the National Geographic show, “The Past and Future Present” at Steven Kasher.  Mixing vintage illustration with photography, we glimpse the beginning of the world, both real and imagined.  From the bottom of the ocean to planets far away, we see things that no longer exist.

What was once the ultimate source for discovering the world; National Geographic has taken us from the bottom of the ocean to planets far away, allowing us to see things that no longer exist.

I love the way Steven Kasher edits, sequences, and hangs his shows.  They are tight, beautifully displayed, and draw you in a logical fashion through the work.  This allows him to show a multitude of work that might seem overcrowded somewhere else.  This show breathes.

A Cascade of Weathered Ice Spills From the 14 Square Mile Glacier, Karagom Glacier, Caucasus Mountains, Russia, 1890

Vittorio Sella/National Geographic Image Collection/Steven Kasher Gallery

There are sequences from illustration to photograph that bring to life not just a location, but also its exuberance by juxtaposing the two.  We are brought closer to nature, and I’m reminded of a time when artists were in the field capturing the natural world in order to bring it to a larger audience.  Here is the spirit of adventure as an exciting, uplifting way of life.  And now, when the world has gotten smaller, and true adventure is harder to find, it is wonderful to be reminded visually of what it must have been like to visit and record places and people no one had seen before, whether in our world or in the artist’s mind.

The show is open until February 16. You should all go.

Jacques Yves Cousteau Films A Jet-propelled Submersible, Caribbean Sea, 1959

Jacques Ertaud/National Geographic Image Collection/Steven Kasher Gallery