Forty years of images by documentary photographer David W. Harp will be on display this fall at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in a new exhibition titled Where Land and Water Meet: The Chesapeake Bay Photography of David W. Harp. Scheduled for Sept. 25, 2020 through Sept. 20, 2021, Where Land and Water Meet will be on view in CBMM’s Steamboat Building gallery, as well as in a virtual format.
Harp’s inspiration comes from exploring literal and figurative edges: shorelines, communities, habitats, and traditional worklife where culture and nature connect, creating the essence of what defines the Chesapeake. From dozens of black and white Tri-X film shots of legendary skipjacks including Rebecca T. Ruark and intimate portraits of captains and crew, to Kodachrome and Fujichrome images capturing marsh guts, waterfowl, and watermen at work, to more contemporary digital images documenting changing landscapes and lifestyles, Harp’s body of work represents a career spent immersed in the natural world, perfecting the art of observation.
A great blue heron shoots the gap between two stands of phragmites along the shore of the upper Choptank River. Digital image, 2013. Photograph by David Harp.
“Dave Harp has a long and varied career, and his naturalist’s eye provides an unparalleled perspective on the interdependence of communities, land and water along the Chesapeake,” said Jenifer Dolde, Associate Curator of Collections. “His passion for the environment continually draws him to explore the Bay’s rivers, marshes and guts by kayak, on foot and by air, always revealing them in new ways.”
Where Land and Water Meet is presented thanks to the generous contributions of Diamond Sponsor Caroline Gabel; Platinum Sponsors Sandy & Omer Brown and H. Turney McKnight; Gold Sponsors Emma & Cullen Bailine and Finn & Jackson Falk, Meta & Billy Boyd, David M. Brown, Dorie & Jeff McGuiness, and The Bay Journal; and Silver Sponsors Posey & Bill Boicourt. Entry to the exhibition is free for CBMM members or with general admission.
The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum officially reopened to the public at the end of June, with everyone on campus required to follow the Town of St. Michaels ordinance and wear facial coverings inside buildings at all times and outdoors when within six feet of other guests. For membership contactless entry, please renew or purchase CBMM memberships online at cbmm.org/membership. Additional information on CBMM’s enhanced health and comfort measures and operational changes for reopening can be found at welcome.cbmm.org.
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