A Practical Landscape: The Upper Snake River Valley

Architecture –

The buildings of the upper valley were not built for aesthetic qualities. They were designed to be used. Grain and potatoes are stored in its silos and cellars. Livestock and equipment are housed in its barns. Crops and wood are housed and processed in its structures. The architecture of the region was designed by practical people for practical purposes.

I have little interest in potato and grain storage but I am interested in these buildings. When the sun is low in the horizon and it strikes the reflective surface of a grain elevator it seems the building was designed to do nothing but catch light. The façade of the Idaho potato cellar is a study in symmetry and geometry. I'm sure the materials and design serve a purpose, but I'm not interested.

Land –

On the surface this is a sad, flat, cold place. Upon further investigation it still is. Though I'm often searching for hope, I can't escape the tragedy. Every spring and fall I find dead animals. Death is a part of life and I embrace it, it's the decapitated carcasses, the fox and coyote pelts, and the elk heads discarded and left to rot that are disturbing.

Sagebrush steppe and forests have been cleared for agriculture and that is the economic base of the region. This interaction between nature and culture is a necessity that I understand and support. It's the makeshift garbage dumps, animal pits, and rifle ranges that dot the fringes of this cultivated desert landscape that disappoint. I'd like to see more respect.

Water –

The waterways of the upper valley barely resemble the natural landscape from which they've evolved. Pristine sections of rivers, with clear water and unaltered flow are still possible to find, but they are no longer characteristic.

The inhabitants of the region have been altering the waterways since their arrival. Rivers are dammed for power production, to divert water for irrigation, and to “enhance” or provide recreation. The results are mixed. In some areas the altering of the landscape has had little negative effect on the environment; in fact, in some cases wildlife habitat has been improved. However, there have been major mistakes, including but not limited to, the Teton Dam Flood of 1976. In that case people lost their lives, an entire ecosystem was destroyed, and the town that was below the dam is no longer on the map.

Despite the sadness, I am optimistic. I am on a continual search for beauty and meaning. Sometimes it's the smallest thing that holds my interest. The low light of evening revealing unseen texture, backlit trees, a dramatic sky, the quiet of new fallen snow; these are the moments I savor. It's these small moments that define my relationship to this land.

I find an unconventional beauty and attraction to the Upper Snake River Valley . I stand in awe of places like Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Canyon , but I can't relate to or understand them. I relate to and am attempting to understand this place. The cultivation of a relationship with and understanding of this place are the subjects of the exhibition.

Darren Clark 2005