Hartman’s presentation, which is part of a series of Kenan lectures titled “Ways of Seeing Climate Change,” will explain how hurricanes have shaped art history in the greater Caribbean.
Hurricanes are not solely catastrophic meteorological events. They also effectively made the complex visual cultures of the greater Caribbean. This essay examines, in particular, how hurricanes have framed modern art histories of the region. The discussion will open with Winslow Homer’s series of watercolor paintings which were created in the Bahamas circa 1899, including a particular piece of work titled After the Hurricane.
As a professor, Hartman specializes in the visual culture and built environments of the greater Caribbean. He is the author of Dictator’s Dreamscape: How Architecture and Vision Built Machado’s Cuba and Invented Modern Havana (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2019), and editor of the volume Imperial Islands: Art, Architecture, and Visual Experience in the US Insular Empire after 1898 (University of Hawaii Press, 2021).
His research has been recognized and supported among others by the University of Missouri Research Board, the Graham Foundation and the American Philosophical Society.
“Ways of Seeing Climate Change” is a series of talks and exhibitions to take place at Flagler College between 2021-2024. The series intends to foster critical and timely discussions on how visual representation informs our understanding of climate change, environmental justice, and our hopes and fears about the planet’s future. Finally, “Ways of Seeing Climate Change” aims to be a venue for generative and localized conversations about the creative, social, and ethical questions surrounding climate change.
Kenan lectures are free and open to the public. If you are a person with a disability and need reasonable accommodations, please contact Phil Pownall at 904-819-6460. Sign Language Interpreters are available upon request with a minimum of three days' notice. Call 904-826-8677 or visit www.flagler.edu/kenanlectureseries for more information.
