Terraria Gigantica: The World under Glass

by Dana Fritz (Photographer), William L. Fox (Introduction), Carrie Robbins (Contribution by), Rebecca Reider (Epilogue by)

Overview

In a new approach to environmental photography, Dana Fritz explores the world's largest enclosed landscapes: Arizona's Biosphere 2, Cornwall's Eden Project, and Nebraska's Lied Jungle and Desert Dome at the Henry Doorly Zoo. In these vivaria, plants are grown amid carefully constructed representations of the natural world to entertain and educate tourists while also supporting scientific research. Together, these architectural and engineering marvels stand as working symbols of our complex relationship with the environment.

Giant terraria require human control of temperature, humidity, irrigation, insects, weeds, and other conditions to create otherwise impossible ecosystems. While technical demands inform the design of these spaces, the juxtapositions of natural and artificial elements generate striking visual paradoxes that can go unnoticed. Here Fritz turns away from visitors' prepared sight lines, revealing alternate views that dispel the illusion of natural conditions. Inviting questions about what it means to create and contain landscapes, Terraria Gigantica inspires contemplation of our ecological future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826358738
Publisher:	University of New Mexico Press
Publication date:	10/01/2017
Pages:	88
Product dimensions:	10.70(w) x 12.70(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Dana Fritz is a professor of art at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her work has been exhibited widely in the United States and Japan and is held in several public collections worldwide.

Table of Contents

Preface
Dana Fritz

Introduction. Terraria Gigantica: The World under Glass, 2007-2011
William L. Fox

Color Plates
World under Glass: Dana Fritz and the Photography of Terraria
Carrie M. Robbins

Epilogue
Rebecca Reider

List of Color Plates
Acknowledgments
Contributors
Index