Rackstraw Downes, Visiting Artist Lecture 2002

In his third lecture (previous lectures in 1975 and 1981) landscape painter Rackstraw Downes shows recent paintings and drawings, commenting on the artistic challenges (e.g., light, treatment of figures in the landscape, density, perspective, and color differentiation) and subject matter (what he calls the truly “wild places,” which are the places we neglect, in contrast to so-called wild lands). Substantial time is devoted to his work at the Chinati Foundation and in New York City, and the speaker explains his working methods and problems encountered, such as the scene being substantially changed by construction or demolition while the painting is in progress.