David Opdyke's massive collage This Land as detailed in this book by award-winning author Lawrence Weschler presents a trenchant satire of climate change and the American Dream.
David Opdyke is an artist known for his trenchant political
send-ups of American culture. Opdyke's political awakening in the
early 2000s led to a body of work that confronted the horror of
9/11 and America's subsequent wars. His hyperrealistic
topographical models of American suburbs comment on mall culture
and suburban sprawl, while his sculptures of ruined monuments mock
imperialistic hubris. His work is held in the collections of the
Museum of Arts and Design, MoMA, and the Brooklyn Museum.
Lawrence Weschler is author of more twenty books of narrative
nonfiction, most recently And How Are You, Dr. Sacks? (FSG, 2019).
He is a former staff writer at the New Yorker, and served as
director of the New York Institute for the Humanities at NYU
(2001-14), and artistic director of the Chicago Humanities Festival
(2006-11). His books include Seeing is Forgetting the Name of the
Thing One Sees; Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder (a finalist for the
Pulitzer Prize); Everything That Rises- A Book of Convergences
(winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism,
2007); and A Miracle, A Universe- Settling Accounts with Torturers.
"This is among the most remarkable art projects that the climate era has produced—an epic work that bears endless seeing, and endless thinking." - Bill McKibben, author of Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? "David Opdyke’s mural, paired with Lawrence Weschler’s lively commentary, is a masterclass in looking closely at the climate crisis - in all its absurdity and horror, its complexities and transformative potential. A stunning work." - Naomi Klein, author of On Fire: The Burning Case for the Green New Deal "David Opdyke’s mural is mind-blowing in the scale of its sustained and obsessive concentration. It is, in fact, so perfectly realized and beautifully executed that, while the subject Opdyke confronts might necessarily bring one down, somehow you emerge from engaging his artwork with an elevated feeling." - Eric Fischl, artist and educator "This Land is a startling showcase for two far-seeing artists. David Opdyke’s postcard mosaic is a wonderment and a warning, an operatic conjuring of a ravaged planet. From Opdyke’s vision of environmental collapse, Lawrence Weschler weaves his own penetrating tale. Weschler’s essay stirs together history, art, and pop culture in a series of epiphanies that detonate in a piercing call to action." - Lauren Redniss, author of Thunder & Lightning: Weather Past, Present, Future and Oak Flat: A Fight for Sacred Land in the American West “The physical book is wrapped in a smart dust jacket that unfolds to present the reader a complete reproduction of Opdyke’s withering, terrifying - and yes - even humorous work.” - Brooklyn Rail "This book is perfect for your friend who jokes about the world ending soon [and] gives you a tactile way to see [David Opdyke’s] magnum opus. . . . It’s so well-conceived and, sadly, imaginable.” - Brooklyn Based
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