From the time she emerged onto the art scene in the 1990s, Catherine Opie’s photographs have explored myriad concepts of identity and community throughout the country. While her landscape images may at first appear a stark departure from this theme, they are, in fact, a critical part of the conversation—the backdrop against which both identity and community are formed.

Mendenhall Glacier and Waterfall, made in Alaska in 2007, reflects upon the long tradition of American landscape photography by Ansel Adams, Brett Weston (who created his own classic image of the glacier in 1973), and others. Opie updates the form for the 21st Century, presenting this image in her signature large color format. Opie has commented that her Alaska series is a reference to the passage of time and the perilous effects of global warming on the natural world. With a body of work that so poignantly weaves between portraiture and landscape, what becomes increasingly apparent is their interconnectivity and the notion that the health of the land depends on the community and the health of the community depends on the land.