Speaker: Stuart Palley
This lecture is part of the 11-week "Lookout: Envisioning Futures with Wildfire" lecture series exploring how we are shaping this era of megafires and how it is shaping us. The series features speakers from across the arts, humanities, and environmental sciences. It is hosted by the Spring Creek Project and the Environmental Arts and Humanities Initiative at Oregon State University and co-sponsored by OSU's Center for the Humanities, OSU's Sustainability Office, OSU's Arts and Education Complex, and Terrain.org.
Additional co-sponsors: Corvallis-Benton County Public Library and Grass Roots Books & Music
A native of Southern California, Stuart Palley’s work focuses on the intersection of humankind and nature, technology and hubris, and the temporal nature of the human-made world. His work also looks at modern society's impact on the environment. Stuart is interested in documenting the planet's changing climate and humankind's interaction with the vanguard of those changes. He has previously worked on water issues at the Salton Sea in California's desert. His recent work on wildfires, Terra Flamma: Wildfires at Night, focuses on documenting the most acute effect of drought in California, wildfire through long exposure images at night. Over the past eight years Stuart has photographed over 100 wildfires in the state. Recently his work was published as part of National Geographic's April 2021 cover issue on air pollution. He has formal wildland fire training and contracts directly with the United State Forest Service to assist with documenting megafires for the public record when not on editorial assignment. He also frequently speaks on his work to general audiences and fellow journalists for wildfire safety training and best practices. His work is held in various private art collections and is currently on display at the California Museum of Photography as a component of the Facing Fire exhibition. His forthcoming memoir Into the Inferno: A Photographer's Journey into California's Megafires and Fallout will be released in April 2022.