The University of Maine at Presque Isle will host nationally renowned photographer and videographer Scot Miller as part of the 2015-2016 Distinguished Lecture Series. Miller’s multi-media presentation, titled Emerson, Muir, Thoreau: A Photographic Trilogy of American Wildness, will take place Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. in the University’s Campus Center. All are invited to attend this free event.
During his visit, Miller will serve a unique dual role as UMPI’s DLS speaker and the artist exhibited at the Reed Art Gallery. His exhibit, entitled The Maine Woods, will be on display in the gallery from Nov. 30 to Jan. 9. This exhibit is sponsored and was developed by the Harvard Museum of Natural History. There will be a special reception, book signing and gallery talk by the artist in the Reed Gallery, located in the Center for Innovative Learning, on Dec. 1 from 5-6:30 p.m.—just prior to his DLS presentation. Light refreshments will be served and the public is invited to attend.
Scot Miller is an award-winning photographer whose work has formed the basis of numerous books, including: Walden: The 150th Anniversary Illustrated Edition of the American Classic; Cape Cod: The Illustrated Edition of the American Classic; First Light: Five Photographers Explore Yosemite’s Wilderness; My First Summer in the Sierra: 100th Anniversary Illustrated Edition; and Thoreau, The Maine Woods: A Photographic Journey Through an American Wilderness. Eighty-nine of Miller’s photos illustrate “Walden,” and 63 of his photos illustrate “Cape Cod.” His book, “My First Summer in the Sierra,” won a National Outdoor Book Award in 2011.
Miller has contributed to the video series Moment in Nature, broadcast nationally on Emmy Award-winning CBS Sunday Morning. His work has also been used in conjunction with the Yosemite Conservancy, the Walden Woods Project, and the Harvard Museum of Natural History.
Miller’s DLS presentation will focus on the creation of the photographs for his latest book, Emerson, Muir, Thoreau: A Photographic Trilogy of American Wildness. This is the first book to visually connect the philosophies of Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Muir, and Henry David Thoreau. The collector’s edition, published by Levenger Press, combines passages from all three philosopher’s works with 69 of Miller’s never-before-published photos from around the country that reflect the subject matter.
“For Emerson, that work is ‘Nature.’ For Muir, it is ‘The American Forests.’ For Thoreau, it is ‘Walking,’” Miller said. “Free thinkers all, Emerson, Muir and Thoreau were not satisfied with the status quo. They expanded boundaries.”
With words, photographs and video, Miller will illuminate the interconnectedness of these three writers/philosophers/activists, and the role their intertwined orbits played in America’s environmental coming of age.
Miller’s work focuses on creating an understanding and appreciation for unique locations, such as Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada, Walden Pond and The Walden Woods, The Texas Hill Country, The Great Trinity Forest in Dallas, Texas, and The Maine Woods. His work has been featured in media such as: Texas Highway Magazine, American West Magazine, Cape Cod Life, Yosemite Magazine, and The National Park Service’s Yosemite Valley Plan and The National Park Service’s Special Resource Study of Walden Pond and Woods.
He is currently photographing in southwest Colorado, the Maine Woods, Yosemite National Park and the Sierra Nevada, the Texas Hill Country where he is Artist-in-Park for Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park, and the Great Trinity Forest and Trinity River watershed in Dallas.
Miller’s fine prints have been featured in exhibitions at the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite National Park, the Dallas Museum of Natural History, the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, the Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods, Turtle Bay Exploration Park in Redding, Calif., the North Carolina Forestry Museum, the Cincinnati Museum Center, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and many other venues across the country. He lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife, Marilyn, where they own and operate the Sun to Moon Gallery, a fine-art photography gallery.
The University’s Distinguished Lecturer Series was established in 1999. Each year, the UDLS Committee sponsors four to six speakers who come from Maine and beyond, representing a range of disciplines and viewpoints. While the emphasis tends to be on featuring visiting academics, it is not exclusively so. The speakers typically spend two days at the University meeting with classes and presenting a community lecture.
Miller’s multi-media presentation will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 1, and everyone is welcome to attend. For more information, please contact the University’s Community and Media Relations Office at 207-768-9452.
