19. Wilderness ~ is it beyond our reach?

“What avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?”, said writer Aldo Leopold, and in this episode we revisit what the human concept of wilderness means and where we might find it. Unmodified, unspoiled, on the edge? When in our history was the point when humans changed their view of wilderness? With incidental music from Colin, we consider how wilderness means many differing things to different people - it is ‘home’ for some and hostile for others - and discuss what our view of it says about us. Is our definition derived from an International Union for the Conservation of Nature edict, or is it reflect - or even imposed - by the human approach to the way we make art? Ultimately, is wilderness still a valid notion or is it beyond our reach, beyond our gift to bestow, at a time when perhaps we need it more than ever? THEME MUSIC BY DAVID ROTHENBERG. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. USED BY KIND PERMISSION OF THE ARTIST http://www.davidrothenberg.net Some of the ideas and references we make in this podcast can be found here: Jane Smith Darren Rees Kitty Jones Chris Wallbank Julian Hoffman Beauchene Island, Falklands Bay of Biscay, France & Spain Pasvik Valley, Norway Unst, Shetland Spitsbergen Hoo Peninsular, England Dan Richards IUCN wilderness definition 1B Xia Gui - master chinese painter Old Testament Paleolithic art Sicily rock art caves Shan shui - master chinese painter Thomas Moran The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (painting) The Sublime (artistic movement) Sewell Newhouse (trap maker) Industrial Revolution Snow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps (painting by J. M. W. Turner) Smithsonian, Washington DC Aboriginal Australian art Shoshone Ansel Adams BBC Planet Earth John Muir Bushcraft Aldo Leopold Annie Dillard Edward Abbey Kvitøya Island, Svalbard Barry Lopez Of Wolves and Men Jordan Bedouin All Things are Quite Silent (English folk song) Franklin Expedition