Special Exhibitions

Gregory Crewdson: Forest Fables

On View: Sept. 8 to Oct. 20

Humanities Center Gallery, Saints Tekakwitha and Serra Hall

Five of Gregory Crewdson’s complex, large-scale tableaux will animate the Humanities Center throughout the fall term. The works all explore the dark side of the American forest and share a narrative resonance with American literature, classic cinema and painterly traditions. Born in Brooklyn, NY, Crewdson is the director of the photography program at Yale University. His works have been featured in major exhibitions throughout the world and his ambitious, intensive practice is the subject of a 2012 documentary film, Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters Forest Fables is the first San Diego solo exhibition of work by this major figure in the contemporary art field. The project extends the center’s multi-year study of Natural Landscapes and Human Meaning into the forest theme.

Screenings 11: Ori Gersht

On View: Oct. 27 to Dec. 11

Humanities Center Gallery, Saints Tekakwitha and Serra Hall

The popular Screenings series continues this fall with The Forest (2005), a stunning work of video art that was shot in the deep woods near Kosov, Ukraine. This particular forest was once the site of hidden atrocities against the Jewish population of the region. Gersht’s camera lures the viewer through the lush, seemingly Edenic environment, while a succession of trees periodically thunders to the ground nearby, splitting the image and all sense of peace. Gersht was born in Israel, but lives today in London. His photographs and videos, including The Forest, have been shown to great acclaim at museums throughout the world, including the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut, The Bauhaus Museum in Weimar, Germany, and the Tel Aviv Museum. This is the first time Gersht’s work has been shown in San Diego.