Nature and Culture Intertwined

Prairies, ideally, are expansive places, where the land spreads out unobstructed on all sides except by miles upon miles of sunlit wildflowers and grasses. When you’re out on the prairie, the only aspect greater than the land is the unfathomable sky above.

So to me it makes perfect sense that the Missouri Prairie Foundation has been encouraging us to look at prairies not just as places full of grasses, flowers, bugs, and birds, but as places significant to human culture—to our history, our settlement patterns, our agriculture, our artworks, our spirituality.

At the same time, the Missouri Humanities Council has been turning its attention to the “outdoors,” also known as the natural world. Like their 2020 Water Symposium and “Growing Up with the River” video series. To me, this makes sense, since you can’t have human history without nature, without our environment.

Maybe I need to backtrack for a second: it is remarkable that the MPF has been featuring programs beyond the biological and ecological, and that MHC has been featuring programs beyond the strictly humanistic, given the standard myopia of twenty-first-century public outreach. It’s generally considered best practice to stick to a single subject and reiterate a few chosen angles to that subject. “We need to stay in our lane.” That’s the general strategy for today’s media.

Don’t get me wrong: I love nature. When I think of prairies, I think of a lot of my favorite native plants and animals. And you know that I appreciate Missouri’s humanities, too, such as the German-immigrant history and culture, and our Missouri musicians and musical organizations.

So it’s a nice surprise that these two organizations are daring to connect, because I don’t much care for the standard myopic mores of our sophomoric century. I’m attracted to what the people of Phi Beta Kappa call “breadth and depth.” Notice how the Missouri Humanities Council has been using lovely, rich photos of Missouri landscapes instead of the “collages depicting a variety of Missourians” that you might otherwise expect, for an organization with “human” in its title. Something’s going on here beyond just eye candy—there’s a crossover shift between culture and nature, and I’m liking it.

So last night I helped my Dad with his first-ever Zoom presentation. Since he was one of three co-presenters, and the representatives of the Missouri Prairie Foundation and Missouri Humanities Council took charge of organizing the presentation, Dad (and I) didn’t have a steep learning curve. My job as helper was mainly to sit beside dad (off camera) and provide a sense of technological security, which he really didn’t need.

The presentation (whose recorded version you can watch on YouTube here) was about the intersection of Missouri prairies with Missouri’s human history and culture. Though I admit to being biased, I think it was really good. I think you’ll like it, too.

But wait, there’s more: MPF will be having another expansive webinar this next week! This time, the topic is “Contemporary Art and the Prairie,” “an exciting panel discussion that brings together the communities of MPF and the Kansas City Art Institute in a shared passion for the landscapes within which we reside. This conversation, moderated by MPF Executive Director, Carol Davit, features three Midwest artists, Julie Farstad (Kansas City, MO), Erin Weirsma (Manhattan, KS), and Keli Mashburn (Fairfax, OK), whose creative practices focus upon the rich and nuanced significance the prairie has in our understanding of time, self, and place.”

“Keli Mashburn is a photographer and filmmaker living and working at the edge of the Tallgrass Prairie on the Osage Reservation of northeastern Oklahoma. Julie Farstad is an artist, Professor and Co-chair of the Painting Department at the Kansas City Art Institute, who explores the role of plants and the idea of cultivation in mixed media studio artwork and community based painting projects. Erin Weisma Wiersma is an artist and professor at Kansas State University. Wiersma’s new and ongoing works draw from the Konza Prairie, becoming both the medium and subject matter.”

I’ll bet you’ll enjoy it. It’ll be live on Wednesday, October 20, at 4 p.m., and it’ll be recorded so you can see it later. Here’s where you go for more information and to sign up.