Unfamiliar Faces on Display at Mass Audubon Visual Arts Center in Canton

On Sunday, January 29, the presents a new exhibition, Unfamiliar Faces: Photographs of Vanishing Wildlife by Kevin Schafer. Schafer is an award-winning natural history photographer and writer, whose photographs appear in all of the major science and nature publications in the US, including National Geographic, Smithsonian, Natural History and National Wildlife.

The exhibition presents a selection of Schafer’s remarkable photos. Those include photos of little known creatures most of us will never have the opportunity to view in the wild: the Yellow-eyed Penguin from New Zealand, Darwin’s Fox from Chile, and the Laysan Albatross from Midway Atoll—among many others. Kevin’s groundbreaking story on Amazon River Dolphins appeared in National Geographic in 2009, and some of those images are included in this exhibition as well. 

Schafer says, “For nearly thirty years now, I have pursued a career that I could never have imagined, nor thought possible, when I started out. Over the course of those years, I have been privileged to sit beside Mountain Gorillas in the cloud forests of Africa, listen to the eerie trills of Weddell Seals beneath the Antarctic ice, and slip into the water next to whales five hundred times my size. In the company of each, I have felt a profound and irresistible pleasure, and a deep connection to the natural world that has both inspired and sustained me.”

Kevin Schafer lives in Seattle with his wife, artist and writer Martha Hill. He travels extensively and works regularly with conservation organizations such as the Nature Conservancy and the World Wildlife Fund.  He is committed to putting his images to work for conservation as a Founding Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers. His stunning photography book Living Light combines interesting narratives with his amazing work aimed at wildlife in its truest form. The book will be available for purchase at the exhibition. The exhibition will be on view through May 13, 2012.

RELATED EVENTS AND PROGRAMS: In the Company of Animals with Kevin Schafer, An Illustrated Lecture on Saturday, February 25, 2-3pm

Wildlife photographer Kevin Schafer discusses a career following animals on seven continents, from Antarctic Penguins to Amazon Dolphins. He will talk about his work for National Geographic magazine, and his current mission to tell stories about little-known and endangered animals worldwide. $10M/ $12NM. Program details at www.massaudubon.org/visualarts.

The Mass Audubon Visual Arts Center is a family-friendly art museum, set on a 138-acre wildlife sanctuary with walking trails, and located 15 miles south of Boston. Current exhibitions are Unfamiliar Faces: Photographs of Vanishing Wildlife by Kevin Schafer and A. Elmer Crowell: A Sampling. Exhibitions are open to the public Tuesday-Sunday, 1-5 pm, and include activities for children. Trails are open Tuesday-Sunday, 9 am–5 pm. Admission is free to Mass Audubon members, $4 adults, $3 children and seniors.  The museum offers a wide variety of programs for children and adults, including the weekly Toddler Tuesdays and the monthly Family Art Studios.  For more information: 781-821-8853 or www.massaudubon.org/visualarts.

-Press release by the Visual Arts Center.