Luke Erickson – Confluence

At Gallery St. Germain

This exhibition of photographs, titled CONFLUENCE, is an examination of the geographic, historic, economic and social importance of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers. Many of these photographs depict treaty sites and other man-altered landscapes that were historically inhabited by Native American tribes, now largely displaced, who lived and worked for generations on the banks of these rivers.

Luke Erickson was born in Minneapolis on December 8, 1969. He is a photographer who has long been focused on the state of the natural environment and how it has been impacted by the encroachment of the manmade. He has been influenced by the work of photographers Timothy O’Sullivan and Robert Adams, artists Thomas Cole and Ed Ruscha, and filmmakers John Ford and Jim Jarmusch.

Luke makes black & white photographs that honor the documentary tradition. He is inspired to make this work because of a deep respect for history, an abiding interest in understanding how and why the appearance of the landscape has been transformed, and a desire to share his work with others.