Aesthetic Criticism

Fig. 1. 'The book seems like a kind of almanac pertaining to certain historical phenomena,' from Tim Harrington and Robert Sullivan, Gowanus Redux, 7/17/2012.

FeatureJuly 28, 2016

Re-imagining the River: The Transformation of New York’s Waterways in Marie Lorenz’s Tide and Current Taxi.

For more than ten years, artist Marie Lorenz has been creating a work of art called the Tide and Current Taxi. For this project, Lorenz transports one to four passengers along the myriad waterways of New York City (and occasionally other destinations) in a small boat made by the artist.

Ursula Biemann, video still from Deep Weather (2013). Aerial shot of the Northern Alberta oil sands. Courtesy of the artist.

FeatureJuly 28, 2016

Liquid Economies, Networks of the Anthropocene

A constant flow of watery images streams through our newsfeeds almost daily. Videos, infographics, animations, flow charts, and various other forms of visual communication tell us that water is either in excess or retreat, revealing that we have too much or too little.

Aesthetic Criticism Artistic Expression International

Seth Eastman, Distant View of Fort Snelling, 1847-49. Watercolor.

IntroductionJuly 28, 2016

Guest Editors’ Introduction to Issue Three

Water is a slippery subject: its visual and material properties spur intellectual inquiry and spiritual reverie; its fluctuating form repels categorization and confounds claims of ownership as it crosses property lines and national borders; and river and ocean currents facilitate commercial exchange along with environmental exploitation.

Aesthetic Criticism Artistic Expression History North America

Detail of 'Otokaheya' (In the Beginning), quilted fabric, Gwen Westerman, artist. Image courtesy of the artist.

FeatureJuly 28, 2016

Depicting the Power of Water in Art and Poetry

Open Rivers guest editors Nenette Luarca-Shoaf and Laura Turner Igoe contacted Gwen Westerman, professor, visual artist, and an enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota Oyate.

Aesthetic Criticism Artistic Expression Minnesota

Issue Contents

Introduction

Introduction to Issue 25 | Rivers & Borders

On a map, the defined line of a river makes a compelling case for becoming a border. The line crisply delineates one space from...

By Laurie Moberg, Editor

Feature (Peer Review)

Socio-Ecological System of Flooding in Bucksport, South Carolina

There is growing awareness that climate change has the potential to deepen inequalities, especially regarding the threat of riverine flooding. For example, the United...

By Geoffrey Habron and John Roper

Feature (Peer Review)

A Fluid Border: The River Tamar and Constructed Difference in Travel Writing of Cornwall

The Tamar is a relatively modest river. With a length of just 61 miles, and an average discharge at the upper tidal limit of...

By Tim Hannigan

Feature (Peer Review)

The Backbone of America: A New River with the Same Ol’ Bones

The Mississippi River, among many names, is known as “The Backbone of America,” and has played a major role in shaping the lives of...

By Michael O. Johnston

Feature (Peer Review)

Not a Border, But a Path: Swimming Across the Rio Grande

On a cool November day, I floated in the middle of Amistad Reservoir, a lake formed by a dam on the Rio Grande. I...

By Melinda J. Menzer

Geographies

When the Border is a River: A Journey Along the Salween River-Border

Rivers might appear to be a natural or even an expedient way to demarcate political borders. Yet rivers are always in flux as flows...

By Zali Fung and Vanessa Lamb

In Review

The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration by Jake Bittle

Abandoned homes with boarded up windows. Mold growing up the walls of houses flooded under five feet of water. The charred remnants of entire...

By Julia Oschwald Tilton

Perspectives

A Small but Ultimate Presence

This year the heat of the desert grew, and the absence of water only became more stark against that rapidly rising contrast. Tucson, my...

By Isaac Espósto

Primary Sources

How much is the world’s most productive river worth?

How much is the world’s most productive river worth? Here’s how experts estimate the value of nature: Southeast Asia’s Mekong may be the most important...

By Stefan Lovgren

Teaching and Practice

Creative Connections with Rivers: A Toolkit for Learning and Collaboration

We are three people who draw on research and practice to create arts-based learning, engagement materials, and interventions with and for diverse audiences. We...

By Stephanie Januchowski-Hartley, Ioanna (Daphne) Giannoulatou, and Merryn Thomas

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