A deep-brown buffalo stands alone on a green grass plain, against a background of anonymous hills and a setting sun. Its tail forms a kind of question mark. It’s hard not to anthro pomorphize the buffalo’s gaze as beseeching the viewer to save it from extinction. This interpretation isn’t too far-fetched, as George Catlin painted it (and titled it Buffalo Bull, Grazing on the Prairie) in 1832 as a way to bring attention to the plight of this vanishing species.
This is the image that captivated me in June when I learned about the plans for Endangered Species: Artists on the Front Line of Biodiversity at the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham. Despite its age, the painting by Catlin had a contemporary feel to it. It suggested a compelling curation of works that spanned a couple centuries. Seeing that Andy Warhol’s silk screen Endangered Species and a handful of other recognizable names were also included, I was looking forward to an expansive view of global climate change. And I was excited for the exhibition’s potential to include oft-neglected voices.