Feel the Heat in newest exhibit at Upcountry History Museum
June 20, 2023
We watch the news with a sense of disbelief yet can’t seem to pull ourselves away even as the screen fills with image after image of raging wildfires. In its newest exhibition, Facing the Inferno: The Wildfire Photography of Kari Greer, opening Saturday, July 1, 2023, the Upcountry History Museum – Greenville County, a Smithsonian Affiliate, presents a rare opportunity to experience a “day-in-the-life” of those who face these growing challenges while feeling like you’re beside them attacking the infernos.
Kari Greer is a wildland firefighter and documentary style photographer who specializes in wildland fire photography. Throughout her 20-year career, she has driven hundreds of miles, endured 130-degree heat, dodged falling trees and electric lines, fought side-by-side with fellow fire crews, and turned her trained eye toward capturing the complexities, anxieties, and insights of these events and the people who try to harness them.
From blazing flames, plumes of blinding smoke, planes attacking with fire retardant, light against dark, and firefighters braving it all, Facing the Inferno is an illustrative story of the paradoxical phenomenon that wildfires represent. And taking visitors visually into the middle of these raging wildfires are 64 powerful images by Greer that not only show the effects in a very real and up-close presentation, but also provide an intensely dramatic connection to that which draws viewers into the unimaginable.
Organized by the Moscow Contemporary Art Gallery in Moscow, Idaho, this exhibition, on display through Sunday, October 22, 2023, has been designed to increase public conversation and understanding of the volatile occurrence of wildfires, their increasing severity, and the experiences of the fire crews who fight these extreme situations.
In a connection to Upstate history, UHM is including a companion exhibition focused on the wildfires and wildland firefighting in the Carolinas. Through artifacts and archival materials, visitors can examine the history, significant events, and growing number of “Red Flag Alerts” in the Upstate and Western North Carolina.
The Upcountry History Museum is located at 540 Buncombe St., in Greenville, S.C. Hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; Sunday from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. For more information, call 864-467-3100 or visit www.upcountryhistory.org.
