In connection with its current exhibition, “This Land: Considering the American Landscape,” The Church is focusing on a landscape feature so ubiquitous it might not seem to need a lecture, much less a book.
Trent Preszler and April Gornik would beg to differ. Preszler, the author of “Evergreen: The Trees That Shaped America” (Algonquin Books), will be joined by Gornik, an artist as associated as any with landscape, for a conversation at the Sag Harbor cultural center tomorrow at 6 p.m.
The book, which, Gornik has said, “changed the way I see the world,” makes the case that the American cultural landscape and economy would not be the same without those trees.
“From its symbolic evolution through paganism, Christianity, patriotism, and capitalism to its intimate relationship with underrepresented people like the Indigenous, the enslaved, immigrants, and queer woodworkers,” the evergreen has helped shape the inner and visible landscape of this country, according to The Church.
The book is also about power and commerce. American evergreens have built ships, railroads, cities, and fortunes, while enabling westward expansion and industrial growth.
The author, a professor of applied economics at Cornell University, considers whether the American pursuit of progress justifies the toll it takes on living ecosystems. As the director of the Henry David Thoreau Foundation’s Planetary Solutions Initiative at Cornell, Preszler has said that “climate change is now central to almost every economic problem that we face, and lasting solutions must be rooted in business.”
Questions will be taken and books signed after the conversation. Tickets are $25, $22 for members.
The Church’s partnership with Hamptons JazzFest will bring the Rez Abbasi and Kiran Ahluwalia Quartet to the venue on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The quartet features Abbasi, an acclaimed guitarist, and Ahluwalia, a two-time winner of a Juno Award, Canada’s Grammy. Both were born in South Asia. As a result, their music blends jazz with the musical traditions of the Indian subcontinent.
A Guggenheim Fellow, Abbasi is known for his approach to jazz guitar and his incorporation of global influences into his compositions. Ahluwalia is noted for her interpretations of traditional Punjabi songs as well as her original work, which often blends Indian music with contemporary styles.
Tickets are $35, $30 for members, and $20 for students under age 18.
