Photographer Tomas van Houtryve Speaks at Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Belgian photographer Tomas van Houtryve speaks at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art on Thursday, Octobr 6, 2016, about "Blue Sky Days," his drone-based photography, and how his work relates to contemporary warfare and surveillance.

As part of his work, van Houtryve traveled across the United States to aerially photograph the kind of gatherings that have become habitual targets for drone strikes abroad–including weddings, funerals, and groups of people praying or exercising. He also few his camera over settings where government surveillance drones have been used domestically.

In announcing a separate exhibition of his work in New York, van Houtryve wrote, "The images captured from the drone's perspective engage with the changing nature of surveillance, personal privacy, and war."

The production of "Blue Sky Days" was supported with grants from the Pulitzer Center, and was first published by Harper's magazine as a 16-page spread, the largest photo essay in the magazine's 166-year history.

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art arose from the instincts and ambitions of two private individuals who shared the dream of providing a public art museum for Kansas City and the surrounding region. Support for the program where van Houtryve will speak was provided by The Photography Society, the Kansas City Art Institute, and The Hallmark Corporate Foundation, the Department of Design, and The Commons at the University of Kansas.

Blue Sky Days - Talk by Tomas van Houtryve
Thursday, October 6, 2016
6 pm-7pm
The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art
4525 Oak Street
Kansas City, Missouri 64111