Whispers in a Crowded Room by Buck Christensen

April 12 through May 27, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.open until 8 p.m. on May 6, 13, 14, 20, 21, and 27 On the gallery walls in the visitor and education center
Included with paid admission or garden membership. $15 + tax, $9 + tax for ages 3-12, and free for ages 2 and under.
The photographs in this series of botanical portraits are inspired partly by the scientific tradition of botanical illustration, whose usual purpose is to provide a detailed depiction of individual species for identification, documentation, and discussion. Using a similar minimalist aesthetic as a framework, my artistic goal is to explore and highlight the amazing architecture that comprises natural botanical design and that often goes unnoticed by the naked eye, particularly the structures, patterns, colors, and textures during all phases of the plant’s lifecycle. I also enjoy exploring mood and expression brought about by subtle variations in posture, angle, light, and shadow. My advocacy goal is to help conservation efforts by creating public awareness and empathy for plants of all types. Many of the botanical subjects in my photographs are wildflowers collected in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area and surrounding prairies.
About the ArtistBuck Christensen is a photographer, writer, editor, fogchaser, and flower whisperer in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he resides with his wife, Teri, and daughter, Gavin. Christensen’s current photographic interests include Midwest landscapes, floral portraits, light painting, and oil drops. His ongoing Boy Scout Island (Lake Manawa) series of photographs was documented by the PBS series Iowa Outdoors in 2017 and featured in Outdoor Photographer magazine in 2018. His prints have been displayed at various galleries and exhibitions since 2010, including a solo exhibition of minimalistic floral portraits at Lauritzen Gardens in 2014; a solo exhibition entitled Vanishing at Everything Electric Gallery in 2016; Breakfast With Shiva, an exhibition of photographs depicting the smoldering remnants of a riverfront wildfire in 2019; and Midwest Gothic, an exhibition of his photographs paired with microfiction by the filmmaker Kate Brewer in 2020, among many others. His photograph “Exit Wounds” was chosen for inclusion in the 2019 Nebraska Artist Biennial. His photograph “Hollowkeeper” was chosen for inclusion in the 2022 Regional Biennial and was recognized as an honorable mention. He is currently a studio artist at the Hoff Center in Council Bluffs.