Biography
I am an art historian and curator whose practice engages with the history of photography, environmental toxicology, and the intersections of art and science. My projects and collaborations of late have focused on themes of environmental aesthetics, pollution, and public health in the late nineteenth century and the postwar decades. Where photography is concerned, I am particularly interested in how lens-based technologies continue to reshape how people perceive and interact with the natural world.
I earned a PhD in Art History from the University of Chicago in 2018. Prior to joining MAPH, I taught in art history and museum studies programs at the University of Chicago, Rhode Island School of Design, and Western Colorado University. I also have over fifteen years of experience working for fine art museums and cultural heritage institutions, including the Art Institute of Chicago, Yale University Art Gallery, the Smart Museum of Art, the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, the Wisconsin Historical Society, and Villa Albertine. I am also a co-editor of The Art Institute of Chicago Field Guide to Photography and Media (2023).
Upcoming Courses:
Photography and Political Ecology [Spring 2025]
This seminar explores the role of photographic imagery in the global environmental movement from the 1960s through the present. We will investigate the uses of photography in shaping, documenting, and disseminating narratives surrounding ecological crises, activism, and public policy. Through a survey of photographic works in a variety of formats and media, we will explore how visual culture has shaped ecological thought and international politics over the last half-century, starting with the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. Adopting an interdisciplinary human-centered framework, this course foregrounds questions of environmental justice, sustainability, and the impacts of colonialism on landscapes and communities, offering insight into the role of photographic media as a catalyst for societal change.