Viewfinder: Nature's Tragic Wonder on Display at McCord

To the artist, humanity's view of Earth is ironic, albeit pragmatic, much like the planet itself. We cull the land in one corner, preserve it in another—ever conscious of its beauty while consuming more and more.

Forget politics for a moment. If there's one lesson to be learned from the nuclear crisis in Japan or the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina it's that we seldom notice the natural world until it reaches out at us.

"," the latest exhibit at the in Palos Park, offers visual evidence of the dichotomy of this indifferent and sublime world. Or as photographer Craig Adams, whose work is on display, has put it, "The Earth has many moods..." Kristine O'Reilly, another featured artist, was on hand Monday to complete that thought: "It will be what it wants to be, and it will do what it wants to do."

Stare all you want, in other words, because it's staring right back at you, and around you and beyond you.

The exhibit is open and runs until May 7. A public reception will be held Friday, April 15 at 6 p.m. For more information visit the McCord Web site or call 708-671-0648.