I find it surprising that most people are still shocked when they find out that the world's most famous naturalist, John James Audobon, killed the wildlife he painted. Many people now villainize him for it, I think that vilanization shows a fascinating difference in the way we think about nature now and the way they thought about it a hundred years ago. We've become a destructive force, we're taught that our actions and our cavalier wastefulness has a direct effect on the delicate balance of nature, which is completely true. But during Audobon's time, nature was still considered the dangerous force. Nature was not seen as delicate, it was savage, something to be conquered, civilized, and then brought into the parlor as a trophy.
Walton Ford's work uses the imagery of naturalists and incorporates allegory, myth, and our contemporary view of nature.
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