On Landscapes

A philosophical guide to landscape, which examines the ways it can affect our emotions, our imaginations and our understanding of the passage of time.

There is no escaping landscape: it's everywhere and part of everyone'slife. Landscapes have received much less attention in aesthetics than those arts we can choose to ignore, such as painting or music– but they can tell us a lot about the ethical and aesthetic values of the societies that produce them. Drawing onexamples from a wide range of landscapes from around the world and throughout history, Susan Herrington considers the ways landscapes can affect our emotions, our imaginations, and our understanding of the passage of time. On Landscapes reveals the design work involved in even the most naturalistic of landscapes, and the ways in which contemporary landscapes are turning the challenges of the industrial past into opportunities for the future. Inviting us to thoughtfully see and experience the landscapes that we encounter in our daily lives, On Landscapes demonstrates that art is all around us.

Introduction. Who Designs Landscapes? What Can Landscapes Represent? Are Landscapes Natural? Memory and Emotion. Instrumental Imagination. Aesthetic Experience

Susan Herrington is an Associate Professor of landscape architecture and environmental design at the University of British Columbia. She is also a licensed landscape architect in the United States.