All Rise...

Appellate Judge James A. Stewart's stick figures of the Yukon will be featured in the sixth season.

Editor's Note

Our review of Landscape As Muse: Season 4, published April 8th, 2010, is also available.

The Charge

"It's that space that you look out on that gives you space to think and to dream."—Fae Logie, artist

The Case

With its gentle, hypnotic music, and beautiful imagery of the sea, wildlife, and natural vistas, Landscape as Muse might be a relaxation video. However, there's more to the Canadian series than that: it's also an introduction to the artists who create in that beautiful landscape.

Landscape as Muse: Season 5 features six episodes, about 23 minutes each:

• "The Searcher: John Chalke"
The ceramic artist walks Saskatchewan's Frenchman River Valley. He makes his own clay and builds his own kilns.

• "Clayoquot Sound with Fae Logie"
The ephemeral artist who studied marine biology shows works including some wooden rails that will get washed away with the tide and a tent facade with equally fake birds' nest to symbolize vulnerability.

• "Lake Superior with Michael Belmore"
The artist's works include Ojibway stone sculptures and cast Lucite rapids. He works with copper on Lake Superior's shore.

• "The West Coast with Takao Tanabe"
The landscape painter has been at it for thirty-five years. He has tried abstract, but seascapes keep rolling in with the tide.

• "Bay of Fundy with Thaddeus Holownia"
The photographer captures the geography of Nova Scotia, including all angles of a barn. He also teaches kids about 35mm photography.

• "Athabasca Sand Dunes with Sandra Meigs"
The painter says she tells stories with her art, mixing the beautiful with the grotesque. The desert landscape of Saskatchewan's dunes is one of her favorites.

I like Landscape as Muse, but its dual purpose—as relaxation and as art education—has a drawback. When you get to something really interesting—Fae Logie's comments about how marine biology influences her art, for example—you'll want more detail and more of an overall picture of the artist's work. However, the show quickly gives way to the music and the shots of birds flying along the coastline. It's only an introduction to the artist, after all.

That said, the cinematography is excellent and the show does meet its twin goals surprisingly well for the most part. If you like the Visions series or other relaxing scenic programs and would like to learn a little bit about art (or just engage your brain a little, for that matter) while you're kicking back, Landscape as Muse is the way to go. If you're looking for an intensive study of art and nature's influence on artists, one of these volumes might be a good starting point.

The Verdict

Not guilty, if you'd like to think and dream along with the artists.

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