Photographer Robert Adams on art and society

The 72-year-old photographer Robert Adams, famous as part of the New Topographics photography movement,  which recorded the impact humans have on the natural environment, has won the 2009 Hasselblad Foundation Award. A lot of Adams' work has focussed on the the spread of the American city into the wilderness. Adams took part in a webchat on behalf of the Hasselblad Foundation. Here's a short extract:

The 72-year-old photographer Robert Adams, famous as part of the New Topographics photography movement,  which recorded the impact humans have on the natural environment, has won the 2009 Hasselblad Foundation Award. A lot of Adams' work has focussed on the the spread of the American city into the wilderness. Adams took part in a webchat on behalf of the Hasselblad Foundation. Here's a short extract:

Questioner:What part does an artist play in society? Robert Adams: I recently tried to answer an inquiry like that from Belgian artists: First we have an obligation simply to be the citizens we want everyone to be - informed, engaged, reasonable, and compassionate. Then as artists we are called historically to a double mission, to instruct and delight, to tell the truth but also to find in it a basis for affirmation." Questioner: What do you think is the most serious threat facing the world? Robert Adams: Overpopulation. Its the fundamental, lethal accelerant for most environmental and social problems.

Photograph: On Signal Hill, Overlooking Long Beach, by Robert Adams 1983