A Twenty-First Century Landscape

At the beginning of the 21st century, Illinois's rural heartland lies largely depopulated. A century ago farms spread abundantly across the countryside; they supported dynamic communities. In the second half of the 20th century, the farms were consolidated into vast monocropped fields; communities withered and died.

This photography exhibit, along with the accompanying lecture and documents, examine that transformation. It captures a vision of rural America: a groomed, industrial landscape, nearly devoid of human habitation. The rural lands of America's 21st century.