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The world's thousands of varieties of cultivated apples originated in the wild fruit forests of the Tien Shan Mountains of eastern Kazakhstan and northern Kyrgyzstan. Although the current genetic makeup of Malus domestica, the apple found in markets around the globe, is complicated, there is general agreement that our apples' evolution began with M. sieversii, which constituted the bulk of the wild forests that stretched for more than a thousand kilometers north and south at low to middle elevations of the Tien Shan. The Twentieth Century has witnessed the decimation of this unique resource, sacrificed to create pasturage for livestock, cropland, orchards, land for housing including suburban development, and even firewood during World War Two. I have been fascinated by the story of the apple for almost forty years. I also like to eat them, especially varieties I haven't sampled before. I was determined to see the remaining forests before their decline was irreversible, and perhaps contribute something to the public awareness of the threat to this irreplaceable reservoir of astonishing genetic diversity, including in Kazakhstan itself. My talk will address these issues as well as giving a visual introduction to the forests themselves and their place in the landscape of Kazkahstan.Frank Gohlke has been Professor of Photography at the University of Arizona since 2007. His academic degrees were in English Literature (BA, University of Texas 1964 and MA, Yale 1966). He turned to photography in 1967 with the encouragement of Walker Evans. Since then he has exhibited nationally and internationally and has been the recipient of two Guggenheim Foundation Fellowships (1975 and 1984), two NEA grants, and other awards, most recently a Fulbright Scholar Research Fellowship in 2013-2014. His books include "Measure of Emptiness", Johns Hopkins, 1992, "Mount St. Helens", Museum of Modern Art, NYC, 2005, and "Accommodating Nature", Amon Carter Museum, 2007. FRANK GOHLKE,PROFESSOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY SCHOOL OF ARTUNIVERSITY OF ARIZONAMENAS Colloquium SeriesFriday, February 13, 20153pm in Marshall 490 Video of the talk Visit Professor Gohlke's website Click to return to main Colloquium page