The newest exhibit at the University Center Gallery, titled, "Testimony To Human Impact" is a very provocative exhibition with a jarring and powerful message. It is the second display in the space this semester by a professional artist. The artist, Nina Salvatore is an environmental evangelist, tempting viewers with the beauty of her works and then letting the works unravel their horrifying messages of pollution and human corruption. The exhibition, organized by Richard Vaux, director of Collections and Exhibitions at Adelphi is featured from February 25 to April 12 and should not be missed.

Salvatore and her husband reside in Vermont, which she claims to be the most environmentally conscious state. This is very important to her, as is obvious from the striking message in her works. However, she does not stuff environmental propaganda down the throat of her audience. Rather she engages her viewers with the ironic beauty of the filth that she captures in her works.

A large portion of Salvatore's exhibition is a series of photographs that she has taken over the last twenty years. The photographs begin as black and white snapshots of landscapes, buildings, and various other subjects. Each shot, however, has some obvious form of pollution, whether it is a smokestack, grafitti on a public wall, or raw sewage pouring out of an open sewage pipe. Salvatore collects these photos and sets them aside for a period of time so that the image of how she observed these views are not sharp in her memory. When she feels enough time has elapsed she picks them up again and paints color onto the photograph, not reproducing the landscape as it originally appeared but as it now appears within her. The process is much more personalized than a representational landscape created with the exactness of detail in mind. She claims the colors in the photographs are her perception of the truth in the scene. They are "true to my imagination but not true to life".

The reason for these inviting colors is that Salvatore is trying to coax the viewer with beauty. She understands that in order to intrigue people so that they will listen to her anti-pollution message there must be an element of beauty in her work. She knows that only showing the ugliness and filth will not create something of aesthetic appeal. Therefore, she strives to present the startling images of waste and pollution in a visually enchanting way. She concerns herself with the "struggle about what is horrible and what is beautiful." Her works cause a sense of discomfort for it is easy find these images beautiful, yet still understand the frightening repercussions.

One of the most vivid images that is impossible to ignore is her section entitled, "Poisonous Eminence." In this section a giant panoramic view of The Freshkill Landfill (in Staten Island, NY) is shown overpowering all other images. It stretches across the top portion of the wall, in a seemingly beautiful landscape. Salvatore hides the actual content of the subject and portrays a view that could easily be mistaken for a beautiful twilight landscape of rolling hills with a small creek winding through the foreground.

Yet, all these bright colors were painted onto the photograph, masking the true identity of this setting. The nearly too crisp and perfect colors entice the audience yet at the same time, the seemingly unnatural perfection raises one's guard and begs for deeper observation. It is as if Salvatore is hinting at what lies beneath the glossy surface.

Underneath this mesmerizing image is an equally large sheet of paper on the floor, with a list of shocking facts. According to Salvatore's statistics the United States produces 70% of the world's solid waste and on average a person from NYC produces four pounds of solid waste a day. These and many more statistics contrast strongly with the apparent beauty of Salvatore's landfill landscape.

Also inside this section is a long string of fax paper pinned to the walls by found nails, hooks, and wires. The paper spills out onto the ground in piles at both ends. Salvatore found various pieces of litter, placed them on the scanner bed of her computer and scanned in the objects. She then attached all the images and added in scanned photographs of litter and printed them out on fax paper in one long chain. This fits well in this section because the long strand of garbage exposes the materials that make up the interior of the landfill.

Surrounding Salvatore's exhibit is the endless noise to which urban people have grown accustomed. The soundtrack to the exhibit is composed of industrial noises with a musical pulse woven through it. She notes that every day we are "bombarded with it and don't even notice we are shouting" over the noise. It is possible to occasionally hear a voice shouting along with the overall noise. Remarkably, this works in three dimensions because the viewers in turn, are shouting over the exhibit's noise in order to hear each other speak Hopefully the viewers of Salvatore's display will stop shouting and begin to listen to the message of this fascinating exhibition.