Michael Zwack (1949–2017, American) was among The Pictures Generation artists who in the 1970s and early 1980s critiqued the construct of popular images. Zwack deeply regarded photography’s impact on the way we view the world as well as its ability to stand as a relic of time. He visualized phenomenal worlds that encourage a contemplative, almost spiritual relationship to images. Last View of the Temple exemplifies his approach to landscape painting that incorporates ancient histories and symbols. Zwack has said, “I want to seduce people into worlds that they may not ordinarily take themselves—into a world of morality, a world of humanity, where everything reverberates with potential meanings; a place where everything is alive, a place where it is difficult to deny reality.”
–Affinities and Outliers: Highlights from the University at Albany Fine Art Collections