The Age of Stupid starring Pete Postlethwaite is set in the post apocalyptic year of 2055. He is the only living human left, existing alone in a global archive containing all the worlds art works, pickled animals, films, books, and all of our scientific data. The world has been devastated by the effects of global warming and climate change, the state of which is a result of our actions today. All of this information is based on the scientific facts we have available to us currently, and is a true projection of what the earth will come to if we carry on with the life styles we are leading. The film poses the question “We could have saved ourselves, so why didn’t we?”
Using real news and documentary footage, the film follows the lives of 7 people and the events leading up to the predicted year of critical mass 2015. It shows us the characters contributions to the carbon foot print and the connections between all of them, whilst asking the viewer to reflect on their own.
The first of the individuals is an 82 year old Mont Blanc climbing guide Fernand, who has witnessed the melting of the mountains major glacier formations first hand, dropping by a staggering 150meters since 1945 to date. He says “People in the future will blame us for not thinking, we know how to profit but not to protect,” something I believe we should all think about. At this point the viewer is introduced to Piers and his family, a wind turbine engineer whom Fernand is guiding across the mountain. Piers and his family live in Cornwall England trying to live as a far as possible a self sustaining life style reducing each of their carbon emissions to 1 tonne a year as opposed to the British average of 10. He has campaigned for wind turbine sites only to fight opposition from residence, who “don’t want to spoil their view.” The process can take years and all the time put in goes against exactly what needs to be done; time doesn’t appear to be on our side. If 80% of the proposed sites went ahead without sabotage or opposition they would provide 10% of the Worlds energy!
Next the hurricane hero Alvin, a Shell Oil scientist helping the £400 a second company find new areas of oil. Alvin was a victim of hurricane Katrina the most intense weather system to hit New Orleans at the time, the severity of which was caused by higher levels of surface sea temperature. He went onto rescue over 100 local residences, who otherwise would have received no aid as forces needed for rescues were stationed in Iraq. This leads the viewer onto 2 other paths, One to Nigeria where Shell has made much of its profits, and to the war in Iraq, where the reason for American occupation is largely to do with its conquest for oil.
In Nigeria we meet Layefa, a 21 year woman old who has aspirations of becoming a doctor. She shows the viewer the extent of the exploitation caused by Shell, who promised to donate 13% of profits to the local economy. Out of the million barrels produced no money has been injected into the local economy. In Iraq Adnan and his Sister Jamila talk of their Fathers death as a result ofAmerica’s war over areas of oil. Adnan swears to kill any American he meets to avenge his father’s death.
The last of the characters is Jah, an entrepreneur who is starting an airline in India promising cheap flights (as low as 1 rupee.) He believes flying shouldn’t be an elitist activity and everyone in India should be able to afford to fly. This kind of activity can only be seen as progression, a theme the film picks up on as one of the main issues of our down fall, we always want more. Our greed for a richer life style means consumerism has dominated the world.
Postlethwaite’s character asked “why didn’t we save ourselves when we had the chance? We destroyed ourselves knowingly.” He answers with asking whether deep down as a race, were we unsure we were worth saving? The film doesn’t have the answers but certainly shows us the causes of our future demise. It’s a warning, if we don’t do something now then we are doomed, and it is certainly one of the clearest well presented, and informative warnings on climate change I have seen, and left me asking questions about my own lifestyle, what I can do, and can I enforce deeper realisation through my own practice?
Thursday, 4 February 2010
Weird Science a conflation of art and science, Cranbrook Art Museum 1999, Gregory Wittkopp, Irene Hofmann, Michelle Grabner, David Wilson, ISBN:0-9668
Weird Science is a collection of essays to coincide with an exhibition of the same title at Cranbrook art museum, seeing an amalgamation of art and science. Artists include Mark Dion, Gregory Green, Margaret Honda and Andrea Zittel. The text includes an introduction to the history of the school (the Art and Science institute) and the exhibition on show. There are articles on the Artists and the work presented, along with an interview conducted by Michelle Grabner with each, and also a brief look at the coming of early science and its relation to religion.
Mark Dion presents us with “wunderkammern (cabinets of wonder)"Wittkopp Gregory pg8 Weird Science a conflation of art and science, Cranbrook Art Museum 1999 filled with various zoology and packages identifying scientific methods, collected from the Cranbrook institute, and displayed them in the manner of a natural history museum with taxonomic identification. As well as the methodology of the physical collection and identification being intrinsic to the work (earlier similar works has seen this element as performance pieces); Dion also puts historical scientific practitioners responsible for the original collection on display, questioning their earlier motives and the way in which they conducted the preservation and identifications.
Less relevant to my own practice is the work of Gregory Green, which sees him constructing bombs, missiles and nuclear devises, capable of causing large amounts of damage, each only requiring explosive compounds or relevantly little modification to make them fully functioning devices. Worryingly (and being the narrative of the work), Green was able to acquire all the needed instructions from libraries, mail order companies and the internet. Critics questioned the morality of his work, back in 1999. With the occurrence of more current events such as 911 and the threat of global terrorism, I feel Greens work has induced a new perspective.
Margret Honda displays “Terrapin Carolina Carolina” which is the living quarters of her Terrapin, and where the art work takes on the physical daily recording of the life of the creature in question, in the form of drawings which are left on the floor around the terrarium. Part of the work involves meeting the changing environmental demands of the terrapin and the construction of suitable habitats. This clinical observation is a method of interest to me, and the effects of creating an environment with a stable ecology.
Finally Andrea Zittel showcases earlier works where she aims to breed out the inter reproduction humans imposed on bantam cocks, to create ideal domestic birds. She aims to breed with a cross selection of birds thus ending up with what she believes to be a closer specimen to the true breed. Zittel has also researched into doing work with dogs and so called pedigree breeds, again a process implemented by humans. Like Green, ethical questions have been raised as the work makes use of live animals.
The exhibition as a Whole holds great interest to me, and the literature is well executed creating good sense of the exhibition even though I have not seen it firsthand. Although not directly linked to the areas of nature I am researching, the methodology described holds great relevance.
The Times, Eureka Issue 3 December 2009, Science life the planet, “The suffocating sea” pg 18-23, Frank Pope
A step away from the usual articles on global warming and the melting of the ice caps, “The suffocating sea” gives a brief yet informative insight of the effects of climate change on our marine life and coral reef eco systems, an area which I am researching. The author has written a heartfelt piece not a scientific document, but the figures presented show he has clearly done his research. The reader is given basic facts on water chemistry including the maximum tolerable levels of PH and carbon dioxide reef systems can accommodate. Pope also informs us of the reefs imminent demise, and that at current rates of pollution the enormous variety of bio-diversity will be lost forever. There is also mention of coral bleaching and the expelling of zooxanthalle (but not in depth) the symbiotic algae residing in the corals tissue, the area I am currently targeting. One of the most interesting aspects of the article is an “Ocean Manifesto” a 5 step plan to save our oceans,something I have never witnessed before. Targets include setting up ocean reserves, tackling sea pollution and implementing further controls on fishing.
In conclusion this is a well researched and written document, giving just enough information for the general reader to comprehend the state of the current situation, hopefully making the public more aware of the value of our reefs both environmentally and economically.
In conclusion this is a well researched and written document, giving just enough information for the general reader to comprehend the state of the current situation, hopefully making the public more aware of the value of our reefs both environmentally and economically.
Burning Ice Art and Climate Change, Cape Farewell, Editors, David Buckland, Ali Mac lip, Sino Parkinson, 2006, ISBN: 0-9553109-0-3
Burning Ice is an account of the collaborative group Cape Farewell, lead by artist David Buckland, and their voyage to the high Arctic. The project aims to bring together artists, scientists, writers and musicians, in an attempt to bring the issue of global warming to public attention, using methods associated to their fields and practices.
The book includes texts, diary entries and images of the works created on the voyage, as well as a background on climate change, its effects on the polar ice caps, rising sea levels, and some basic oceanography. Artists include Antony Gormley, David Buckland, Rachel Whiteread, and Max Eastly amongst many others. This, and inputs from scientists and writers allows for a wide spectrum of work from sculpture, video, photography, sound and work which interacts with its immediate surroundings. The trip also aimed to create an experience which would be taken back with the practitioners and fuel further work.
The visual layout and information contained in the book are very good, although I’m not certain that the book fully relays the experience had by the participants of the voyage. Having met with members of the Cape Farewell team, I understand that this is one of their main aims. I believe this issue should be addressed, not only for the audience, but to justify such fuel costly excursions.
Since the release of Burning Ice, Cape Farewell has been on a number of expeditions including a major project to Peru and into the Amazon. The work that they are doing, and practitioners involved in the scheme makes them something of an authority in the cross over of art and climate change.
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Caulastrea
Acropora
montiporaThursday, 7 January 2010
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