Art Week, part 4

The Lux Center for the Arts hosted my contribution to the Climate Crisis Coalition's "Global Day of Climate Action." Although only some of the events have been listed for the USA, you can map a handful of the US events here. This is the only event in Nebraska that I know of.

This is an update to the installation I did for the CCC last year as the Kyoto Protocol was set to expire. On December 6th (the 2008 Global Day of Climate Action), writers, artists, musicians, performers and activists will be holding events all over the world. The CCC has stated there will be hundreds of thousands of people in 92 other countries around the world participating in the global event.

Of course, the US was one of the few countries that did not sign on to the Kyoto Protocol because Bush refused to do so.

The quote is created with letters cast from red ice and placed on a bed of ice. The quote will melt over the span of a few days. In case it is too hard to read online, here is the text:

Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air, ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow, ice and rising global sea levels.

2007 Climate Change Report / Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Since Bush is soon leaving office, however, and since he refused to sign the protocol, I decided to add him to the piece with a portrait created with ice and soil. Now a lame duck, this portrait will fade away as his presidency does. As he melts, his portrait will turn to mud.



It is really hard to draw with cups of soil and handfuls of ice. The portrait looks more like Kucinich that Bush, but oh, well.

I shot some video and I will try and post some of that soon. The video projection shows a rectangle of flames blazing over the ice. It looked better after the sun set. These images were taken while there was still some light out.

Special thanks to Stephanie Leach at the Lux Center for inviting me and helping cast the letters, and to Maranda Allbritten, Conner McKissack and Allie Feezell who helped me arrange the quote.

Also thanks to Ezra Small at the Climate Crisis Coalition.

44 days