Art, Power, and Change

The Wonder Woman 11: Eye of the Storm exhibition at Lemmerman Gallery explores climate change and current environmental challenges. The exhibition is a result of a residency project that lasted over 2 months and consisted of nine female artists, whose goal is to "address the drastic changes in temperature, glacial melt, super storms, plastics pollution, and contaminated resources, from our local communities to as far away as the Arctic." The artists participated in weekly discussions, researched artists and activists to inspire the group, posted to the blog for the project, and critiqued each others work. This lead to a lot of overlapping ideas and concerns from each individual project.

Climate Altars (Yemaya)

The first work from the exhibition that I chose was Climate Altars (Yemaya) by Sharon Lee De La Cruz. This piece is made from acrylic and oil marker on a resin 3D print. In this piece, De La Cruz uses spiritual iconography and rituals in order to visualize climate data. Her goal is to deepen her connection to Earth and nature in a way that goes beyond data by reclaiming her indigenous and ancestral spiritual practices. From looking through the WW11 blog, I saw that De La Cruz created the height and length of the skirt of the figure by using global temperature stats. Based on this information, I feel like this piece is a commentary on how the temperature changes as a result of global warming has an effect on the sea level. The figure seems to be a mother nature-like entity, and the objects at the base of the sculpture might have been left there to show their appreciation for mother nature. However, the figure itself is not made out of any environmentally friendly materials. Resin is a type of plastic, and plastic is not a material that you would want in the ocean. While this piece is a commentary on the sea level changes and caring for the ocean in particular, it still exists in a political and capitalist structure. This piece is addressing socio-political subjects by showing that people need to have a better connection with Earth and mother nature in order to make a change in our environment. Climate change is a very political topic, but if people take a step back from technology and rebuild a connection with the Earth through spiritual means, we may find a way to make a change.
 

The Ark Project

 The second work that I chose was The Ark Project by Deborah Sperry. This piece is made from wood, paper, hardware, and rope. According to Sperry, this is an interactive social project. It asks the viewer write down something they value and would like to see saved. Then the viewer inserts their message somewhere in the outer shell of the ark. Once they have done so, they are to take a seed ball and plant it somewhere. This can also be done online. The outer shell of the ark is made of pages from the IPCC Fifth Assessment, which presents conclusions for climate change in terms of the likelihood of particular outcomes. The IPCC evaluates the risk of human-caused climate change and expresses outcomes on a range from virtually certain to exceptionally unlikely. The Ark Project is essentially an act of hope and activism for the people who contribute to it in person and online. The opinions on the slips of paper inserted into the ark will be submitted to the EPA as a voice recording and become a public record. This project plays off the story of Noah's Ark, where the animals were paired off and put of the ark to be saved from the flood. Instead of animals though, this ark is meant for anything that the viewer wants to save. This project is addressing socio-political subjects through its purpose and its materials. The purpose of this projects is for the viewers to give their suggestions for what they want to see saved to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The information in the reports that make up the outer shell of the ark, using data about human-caused climate changed, never really reaches the public. This means that the public does not really know the amount of damage they have caused to the environment.

UnderGround

The third work that I chose from the exhibit is UnderGround by Linda Streicher. This piece is acrylic on canvas and mixed media. With this piece, Streicher aims to highlight the importance of the ground as the foundation for everything that happens above it. We are dependent on the earth for so many things. This piece also brings to light what happens underground. Through this painting, Streicher brings the viewer underground to show the water well system of her New Jersey home. The layers of the Earth below the surface provide a water system that so many forms of life rely on to survive. This painting asks the viewers to question what would happen to our resources underground if we continue to mistreat and abuse what lies above ground. This piece is addressing socio-political subjects through the message that it is trying to portray to the viewers. To touch on The Ark Project, humans do not realize how much damage they are causing to the Earth because that information never really reaches the public. People do not realize that their mistreatment of the Earth affects one of our most precious resources: water. Next to the description of this work in the gallery, there is also a list of everything that ends up contaminating water. As a result of humans not taking care of the  environment, clean water is not something that we can get straight from underground. There are so many different elements and toxins that are in the water that flows underground. Though there is not much we can do to fix it as the damage is already done, we need to realize that environmental changes above ground are also affecting what is underground.

Water Wisdom Miracle Workers

State of the DysUnion

Joyce Yu-Jean Lee's "State of the DysUnion" show in The Visual Arts Gallery addresses political issues like WW11. Her exhibition was inspired by an artist residency in China and the country's government censorship. The main piece is a three-channel multimedia installation that plays on a cylindrical screen that is suspended from the ceiling. The video centers around the theme of "Fake news" and shows headlines and front pages from Hillary Clinton's nomination, Trump's election, and the first Women's March. Rather than push a strong political message, Lee opted to make the video more abstract. She also did not want to create a negative mood, which is something that politics has been throughout the first year of Trump's presidency at least. With this installation, Lee wanted to combat, resist, and counter the negativity in the media, but not contribute to it. She also wanted the video to feel slightly toxic and uneasy, but at the same time mesmerizing, which also is an appropriate metaphor for the news and the world today.

Uneasy Piece: Mr. Technology is Your Friend

Both exhibitions focused on political art, and I feel like they took a similar approach to discussing their messages. In both the WW11 exhibit and State of the DysUnion, the artists demonstrate their political message in a way that is not negative or forceful. Although the mood presented in the exhibitions are different, there is still an immersive feel. For the WW11 exhibit, it was the take aways such as the seeds and the magnolia trees that the viewers were able to take home to plant. For Lee's exhibit, it was the immersive feeling of the 360 degree video screen. The viewers of both exhibits were able to take away the important political message without if feeling like it was being forced onto them as they were able to interact with the artwork.