Introductory Post

Art History Online-Final Exam

Gallery Name: Ayuda

Location: Yucaipa, California 

Manager: Gladys Espinoza
Type of work shown: There is no specific style of art that I show. My gallery's focus is to show artwork that promotes a human issue whether it be global warming, human trafficking, war, or abuse. My gallery's name is Ayuda (which in Spanish means help). My hope is that the artwork shown here would ignite indignation in people and make them want to do something to help people (or the planet) that are suffering.

Exhbition Intoduction

My exhibition's name: Global Warming Causes and Effects 

Artists in the exhibition: Chris Jordan, Bonnie Meltzer, Veronique Le Merre, Joseph Mallord William Turner, Mario Sanchez Nevado, Michael Freedman, Zaria Forman, Nathalie Chavieve, Paul Cumes, and Marie Wise.

Exhibition Statement:  My show is about global warming (I use climate change interchangeably) it causes and effects. My show focuses on the  human factors have caused global warming and why explains why they are contributing to global warming. My show also shows the horrendous effects global warming can have and the beautiful landscapes we can lose (like glaciers). My show is to make anyone who looks at it think- think about their inaction, their indifference, their contribution to global warming. The Majority of Scientists state the global warming is occurring and that there are some changes that can be stopped but others that can. Will you be part of the group that attempts to save the planet?

I did much research and wanted to find all types of artworks that showed what was causing global warming (like coal and our consumerist culture) and luckily I was able to find Chris Jordan's and Bonnie Meltzer's work. I then wanted to find artworks that showed what we risk losing because of global warming that is glaciers, trees, cities and marine animals so I then showed for artists whose focus was the previously states. I then found an artists (Paul Cumes) whose artwork emits a sense of fear of global warming-hopefully a wake up call to much. I then end with an artwork that shows how one of the many things we have to do to halt global warming.

      

Plastic Bottles

Partial zoom:

Detail at actual size:

 

Artist: Chris Jordan

Title:  Plastic Bottles

Media: Photograph manipulation

Dimensions:  60" X 120"
Date: 2007

Chris Jordan is a photographer from Seattle. As stated by the Washington Speakers Bureau Website Chris Jordan's work tends to focus on American consumerism culture. His work has been featured in many magazine and websites and he has spoken at many colleges and universities. He also stated with an interview with PBS that "I might be an artist, but I also might be an activist. And I'm trying to be both in a way that honors both and doesn't stray too far into either." 

Kimberley Mok from the website Tree Hugger states that with his photography and digital manipulation skills, Chris's artworks, like Plastic Bottles shows a  "'slow-motion apocalypse' inflicted on the planet by the unbridled consumerism of a disposable society. Each of his pieces compels the second thought that many usually never give." She also states that Chris Jordan does a great job showing that each person's action does add up. As Mok states, Plastic bottles shows "two million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every five minutes." 

The Huffington Post states that  bottles break down into smaller fragments and then "those fragments absorb toxins that pollute our waterways, contaminate our soil, and sicken animals (which we then eat).  Also posted on the Huffington post was the statement that "The Earth Policy Institute factors the energy used to pump, process, transport and refrigerate our bottled water as over 50 million barrels of oil every year."

As many people know oil, gas, and coal companies are big contributors to the green house gas emissions that are heating up our environment. However; all the blame of the global warming should not be put on the companies-our consumerists culture is a big factor in global warming. We need oil, gas, and coal companies to produce vast, cheap amounts of energy so the manufacturing of our, many times unnecessary products, can be made. We as consumers tend not to think that we are hurting the Earth by doing something so little as not recycling. But as previously stated by the Huffington post, millions of barrels are used just to make bottles and with that tons of greenhouse gases were emitted-it's just going to get hotter. Many people don't feel the need to advocate for the decrease of energy coming from  of oil, gas, and coal companies...but is it so hard  to recycle and feel at least a bit at peace with the Earth?

http://www.monoscope.com/2007/08/chris_jordan_plastic_bottles_2.html

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/08072009/transcript3.html

http://www.treehugger.com/culture/top-5-environmental-artists-shaking-up-the-art-world/page2.html

3 Down 3 to Go

Artist: Bonnie Meltzer

Title:  3 Down, 3 To Go

Media: installation; found objects, paint, collage, fabric, beads, glitter, crocheted wire
Dimensions:  variable configurations and sizes, painting 46" diameter
Date: 2012

Bonnie Meltzer states on her website that she "lives with her husband in Portland, Oregon in a cottage with an outbuilding studio in the yard.  Both are surrounded by an enormous organic vegetable garden." Bonnie also states that she fell in love joining multiple objects, such as computer parts and wires, many years ago while in a surplus store. Bonnie's artworks often include subjects such as "global warming, elections, economics, and land use."

Bonnie Meltzer states on her website that she made the installation to "reflect the withdrawal of 3 coal port proposals which eliminated some train routes depicted."

I chose this artwork to be part of my exhibition because it shows that coal not only is hurtful to the environment, but it can disrupt current human lifestyle (as shown here, three train routes where going to be removed so coal ports could be installed." The coal companies are huge emitters of greenhouse gases (gases warming up our atmosphere) so there should be less coal ports around this world. I think this installation shows how toxic, unhealthy, and damaging coal can be.  The circular paintings shows the land with the train routes but the outer edge of the painting is black probably to symbolize how the land would look if coal port was installed. The hanging coal pieces also begs the question, do people want black, rock material in their backyard. The coal industry hurts our land, our atmosphere and will eventually hurt future generations living condition. My hope is that this installation will make people want to advocate, or thinking about less coal mining in our world..  

http://www.bonniemeltzer.com/

The Great Thirst

Artist: Veronique Le Merre

Title: The Great Thirst 

Media:  oil and pastels on canvas

Dimensions: 36 "x 48" 

Date: 2011

Veronique Le Merre doesn't state much in her about me on her website or on the Fine Art America website. All I know about Veronique Le Merre is that "she was born and raised in France...[and] received an education in art history at Sorbonne University, in Paris."

She states that she had the idea of painting The Great Thirst after a trip to Guatemala where a whole abandoned city had been swallowed up as a jungle.  Veronique Le Merre asks the question "so what if we are gone?"

I chose to use The Great Thirst as part of my exhibition because of the symbolism I interpret from the painting. A recent study showed that most of the emission of greenhouse gases (the ones contributing to the increase of temperature) come from oil, gas, and coal companies. If we don't stop polluting our planet it might become inhabitable and so we might perish. The inanimate objects would stay-such as the gas pumps. I hope this painting serves as a wake up call to everyone who does not take climate change serious. This painting brings up many questions for discussion. Will future generations have to pay the price for our inaction and live in a few restricted areas? How fast would the planet recover without us? can we live harmonious with the planet again? Can we stop gas, oil, and coal companies from ruining our planet? These are all questions I would hope this painting would place in people's heads. 

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-great-thirst-veronique-le-merre.html

The Lake, Petworth: Sunset, Fighting Bucks

Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner 

Title: The Lake, Petworth: Sunset, Fighting Bucks

Media:  Oil paint on canvas

Dimensions: 620 x 1460 mm 

Date: 1829

According to the website Biography, Joseph Mallord William Turner was born on 1775 in London. Since he was a sickly child he was sent to live with his uncles during his childhood but luckily that is where Turner started his artistic career painting landscapes. He was educated at the Royal Academy of England. At first his paintings were realistic but as he aged his artworks became more romantic and poetic so he is often "regarded as a predecessor of impressionism." 

I included this painting because according to the Huffington post it was used by scientists to predict how "man-made aerosols will affect climate change today."Using artwork to help scientists predict our future is something that I had never heard of before! Art is already used to help promote the causes and effects of global warming and now it can add to it's list a data for climate change scientists.

What scientists were analyzing from the artworks were the amounts of aerosols depicted. Ashes from a volcanic eruption or desert dust can "become suspended in the atmosphere." The particles that become suspended in the atmosphere are called aerosols and the presence of air pollutants can cause the sky to appear reddish and cause "less sunlight [to] reach the surface of the earth -- which can lead to cooler weather." Scientists noted that three years after the eruption of the volcano  Tambora, in Indonesia, painters such as Turner painted redder skies for up to three years. Scientists also stated that their analysis of paintings noted an increase of aerosols over the past 100 years. 
The Earth's atmosphere is becoming more polluted as years go on which is contributing to global warming-if you don't believe the research than look at the artwork.

http://www.biography.com/people/jmw-turner-40806 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/26/secrets-earth-climate-famous-paintings_n_5021573.html
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-the-lake-petworth-sunset-fighting-bucks-t03883

Betrayal

Artist: Mario Sanchez Nevado

Title: Betrayal

Media: Mixed Media; photo-manipulation 

Dimensions: 5000 x 5000 px @ 600dpi.

Date: 2012

Mario Sanchez Nevado was born in Barcelona Spain and currently resides in Spain's capital, Madrid. Mario states on his profile on Behance website that has over 10 years worth of experience illustrating for music bands and publishers. Mario also makes Photoshop tutorials for the Envato Network in Australia and he is the director of "international artistic collective Hysterical Mind" in Spain.

Mario's artistic statement about Betrayal on the website Deviant Art is quite short; he states "A take on civilization. This is what we did. No need to explain further...right."

Mixed Media didn't exist that long ago and it is absolutely amazing what artists can create with the help of technology. I had to include a few digital media medium in my exhibition because digital medium is becoming increasingly popular in this time period. Betrayal is a beautiful art piece that just made me want to sit and analyze it for a while. One of the things I really liked about this photo-manipulation is that if you just look at the left side the picture is colorful, warm, and gives off a good vibe, but looking at the entire picture gives you an entirely complete message. Just like Mario stated we (people) are killing our planet with our pollution that we are emitting. this photo-manipulation shows that by the illustration of a flaming human hand pulling the gun (emitting tons of pollution) to Earth which is killing her (I really like that the water fall appears to be tears).

http://www.behance.net/Aegis_Strife
http://aegis-strife.deviantart.com/art/Betrayal-332682048 

Burning Earth

Artist: Michael Freedman 

Title: Burning Earth

Media:  Acrylic, mixed media, collage, foil, scorching 

Dimensions: 106 cm x 96 cm

Date: 2013 


Michael Freedman was born in 1942. On his website he states that he "had never painted or drawn" until he retired and took some lessons from "Gavin Maughfling, an inspirational artist and tutor at Putney School of Art and Design." Michael then went on two earn his fine arts degree. Before Michael's retirement, he enjoyed an international business career and was able to visit over 60 countries throughout his life. 
Burning Earth was made by Michael Freedman so he could express that "his awareness that we cannot live much longer ignoring decisive action on the environment." He also states on his website that he is "angry that everywhere is evidence of man-made climate change, pollution, resource exploitation and pesticide poisoning mostly in the quest for super profits." Michael Freedman uses a variety of media like in Burning Earth to get his audience to think critically about  the damage that is being caused to the environment.  


I included Burning Earth as part of my exhibition because it shows the harm global warming can have on forests in a way that makes you wonder more about the trees (this art is more abstract). Abstract art like Michael's is a good way to make people start thinking critically about a variety of issues. Burning fire ppears to be a piece of wood remnant of a once grandous tree. The sides are black showing the effects the fire had on the wood and on the middle there is a red that appears as though a flame. Burning Earth shows the relationship between global warming and forest fires. 

Astated by an article by the University of Arizona, as temperatures increase there will be an increase in forest fires. Trees are important because they provide us with oxygen and also "consume" part of the carbon dioxide that remains in our environment. More forest fires will lead to more release of carbon dioxide (because the trees will release the CO2 they had consumed) when they are burning; thus creating a positive feedback cycle with greenhouses gases (like CO2)  greenhouse gases make the Earth hotter which increases the amount of forest fires, which releases more CO2 and so the cycle continues. 

http://www.michaelfreedman.co.uk/portfolios/self-destruct-mans-devastation-of-his-environment/

Greenland #52

Artist: Zaria Forman

Title: Greenland #52

Media:  Soft pastel on paper

Dimensions: 45” x 60”

Date: 2012  

Zaria Forman’s mother was a fine art photographer of landscapes and Zaria would accompany her mother to remote landscapes and that is how Zaria’s love for landscapes began. Zaria had formal training at Skidmore College. She states on her website that “Ten of my drawings were also used in the set design for House of Cards.”  

In August of 2012, Zaria led an expedition to Greenland to document the effects climate change has had on icebergs. Zaria stated on Bored Panda magazine that her drawing of icebergs will “ bring awareness, and invite viewers to share the urgency in a hopeful and meaningful way. Art can facilitate a deeper understanding of any crisis, helping us find meaning and optimism in shifting landscapes.”

When I first found Greenland #52 I thought it was a photograph-I was utterly shocked to find out that what I was looking at was a drawing and not a photograph of an Iceberg. One of the reasons I decided to display this photo in my exhibition is because I wanted people to see the magic artists can do (like making a drawing appear like a photograph).  Although I have only seen photographs and drawings of icebergs they are one of my favorite landscapes to look at because each iceberg differs in shape,size, and texture which just fascinates me. NASA states that icebergs are formed when they are “calved” from a glacier. Once the Icebergs melt it releases the freshwater stored and contributes to rising ocean levels. It's sad how an increase of such a beautiful site, such as those of icebergs, may lead to catastrophic events. 

http://www.boredpanda.com/hyper-realistic-pastel-iceberg-drawings-greenland-zaria-forman/

http://www.zariaforman.com/#!greenland/c2067

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/PolarIce/polar_ice2.php 

The Fisherman's Nightmare

Artist: Nathalie Chavieve

Title: The Fisherman's Nightmare

Media:  Oil on Canvas

Dimensions: 50 X 60 cm

Date: 2012

Nathalie Chavieve was born on December 19, 1970. She states on her website that her love of art started at the age of four when her grandfather taught her how to draw with crayons. She also states that her “ultimate aim is to fill up each of my paintings with very deep philosophical statement, great thoughts, secrets and symbols to be revealed by the viewer.”

On Fine Art America Nathalie states that she is a lover of nature and animals and so she is worried about climate change. Nathalie stated that The Fisherman’s Nightmare is a representation of part of  her thought on climate change. She states that The Fisherman’s Nightmare “is her little contribution to the process of the saving of our planet.”

I chose to display The Fisherman’s Nightmare in my exhibition because it shows (in a surrealism form) the effects of global warming. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has stated that global warming could lead to an increase of ocean temperatures which can affect much of the marine habitat that is not able to adapt-this is precisely what The Fisherman's Nightmare symbolizes. The Fisherman’s Nightmare shows a fisherman on a dried up ocean with dead fish and in the distance buildings emitting gases that contributed to the death of the ocean. To me the dried up ocean symbolizes an increase in ocean temperature which will lead to  many marine animal deaths. I find surrealist paintings quite interesting because of the symbol interpretation and I hope my viewers will too. 

http://www.nathaliechavieve.com/surrealism3.html
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-fishermans-nightmare-nathalie-chavieve.html
IPCC, 2007: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, M.L. Parry, O.F. Canziani, 

 

Global Warming

Artist: Paul Cumes
Title: Global warming
Media:  Mixed Media
Dimensions: 72" X 54"
Date: 2001  

Paul Cumes was born in South Africa in 1973. According to his twitter account he alternates on living in Santa Barba and New England. According to his YouTube channel he believes “in freedom in art. I bring life and energy into what I paint.”

On the site Coast to Coast Paul stated that Global warming is about the “effects of global warming on our coastlines. It shows large storm generated waves in succession coming into an already disheveled coastal community, causing erosion and bringing destruction to homes in a symbolic end to our shoreline habitations and communities.” Paul made Global warming after reading articles in which Scientists hypothesized that one of global warming’s effects would be raising sea levels and with that the inundation of coastal cities.

Global warming gave me chills when I first saw it. The waves look unstoppable and like they would destroy more than just coastal cities-the waves sent fear down my spine.  I then noted that Paul Cumes made the sky appear to have multiple suns that made the sky appear as if it were on flames which is a great way to symbolize the increase of temperature global warming will cause. I chose this painting to be part of my exhibition because it sent chills through my spine and I hope it does the same to other people. Global warming will not cause there to be enormous tsunami like waves (at least I haven’t read any articles that have stated so). Reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have stated that there will be an increase in water level which will lead to inundation and increase temperatures that will effect crop development. Global warming does an excellent job showing the horrendous effects global warming can have while emitting fear down one’s spine which I would hope would make people research about global warming and take action. 

http://www.veritas.at/sbo/ebook/px/31239/files/assets/basic-html/page21.html
https://www.youtube.com/user/paulcumes/about
https://twitter.com/paulcumes  

IPCC, 2007: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, M.L. Parry, O.F. Canziani,

Sunset Wind

Artist: Marie Wise
Title: Sunset Wind
Media:  Oil on panel
Dimensions: 5" X 7"
Date: 2008  

Marie lives in Kalama, Washington.  She is an artists as well as a public relationship professional.  Her interests include “Oil paintings in the old masters style, blogging about life as an artist.”

Artist Marie Wise states on her blog that she painted Sunset Wind from a photograph that she took in Washington. She loves bright colors and wanted the shape of the clouds to match the turbine so she painted everything “loose and brushy”.  She states that the painting being such a small size probably added to her enjoyment of drawing a wind turbine.

Marie Wise doesn't state that she painted Sunset Wind in relation to climate change but her stating that she enjoyed drawing the wind turbine and the sunset is what made me select her artwork.  My previous posts have all been about what has caused global warming and the dangers of global warming which is why I thought I would end my exhibition with a painting that emits hope. We can take action to stop global warming and one of the things we can do is invest in renewable energies that release no greenhouse gases (the gases causing the Earth to heat up) such as wind turbines. According to the Climate Accountability Institute, since 1751, sixty-three percent of the greenhouse gases have been emitted by ninety companies; the majority of the companies are in the oil, gas, and coal (Goldenberg). There are no artworks that (I have seen) show such a  beautiful colorful sunset with a coal mine or oil pump and I doubt an artist would say that she enjoyed drawing and oil pump and a  sunset .  I think Artists like Marie can draw such a beautiful sunset and a wind turbine at center because the wind turbine and the sunset are harmonious with each other-neither one is effecting the other. People can still see beautiful sunsets, like Marie Wise drew, and live in a hospitable place with wind turbines…but how much longer can we with oil, gas, and coal industries? 

http://mariesartjourney.blogspot.com/2008/06/sunset-wind.html

Goldenberg, Suzanne. "Just 90 Companies Caused Two-thirds of Man-made Global Warming Emissions." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 21 Nov. 2013. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/20/90-companies-man-made-global-warming-emissions-climate-change>. 

Conclusion

      Organizing an exhibition of works by various artists took much more effort than I expected. I had to dedicate a whole day to just research about artists  because I had to make sure that the artworks  went with my theme, had all the labeling information required, and the artist’s statement. Finding a variety of artworks that connected to one theme came naturally to me-probably because I am a big advocate on the need to take action to stop global warming. The artists I chose for my exhibition perceive global warming differently and I think that is what makes an exhibition successful. I think it is best to have different takes on one theme because it will help get your message better across. For example, some artworks may resonate to a certain group of people while other artworks will not resonate with the same group of people. I found it extremely challenging to find artworks that fulfilled all the requirements so I can post it; at one point I considered switching themes because I was not finding everything I needed about the artwork. For example,  I  wanted to use 1 or 2 more photographs in the exhibition that showed the environmental impacts of global warming (such as two boys drawing on dry, cracked land) but I could not find everything I needed to use the photograph.  

      The selection process must be even harder for those that organize actual exhibitions because not only would they have to research about artworks that go with the theme of the exhibition, but they would have to talk to the artist, invite the artists to attend, make sure the artists comes up with an artistic statement, organize when the artwork will arrive. Next time I go to an art gallery or art museum, I will make sure to praise the curator and any other member of the gallery and art museum for their hard work because I was somewhat stressed in the process of finding ten artworks!