Trust the circle

Bwogger Zoe Metcalfe went to the second conversation in the third annual ‘framing’ series put on by Barnard College, the event covered a range of topics including art mediums and  the roles and responsibilities of artists. 

Monday night brought me across the street to the latest installment in a series of talks put on by the Barnard art history and visual arts departments. The lecture itself was actually a discussion, with a mix of professors, students, and artists sitting in an intimate circle. The conversation was facilitated by Lizzy De Vita BC ’08, and featured Finnish visual artistRiitta Ikonen and curator and sculptor Vanessa Thill BC’03.

Coming into the space, I was curious to see how they would connect art and climate, as they seemed like somewhat disparate topics topics to me. The take-away I got was about highlighting the relationship between the artist and the subject: in this case, nature. Ikonen shared how she got into art in the first place after not wanting to return home to the current black sands of Christmas in Finland, when in her youth it had been a white Christmas every year. That visceral disappointment inspired her to explore the way nature fits into our world today. Conversely, Thill focuses on the artificiality of human made substances, creating sculptures out of things like detergents and soaps, melting them together into a viscous substance, and watching them as they gain a life of their own. In those undulating currents, she sees weather patterns and clouds, tiny microcosms of nature trapped the very unnatural.

Another topic they touched on is the role of the artist in spreading the message of climate change. Coincidentally, this discussion matched perfectly with the start of the climate change unit in FroSci, and both lectures stressed the importance of thinking long-term. The goal of these artists is to create a longer dialogue with nature and climate, instead of the peaks and valleys that sensationalist news coverings can bring. Along with that comes the importance of striking the right balance between “didacticism and superficiality” as one audience member put it, or balancing the drier, informational side of a scientific topic with flashy, eye catching visuals that can sometimes lack meaning. One example that another audience member brought up in response was a piece by Olafur Eliasson on display in Paris during the climate talks in 2015. As countries discussed their roles in reducing man-made climate change, 12 blocks of ice imported from Greenland melted in a clock formation in the streets of Paris. That type of controversial and politicized art piece is what the talk hinted at as being influential in reinvigorating global conversations about climate issues, but has to make sure not to dip into a moralizing statement mandating action to an unwilling audience.

The students were a majority art students, and the discussion concluded on a tone of positivity and encouragement to those women on the brink of their own craft. Thill attempted to dismiss the sense of helplessness that can sometimes accompany topics as massive and global as climate change. The essence of her argument was to not be daunted into inaction. Not every work created by an artist has to be some massive endeavor to single-handedly change the flow of human movement. Instead, she encouraged the young artists in attendance to keep environmental issues in the back of the mind while at work, and letting some of that sentiment trickle down into the creation, taking each one a step at a time. That kind of thinking can apply to us as citizens of the world as a whole. If all we can do is to be more mindful of our consumption and cut back, that right there is our valuable contribution to the world’s efforts.

Another topic they touched on is the role of the artist in spreading the message of climate change. Coincidentally, this discussion matched perfectly with the start of the climate change unit in FroSci, and both lectures stressed the importance of thinking long-term. The goal of these artists is to create a longer dialogue with nature and climate, instead of the peaks and valleys that sensationalist news coverings can bring. Along with that comes the importance of striking the right balance between “didacticism and superficiality” as one audience member put it, or balancing the drier, informational side of a scientific topic with flashy, eye catching visuals that can sometimes lack meaning. One example that another audience member brought up in response was a piece by Olafur Eliasson on display in Paris during the climate talks in 2015. As countries discussed their roles in reducing man-made climate change, 12 blocks of ice imported from Greenland melted in a clock formation in the streets of Paris. That type of controversial and politicized art piece is what the talk hinted at as being influential in reinvigorating global conversations about climate issues, but has to make sure not to dip into a moralizing statement mandating action to an unwilling audience.