Climate change has certainly emerged as a strong contender for the top spot on a list of contemporary crises. You've probably received those questionnaires sent out by political parties, asking you to rate topics of concern according to which you think needs the most attention. Issues including climate change, overpopulation, water purity, nuclear disarmament, human trafficking, child abuse, food safety, the economy, human rights, freedom of expression, etc., are
all very important and in need of our immediate attention. For many artists, these issues influence, inspire, or are reflected in our work.
EARTH/BRAIN EVENTS, my own recent series of twelve small collaged
"Lamentations",
addresses the physical and psychological distress from climate change's extreme weather:
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| Oil Spill Lamentation, ©Joy Kreves, 8 1/2" X 8 1/2" |
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| Fury, ©Joy Kreves, 8 1/2" X 8 1/2" |
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| Flood Lamentation, ©Joy Kreves, 8 1/2" X 8 1/2" |
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| Hurry! (Evacuate), ©Joy Kreves, 8 1/2" X 8 1/2" |
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| HOT, ©Joy Kreves, 8 1/2" X 8 1/2" |
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| Arctic Melt Lamentation, ©Joy Kreves, 8 1/2" X 8 1/2" |
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| Washed Away Lamentation, ©Joy Kreves, 8 1/2" X 8 1/2" |
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| Survival Instincts, ©Joy Kreves, 8 1/2" X 8 1/2" |
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| Desert Brain, ©Joy Kreves, 8 1/2" X 8 1/2" |
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| Ocean Cry, ©Joy Kreves, 8 1/2" X 8 1/2" |
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| Green Submergence, ©Joy Kreves, 8 1/2" X 8 1/2" |
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| Forgotten, ©Joy Kreves, 8 1/2" X 8 1/2" |
Another kind of crisis you may not have given much thought to is
the lack of silence. Now this does not mean a lack of
sound, and certainly not a lack of
noise. Silence is something else.
In
ONE SQUARE INCH OF SILENCE, Gordon Hempton writes, "Today silence has become an endangered species. Our cities, our suburbs, our farm communities, even our most expansive and remote national parks are not free from human noise intrusions. We've reached a time in human history when our global environmental crisis requires that we make permanent life-style changes. More than ever before, we need to fall back in love with the land. Silence is our meeting place." He states, "Our typical anti-noise strategies - earplugs, noise cancellation headphones, even noise abatement laws - offer no real solution because they do nothing to help us reconnect and listen to the land. And the land is speaking." Hempton has recorded a variety of examples of
what we can hear when there is only the land speaking, with no
noise. What does this have to do with visual art? Plenty!
In my own artwork I decided somewhere along the line not to pursue the narrow purity of minimalism's "less is more," and "it's all space and light" (
in spite of my love for Robert Ryman's white on white paintings). For me, a busier visual palette is a more realistic reflection of our times. But Hempton's ideas have gotten me re-evaluating my own attitudes again. Where this will lead I do not know. I have a tendency to throw an awful lot at the viewer, who may not be up to being
still enough to sort all those visual stimuli out in a meaningful way. Is it really my job to sort it all for them? I don't want to feel that I am "dumbing it down" for anyone. Would my ideas be better emphasized against a backdrop of visual silence? What would
my increased visual silence look like? Stay tuned...
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| Monet Pink Dogwood Platter, ©Joy Kreves, ceramic |
For a complete artistic non sequitur, consider the DANIELS CLAY WORKS 4-person show, in which I'll exhibit my best functional ceramic wares like this
Monet Pink Dogwood Platter, opening January 26th, 11-1pm at The Bank of Princeton, 10 Bridge Street, Lambertville, New Jersey. Every spring I try to catch the dogwood blossoms at their best to impress into a clay piece. This platter was colored with multiple layers of glazes and ceramic stains. No crisis here, just the sound of nature quietly smiling.
