10 Works Art for Global Warming

Eye-Catching Works Of Art On Global Warming

1. Banksy art tackles global warming

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Graffiti artist Banksy has marked the end of the Copenhagen climate conference with a series of murals, including one on global warming.

The four works appeared along the Regent's Canal in Camden, north London.

One includes the phrase: "I don't believe in global warming," with letters disappearing below the water.

Banksy has gained an international following for his graffiti and exhibitions, the latest of which drew 300,000 visitors in Bristol.

His four new works near Camden's Oval Bridge also include a mural of a boy using a fishing rod to pull the name Banksy out of the river.

Another mural shows a rat wearing a top hat and suit, while the fourth depicts a man pasting up wallpaper that resembles graffiti.

In September, Hackney Council in east London partially covered a Banksy mural with black paint by mistake.
His spoof image of the Royal Family appeared on the side of a building in Stoke Newington, east London, before it was painted over.

The UN Copenhagen summit ended at the weekend without setting legally binding climate change targets.


2. Giant hands rise from a canal in Venice to send a powerful message about climate change

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Global warming is a ticking bomb that we need to defuse before it explodes. To raise awareness about this modern issue, Italian artist Lorenzo Quinn (previously here) has built a monumental sculpture for the 2017 Venice Art Biennale.

Quinn is widely known for incorporating elements of the human body parts in his work, and this project is no different. Titled Support, it depicts two massive hands, rising from a canal to support the Ca’ Sagredo Hotel. It is a visual statement, that people need to repond to global warming appropriately before it’s too late. “Venice is a floating art city that has inspired cultures for centuries,” Lorenzo Quinn told Halcyon Gallery. “But to continue to do so it needs the support of our generation and future ones, because it is threatened by climate change and time decay.”

Reflecting on the two sides of humans – the creative and the destructive – Quinn addresses their ability to make a change and re-balance the world around them. Support evokes both hope in trying to hold up the building above the water and fear in highlighting the fragility of the situation. It’s a powerful statement with meticulous execution. “I wanted to sculpt what is considered the hardest and most technically challenging part of the human body,” the artist said. “The hand holds so much power – the power to love, to hate, to create, to destroy.”


3. ART THAT MELTS: PUBLIC ICE SCULPTURE BY NELE AZEVEDO

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In 2009 Brazilian artist Nele Azevedo carved 1,000 'Melting Men' out of ice and placed them in Berlin's Gendarmenmarkt Square to bring awareness to Global Warming. As part of the Festival of Queens in northern Ireland, she created a similar installation to visually remind people of the melting ice caps in Greenland and Antartica. She has installed the 'Melting Men' or 'Monumento Minimo', in cities across the globe and is becoming known internatinally for her climate change art. (via gblog)


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4. A Massive Blue Whale Just Showed Up At The Paris Climate Talks

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With the Paris climate negotiations in full swing, one of the animals whose survival is on the line showed up — or, at least, a sculpture of him did.

On the left bank of the Seine, a huge metal sculpture of a blue whale has been erected, a reminder to negotiators and world leaders that threatened species are among those who will suffer if the talks don't lead to concrete action on climate change. The blue whale is considered Endangered by the IUCN Red List, and is still recovering from hundreds of years of whaling — as well as the new threat of climate change. The 110-foot sculpture is in the image of a whale named Bluebell, caught by whalers a hundred years ago, according to The New York Times.


5. Horses with oil-pump heads installed on the Thames to criticize climate change inaction

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British artist Jason deCaires Taylor is making waves with his bold new installation on the bank of London’s Thames river. Aptly named The Rising Tide, the sculptures are exposed each time the waters recede, evoking the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and hopefully sparking discussion of world powers failing to act in the interest of conservation efforts. It’s no accident that the sculptures are located less than a mile away from the Houses of Parliament, as the artist specifically designed this project to draw attention to the damaging decisions made by its members.


6. Melting Superman at Singapore Art Museum

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Currently displayed on the front lawn of the Singapore Art Museum is this melting Superman aptly titled, “No One Can Save Us Now.” Created by Mojoko and Eric Foenander as part of the exhibition: The Singapore Show: Future Proof, the larger than life sculpture is there to reminds us that a superhero is not immortal after all nor is it as “super” as it is thought to be. According to Mojoko, “it's a comment on global warming. The fact that the superhero is melting gives us little hope for the future.”

It is made of polystyrene, Plaster of Paris, and plastic paint and took three people six weeks to create.

When asked what the public's reaction has been like Mojoko told us this, “People normally react by laughing, then taking photos of themselves in front of it, then they say, ‘It's melting because its too hot in Singapore.' Which is kind of the correct reaction.”

The Singapore Show: Future Proof brings together more than 35 works – including sculptures, paintings, performance art and site-specific installations – from 26 of today's young Singaporean artists who've made a mark either on the streets or in galleries. The show goes on from now until April 15, 2012.


7. Artist Isaac Cordal’s Incredible Tiny Sculptures Offer a Chilling View of Climate Change

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Climate change and the ills of capitalism are often harped on as two of the biggest threats to society, but many of us have trouble picturing such far-off threats. Artist Issac Cordal offers us a new perspective on these issues through his provocative series of tiny cement sculptures that challenge our views of society. Thoughtfully arranged without the need for exposition, these miniaturized scenes are often arranged as site-specific street art interventions.

To capture his skepticism of authority, Cordal usually depicts his tiny figurines as politicians and businessmen in the process of needlessly trapping themselves in unpleasant situations. In “Follow the Leaders,” Cordal warns onlookers of the dangers in blindly following the wills of the rich and powerful. Like miniature clones, the identical statues were created in the likeness of middle-aged, white collar, white men, each desperately clutching a briefcase as they huddle together or drown to death in a mindless mass.


8. ECO ART: Polar Bears Floating Down the Thames!

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Eden TV, a new UK-based natural history TV channel has recently begun broadcasting. To celebrate their launch, the network built a 16-foot-high sculpture of a mother polar bear and her cub stranded on an iceberg. Also meant to increase awareness about the plight of the polar bear and their dwindling habitat as a result of climate change, the sculpture was sent to float down the Thames river. The event took place on January 26th and started at Greenwich, South East London traveling to the Tower Bridge and then to the House of Parliament.

The 1.5-ton sculpture was created by a team of 15 artists, who worked for 2 months to create the 20-feet by 20-feet sculpture. The mamma bear and her cub started their journey at 6:30 am and traveled for 7.5 miles to reach their destination, where they had their photos taken by the press. Eden will highlight the sculpture and the melting of the ice caps this week along with their Fragile Earth series.

Sir David Attenborough, a well-known broadcaster and wildlife conservationist, says: “The melting of the polar bears’ sea ice habitat is one of the most pressing environmental concerns of our time. I commend Eden for highlighting the issue; we need to do what we can to protect the world’s largest land carnivores from extinction.”


9. The Sea Isn’t Made For Fish And The Water’s Not For Drinking

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__The Aral Sea, fed by the Amu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers, was Earth’s 4th largest inland body of water. Then Russia built primitive irrigation canals so people could grow cotton, requiring forced labor. Water levels have plummeted; there are now two much smaller bodies of water, a wrecked ecology and much misery.

__California’s Salton Sea is disappearing, too.

__Meanwhile some promising news: Multiple dams planned on Ganga and Brahmaputra Rivers are being re-evaluated.

__China has contaminated about 2/3s of underground and 1/3 of its surface water supplies. Let the clean-up begin.

__Dioceses in New Mexico are filing for bankruptcy in the wake of legal action by victims of sexual abuse. Some dioceses have been major sources of free drinking water and schools, particularly among the Navajo. But now there are uncertainties about continued supplies of scarce drinkable water.

__What will Florida do about the impact of fertilizers, pesticides and animal waste in its lakes and streams? Algal blooms, “No Swimming” signs, even microcystin are proliferating.

__What a mess! There’s some evidence that wastewater treatment is actually creating new antibiotics, thus adding to our resistance.


10. Living sculpture to expose climate change

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Around 600 naked people braved the cold late last week to promote Greenpeace's message about the impacts of climate change on the Aletsch Glacier in the Swiss Alps.

The nude volunteers posed for renowned naked installation artist Spencer Tunick, who is collaborating with the environmental organisation.

Greenpeace approached Spencer Tunick about the the idea of juxtaposing the image of nude bodies against the 'melting glacier,' Yves Zenger, a spokesperson for Greenpeace International, told edie.

"Is there a better symbol for vulnerability than human nakedness? Recognising the vulnerability of people - especially in as much as we are part of nature - is also a major concern of environmental protection.

"It is about time that we admit how exposed we actually are both in terms of biodiversity and as a component of global ecological systems."

American artist Spencer Tunick is best known for his photography of nudes around the world - from New York and Montreal to Amsterdam and Mexico City where 18,000 people posed nude in the city's central square.

Tunick's living sculpture on the Aletsch Glacier was created as a symbolic link between people and glaciers, which Greenpeace says are rapidly retreating as a result of climate change.

"I always feel that the body is a constant medium, and creates a new dialogue for the background," Spencer Tunick told edie.

"In this case, the vulnerability of the body coincided with the vulnerability of the glacier. The glacier looks strong, but it's not...it's just as vulnerable."

The Aletsch Glacier provided the perfect backdrop to send a message about climate change, says Greenpeace.

Their research shows that if global warming continues at its current rate, most glaciers in Switzerland will completely disappear by 2080.

"The human body is as vulnerable as the melting glacier," said Markus Allemann, campaign coordinator for Greenpeace Switzerland.

"These naked people [braved] the cold because they want decision-makers to wake up and take immediate, forceful, and courageous steps to protect the climate. There is still time, but it is running out."