The Land That Time Forgot

Kerry James Marshall, American, born 1955

The Land That Time Forgot, 1962

From the works that I have observed thus far, I noticed that the bold use of color and scale are techniques that can invigorate an artwork’s meaning, surfacing strong emotions of intimidation, fear, and pain and making the question of systematic oppression unavoidable. For example, Marshall’s The Land that Time Forgot zeroes in on emphatic themes of imperialism, industry, and ecological devastation. I find that Marshall’s work is able to tug on both ends of the ecological spectrum, as he shows both biological and psychological environmental torment in his painting. A South African springbok (country’s national symbol) in the center is pierced with arrows, and lies dying surrounded by unmistakable emblems of European occupation: Christian crucifixes, the portrait of the Dutch founder of Cape Town, and allusions to the mining ventures that fueled Apartheid (Braddock & Kusserow 371). The emblems seem haphazardly thrown up on the canvas, as if to suggest that it was graffitied by the European oppressors themselves. Label by Tara Vasanth

Blued Tree with Cows, 2016

Aviva Rahmani, American, born 1945

Blued Tree with Cows, 2016, 2016

Art-activist Aviva Rahmani created The Blued Trees Symphony, a project of one-third-mile long musical measures along the forested paths where natural gas pipelines and pipeline expansion projects had been proposed. Individual trees along the proposed route of construction were mapped and painted with blue buttermilk paint. Using the geographic configuration of each tree, Rahami transferred each painted tree into a musical note, or "tree note", creating a full symphony. The symphony was then copyrighted as a means to halt pipeline construction. Rahmani's project demonstrates how art can both legally preserve and celebrate nature. Label by Isabel Williams

The peo-ple cried mer-cy in the storm

Allison Janae Hamilton, American, born 1984

The peo-ple cried mer-cy in the storm, 2018

Influenced by her ties to Kentucky, Florida, and Tennessee, Hamilton’s work frequently examines environmental justice issues, particularly in the rural American south. The peo-ple cried mer-cy in the storm takes its title from and was inspired by ‘Florida Storm,’ a 1928 hymn by Judge Jackson about the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926. Along with the Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928, both storms devastated the state of Florida and were particularly disastrous to communities of black migrant workers. The piece, which continually interacts with its environment, contemplates how social inequities become evident in climate-related disasters, and further, how these communities are doubly affected. Label by Laura Reitze

Unbearable

Jens Galschiøt, Danish, born 1954

Unbearable, 2015

Unbearable presents a 20-meter-long graph depicting the increase of carbon emissions from fossil fuel use from the year 0 to 2015. At the end of the graph lies a polar bear with the rising arrow pierced through most of its stomach. As carbon emissions intensify global warming, increasing emissions will lead to melting polar ice caps, eventually destroying the polar bear’s natural habitat, potentially killing off the whole species. As carbon emissions increase, the arrow will only grow taller, piercing the polar bear entirely and signifying their unfortunate end. Label by Sebastian Rios-Melean