The Ivory Tower

Scott Marsh, Australian, born 1984

The Ivory Tower, 2020

This mural by Scott Marsh was influenced by the movie “Dirty Power: Burnt Country,” which discussed the Australian bushfire crisis. In the film, it was discovered that a majority of news articles from the depicted media moguls denied climate change as a cause for the bushfires. It also showed that the Australian government approved coal mining and had regular meetings with fossil fuel corporations. The seven high-status members illustrated in the ivory tower include: the Prime Minister, former Deputy Prime Minister, as well as media and fossil fuel moguls. The Prime Minister can be seen wearing a Hawaiian shirt and lei because he was on vacation in Hawaii during the bushfire crisis. Marsh wanted to make it clear that because the destruction of these bushfires does not reach the elite, it has no importance to them. Under this tower of denial lies scenes of destruction from these bushfires. This work ties into this week’s topics of climate denial and petro-capitalism. Label by Olivia Falb

Scott Marsh's painting, "The Ivory Tower," vividly underscores the inequalities exacerbated by fires. The artwork, presented in a semi-political cartoon style, depicts the horrors associated with wildfires. It portrays animals and habitats consumed by flames and firefighters battling the inferno. Moreover, it keenly highlights the demographics of people and the natural world that are disproportionately affected by these fires. On the contrasting side of the spectrum, the painting portrays powerful individuals ensconced in their ivory tower. From this lofty vantage point, they callously burn money and appear to deride the catastrophic scene unfolding below. Their dismissive comments, such as labeling concerned individuals as "alarmists," serve as a stark representation of how some politicians deny the realities of climate change. Label by Jackson Smith

Photograph

Andy Holzman, American

Photograph

This photography work captures farmworkers working in Camarillo, a small city in southern California, under the sky full of smoke from the wildfire event. Being present no matter how severe the weather would be, farmworkers were told that they are expected to stay and continue their work, and will be fired if they were to leave during the fire. They not only do not have the resources to evacuate with their property, but also do not have the access to protection against the disaster, such as facemasks. This demonstrates the injustice that the marginalized communities experience during disaster like the California wildfire. Label by Yifei He

This photo shows farmworkers in a field with a dark smokey sky above them. The glow of flames can be seen through the smoke poking out behind mountains. This image shows the ways in which vulnerable people are put into danger by forest fires. The landscape does not look like it should contain people. The smoke in the sky is heavy and the distant flames evoke a sense of dread. One would expect to see this sky over a barren landscape with all life having fled for safety. Instead at the bottom of the photo is a green field where about a dozen people continue to work. Label by Becca Gurysh

The Atlas Fire

Stuart Palley, American

The Atlas Fire, 2017

This photograph is taken from photographer Stuart Palley’s book, Terra Flamma: Wildfires at Night in which Palley depicts the California wildfires and their subsequent effects through photographs. This image in particular is of the The Atlas Fire which burned over 25,000 acres of land in Napa and Solano counties in California in 2017. The colors of the photograph—the yellows and greens of the lit-up vegetation juxtaposed against the reds and oranges of the blaze—contrast sharply, giving the image an almost surreal quality. The illumination produced by the fire in the background creates an eerie yet ethereal glow which speaks to the nature of wildfire photographs and their accompanying aesthetics (a “burning aesthetics” in the words of TJ Demos), a key topic explored by all of this week’s readings. Label by Jay Jolles

El Portal Fire from Tunnel View

Stuart Palley, American

El Portal Fire from Tunnel View, 2014

This photo is part of a series of photographs that the artist Palley has been collecting into the book Terra Flamma, which he released in 2018, documenting the wildfires across California. The image here was made through a long exposure view of the slope as fire raged on. This image presents the sheer scale of the fires, potentially at the cost of producing a distance to their threat. The fire is massive in this image, and its hotspots appear akin to an inverted starfield, producing inverse constellations of destruction on the landscape. Forests become isolated stands of trees, the sky becomes a monochrome orange, reflecting the sheer size of the fires and the devastation they have been able to wreak. Label by Frank Kennedy