Paulo Grangoen’s "1600 Pandas", 2008
1600 Pandas World Tour was launched in 2008 by WWF-France and acclaimed French artist Paulo Grangeon, who crafted 1600 pandas - the number of living pandas left in the wild at that time - in various sizes with recycled materials in the form of paper mache, to spread out the importance of species conservation and sustainable development. The pandas were exhibited at around 100 locations in many countries across the globe and photographed in front of various landmarks.
Agnes Denes’ “Wheatfield - A Confrontation” New York, 1982
In May 1982, a 2-acre wheat field was planted on a landfill in lower Manhattan, two blocks from Wall Street and the World Trade Center, facing the Statue of Liberty. Two hundred truckload of dirt were brought in and 285 furrows were dug by hand and cleared of rocks and garbage. The seeds were sown by hand and the furrows covered with soil. the field was maintained for four months, cleared of wheat smut, weeded, fertilized and sprayed against mildew fungus, and an irrigation system set up. the crop was harvested on August 16 and yielded over 1000 pounds of healthy, golden wheat.
Planting and harvesting a field of wheat on land worth $4.5 billion created a powerful paradox. Wheatfield was a symbol, a universal concept; it represented food, energy, commerce, world trade, and economics. It referred to mismanagement, waste, world hunger and ecological concerns. It called attention to our misplaced priorities. The harvested grain traveled to twenty-eight cities around the world in an exhibition called "The International Art Show for the End of World Hunger", organized by the Minnesota Museum of Art (1987-90). The seeds were carried away by people who planted them in many parts of the globe.
Jenny Kendler’s “Lounging Through the Flood”, 2019
Ninety-two years ago, the Mississippi River overflowed its banks, flooding more than 27,000 square miles of farms and townships, in an event known as The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. In this era of increasingly rapid climate change, these once rare events, have become increasingly common, rendering absurd climate denialism which has brought us to this place in history. Evoking a madcap vessel built by climate refugees or disaster-wary survivalists—Lounging Through the Flood is a sculpture created to ride these rising waters.
This floating collection of ninety-two life preserver rings topped by a classic lawn chair lounger took its inaugural voyage at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The sculpture is painted white: in this case a particular shade produced by the Behr Paint company, which was bizarrely given the evocative name “Climate Change.”
Simultaneously occupying an uncanny hope and a recognition of massive systemic failure, Lounging through the Flood asks us to consider the complex—and particularly American—constellation of apathy, survival, denial, and ingenuity that wends its way through our society, rushing toward environmental catastrophe. It offers a comfortable seat from which to watch it all drown... or, just perhaps, attain a better view.
Chris Jordan’s “Cell phones #2”, from the exhibit Intolerable Beauty: Portraits of American Mass Consumption, 2003-2005
In “Intolerable Beauty: Portraits of American Mass Consumption”, Chris showcases photographs of garbage and mass consumption, a serendipitous technique which started when he visited an industrial yard to look at patterns of color and order. Jordan uses everyday commodities to illuminate the blind unawareness involved in American consumerism. His work, while often unsettling, is a bold message about unconscious behaviors in our everyday lives as American consumers, leaving it to the viewer to draw conclusions about the inevitable consequences which will arise from our habits.
Artist’s Statement:
I am appalled by these scenes, and yet also drawn into them with awe and fascination. The immense scale of our consumption can appear desolate, macabre, oddly comical, and ironic, and even darkly beautiful; for me its consistent feature is a staggering complexity.
Listen to his TED Talk: “Turning Powerful Stats into Art”
Insert short messaging and MoMA stats - encouraging and congrating everyone for making a difference...