WATERFIRE ARTS
“Planet Earth, the Environment, and Our Future”
An Exhibition of Art and Science Looking at the Beauty and Fragility of Our World
Thirty-four LLC members/friends attended the event at WaterFire Arts on Friday, April 22.
(Picture credit Judith Nudelman)
Here are pictures of some of the exhibits.
Luke Jerram’s Gaia, a massive 23’ diameter depiction of the entire Earth that creates a sense of the “overview effect” that has often been reported by astronauts who sense a “cognitive shift” in their perception of the fragile “blue marble” “hanging in the void” of space.
Bobbi and I were delighted to see several of our classmates from Helen Hawkins' documentary film class in attendance. We had recently watched two films about Antarctica. Seeing the huge globe of the world from underneath was a great perspective on that icy continent! Three renditions of mighty icebergs were part of the art on display. And to top it all off, our guide Jerry even mentioned the recent finding of Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance, which had been the topic of our class presentation two weeks before. Timing could not have been better!!
- Joe Fisler
“Arctic Sunset”
by William Bradford
I was impressed at how the theme, Planet Earth, the Environment and Our Future, was expressed by the artists using a wide range of materials to voice their concerns about our environment. And the scale of the exhibition space, with the huge inflated planet earth suspended above, aided in putting those concerns into a global perspective.
- Joan Hausrath
The high ceilings and huge building provided an ideal showcase for outstanding oversized sculptural representations of many natural occurrences from a forest fire to a tornado. Along with the heart stopping sculptures, there were many small pieces bringing our attention to the beauty of nature. In addition, a bell rang whenever a species ceased to exist and there were four rings when most of us were enjoying the exhibit. It was a multi-sensory experience.
- Norma Rossi Mead
“Algae Bloom” by Joan Hall
“Tornado” by Richard Friedberg
Passion Flower by Faith Wilding
Thank you for organizing the outing to the art show at WaterFire today. Perfect way to celebrate Earth Day. The show was well-conceived and thought provoking. I'll be hearing that bell/end of a species for a long time. And the multiple guided tours! Jerry was great.
– Nini Stoddard
Afghan Carpet with the Paradise Garden motif
Barnaby Evans was scintillating. His in-depth and often lighthearted commentary of this stunning exhibition made my day. The artistic installations were visually arresting. What an enjoyable morning!
- Joseph Petteruti
Immolation by Judy Chicago
My original thought about going to WaterFire Arts to see the Planet Earth exhibit was simply to have a post-Covid outing at which I might be re-acquainted with some LLC friends. Instead I was met with a 50-foot reproduction of our Blue Marble and Jerry Suggs, the Director of Educational Programming and Partnerships who explained its origins and concept. This was followed by a tour of some brilliant artwork depicting the energetic forces, both natural and man-made, which challenge life on this planet - this wonderfully explained by the Executive Artistic Director, Barnaby Evans.
I then walked the perimeter of the space to take in the photos and explanations of the many art forms - and then into the second space where I had a chance to share this experience with my LLC friends, some of whom, until now, I'd only met through Zoom. It was a wonderful day!
- Kevin Culley
Gran Pantanal by Faith Wilding
