In a Changing Arctic, Artists Seek to Inspire Change
When artist and photographer David Buckland first began pitching his proposal to take a voyage to the Arctic with a bunch of artists, the response was underwhelming.
"Everybody looked at me like I was mad," he says. "So it was difficult."
But Buckland had been talking with scientists about global warming — and he was convinced they needed help to communicate what they knew about the way the world's climate was changing. Now, after three voyages to the Arctic for his Cape Farewell project, Buckland believes the artists have lived up to his expectations.
"The problem with scientists is that they make these [statements] — you know, the Greenland icecap is going to melt, or the sea level is going to rise," Buckland says. "Or the temperature is. They are very abstract concepts."
"But I think what the artists did is to find a way of making the stories personal. So if you see a glacier crumbling in front of you, then that is your story — your personal story — that you bring back."
A BBC documentary about Cape Farewell details the artists' voyages — aboard a 100-year-old Dutch schooner, the Noorderlicht — to the waters off Spitsbergen Island, north of Norway, following them as they confront a landscape at once overwhelming and exhilarating. And for each artist, the experience is indeed personal.
Sound artist Max Eastley spent his time listening to the noises of waves, wind, birds and ice. For sculptor Antony Gormley and architect Peter Clegg, the experience was more hands-on; they used the ice and snow to sculpt and build. Writer Ian McEwan spent much of his time observing. It led him, he says, to a fuller understanding of what could be lost in the future: caribou seen across a great distance, snow a thirsty traveler can drink without worrying about its purity.
Sculptor and photographer Alex Hartley, an outdoorsman and adventurer, came up with a playful notion to illustrate the way human beings historically relate to newly discovered land — in this case land that had been covered by ice for centuries.
"I wanted to find the most pathetic bit of land I could stand on and try and push through a claim for an island," he says. "So I started looking everywhere on the maps, comparing the glacial retreat with what we were seeing." The BBC documentary recorded the moment Hartley "discovered" his island; now that he's back home, he's pursuing his ownership claim. He's even accepted architectural bids for a structure to be built on his rocky spit of land.
"They vary from beachfront properties to hermit's hideaways," Hartley says. "I like the idea that I could cast out and open up the project to whoever wanted to put stuff into it."
Hartley says there was tension at times between those who felt compelled to create works of art during their stay in the Arctic and those who wanted to take in the environment more slowly, planting seeds for work that would come later. (He's planning a book about the experience.) There was also some soul-searching about whether the project itself was just one more example of the way people use up the environment.
Ultimately, though, there was a real sense that artists can bring something to the discussion about climate change that no one else can.
"The scientists quite rightly have to bring the facts," says choreographer Siobhan Davies, whose challenges included finding ways to move in an icy landscape, wearing heavy winter gear. "But [artists] are allowed ... to play with the human spirit, the human mind and human emotion. So maybe we are in a position whereby we can open the door to understanding, appreciating and using our inventiveness about what can be done to deal with this problem rather than what can't be done."
Cape Farewell is a continuing project. The next voyage is scheduled for September; it will include both young people and American artists.
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RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
For the next year, NPR and National Geographic are traveling the globe to find out how the world's climate is changing and how these changes are affecting people. Britain was our starting point, and today we hear about a British-based project called Cape Farewell. It brings artists, writers, musicians, filmmakers, even a choreographer, together to think about climate. They go to the Arctic in a 100-year-old Dutch schooner, they mingle with scientists, they explore the harsh but beautiful environment and in some cases create works of art out of ice and snow. Three voyages later, there are several exhibitions plus a book, a dance and a BBC documentary.
The idea behind the project is that art can deepen our understanding of climate change, as NPR's Lynn Neary reports.
LYNN NEARY: When artist and photographer David Buckland first began pitching his proposal to take a voyage to the Arctic with a bunch of artists, the response was underwhelming.
Mr. DAVID BUCKLAND (Artist; Photographer): Nine years ago, everybody looked at me like I was mad. So it was difficult. It was incredibly difficult.
NEARY: But Buckland had been talking with scientists about global warming and he was convinced they needed help in communicating what they knew about the way the world's climate was changing. Now, after three voyages to the Arctic, Buckland believes the artists have lived up to his expectations.
Mr. BUCKLAND: The problem with scientists is that they make these, you know, the Greenland icecap is going to melt or, you know, the water sea level is going to rise so much, or the temperature is - they are very abstract concepts. And I think what the artists did is to find a way of making the stories personal. So that if, you know, if you are you and you're perceiving a glacier crumbling in front of you, then it's your story, that's the personal story you bring back.
NEARY: A BBC documentary about Cape Farewell details the voyages to the waters off Spitsbergen Island, north of Norway. The film follows the artists as they confront a landscape that is at once overwhelming and exhilarating. And for each artist the experience is different. Sound artist Max Eastley spent his time listening.
(Soundbite of sea waves)
Mr. MAX EASTLEY (Sound Artist): The sounds of the waves.
(Soundbite of wind)
Mr. EASTLEY: The sound of the wind.
(Soundbite of bird calls)
Mr. EASTLEY: The sounds of the birds.
(Soundbite of ice being pounded)
Mr. EASTLEY: The sounds of ice.
NEARY: For sculptor Antony Gormley and architect Peter Clegg, the experience was more hands-on as they used the ice and snow to sculpt and build.
Mr. ANTONY GORMLEY (Sculptor): Okay.
Mr. PETER CLEGG (Architect): And I think we do our storing techniques, huh?
Mr. GORMLEY: Yeah.
Mr. CLEGG: Friction bonding, isn't it?
NEARY: Writer Ian McEwan spent much of his time observing, leading to a fuller understanding of what could be lost in the future.
Mr. IAN MCEWAN (Author): I've seen caribou across a great distance.
(Soundbite of music)
Mr. MCEWAN: When we got thirsty, to be able to scoop up the snow in our cups and pour hot water and trust the purity of the scene.
(Soundbite of music)
Unidentified Man #1: Oh.
Unidentified Man #2: Ow.
Unidentified Man #1: Sorry, I got (unintelligible).
Mr. MCEWAN: Simple things like the music of ice and snow under your boots.
(Soundbite of footsteps in snow)
NEARY: Some artists, like choreographer Siobhan Davies, weren't sure what they were supposed to do. On Davies' expedition, the boat that would be her home in the Arctic was iced in.
Ms. SIOBHAN DAVIES (Choreographer): So we had spent, hmm, nearly seven hours on a snow scooter with no part of your skin at all being exposed. By the time I take all my clothes off, which takes about 20 minutes, and I get into the boat and I'm contemplating so what the hell are you going to do tomorrow, I can't even move here.
NEARY: But a dancer must move. So Davies decided what she needed to do was to walk.
Ms. DAVIES: To go out, even though it was uncomfortable, and to begin to appreciate this very, very different land.
NEARY: What did you discover about movement?
Ms. DAVIES: That it was difficult. I had to find the necessary movement to do there, partly because it was the only thing I could do; partly, it was going to keep warm; and partly, it needed to involve the idea of a human scale in that vast landscape.
NEARY: Sculptor and photographer Alex Hartley, an outdoorsman and adventurer, came up with a playful notion that would illustrate the way human beings historically related to newly discovered land, in this case land that had been covered by ice for centuries.
Mr. ALEX HARTLEY (Sculptor; Photographer): I wanted to find the most pathetic bit of rock I could stand on and try and push through a claim for an island. So I started looking everywhere on the maps, comparing the glacial retreat on the maps with what we were seeing.
NEARY: The BBC documentary recorded the moment Hartley discovered his island.
Mr. HARTLEY: I just walked the perimeter, I think, of my island in gear. Take a couple of (unintelligible) like this. How many shots have I got? Yes, so just have one (unintelligible) and I'll work it out.
Unidentified Man #3: Yah?
Mr. HARTLEY: My first island descent.
NEARY: Eventually, Hartley hopes to publish a book on his experience. He is pursuing his claim on the island and has even accepted architectural bids for a structure to be built on his rocky spit of land.
Mr. HARTLEY: They vary from kind of beachfront properties to hermit's hideaways. I like the idea that I could cast out to lots of other people, open the project up to whoever wanted to put stuff into it.
NEARY: Hartley says there was tension at times between those who felt compelled to create works of art during their stay in the Arctic and those who wanted to take in the environment more slowly, planting seeds for work that would come later.
And there was also some soul-searching about whether the project itself was just one more example of the way people use up the environment. But ultimately, says choreographer Siobhan Davies, there was a real sense that artists can bring something to the discussion about climate change that no one else can.
Ms. DAVIES: The scientists quite rightly have to bring the facts, but we are allowed and should be able to play with the human spirit, the human mind and the human emotion. So maybe we are in a position whereby we can open the door to understanding, appreciating, and using our inventiveness about what can be done in order to deal with this problem, rather than what can't be done.
NEARY: Cape Farewell is a continuing project. The next voyage is scheduled for September and will include both young people and some American artists.
Lynn Neary, NPR News, Washington.
MONTAGNE: You can learn more about how climate change is affecting the Arctic in the current issue of National Geographic magazine. And our Climate Connections Project continues later today on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED with a story of how global warming is changing how big highways get built along America's Gulf Coast.
This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.
STEVE INSKEEP, host:
And I'm Steve Inskeep. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
