Carbon Sink, by Chris Drury, 2011-1012
When does contemplative artwork become offensive enough that it gets destroyed?
I recently blogged about the artwork of Chris Drury. I like it very much. But then, I'm not financially invested in the destruction of our planet. Apparently if you are, you might be threatened by artwork that you take to be a challenge to your privileged position. Drury's installation work, "Carbon Sink," on the campus of the University of Wyoming, was destroyed recently on the orders of the industry whose wisdom he dared to question.
The Sierra Club reports on it here:
http://sierraclub.typepad.com/scrapbook/2012/10/big-coal-bullying-prompts-university-to-destroy-artwork.html
I don't usually use this space to make political statements, but then, Drury says that he didn't create his piece to make a political statement either. He only sought to instigate discussion. But I guess we can’t have that at a university that is funded by the fossil fuel industry. Maybe we should be talking about climate change at our universities – and maybe our public universities should be funded by the public.
But there is something encouraging too, isn’t there, in the realization that art may indeed challenge the powers that be? It is somehow heartening to me to see that Big Coal is threatened by this work. They, apparently, still believe in the power of art in our culture, even if it is largely perceived by many to be innocuous and irrelevant.
I recently blogged about the artwork of Chris Drury. I like it very much. But then, I'm not financially invested in the destruction of our planet. Apparently if you are, you might be threatened by artwork that you take to be a challenge to your privileged position. Drury's installation work, "Carbon Sink," on the campus of the University of Wyoming, was destroyed recently on the orders of the industry whose wisdom he dared to question.
The Sierra Club reports on it here:
http://sierraclub.typepad.com/scrapbook/2012/10/big-coal-bullying-prompts-university-to-destroy-artwork.html
I don't usually use this space to make political statements, but then, Drury says that he didn't create his piece to make a political statement either. He only sought to instigate discussion. But I guess we can’t have that at a university that is funded by the fossil fuel industry. Maybe we should be talking about climate change at our universities – and maybe our public universities should be funded by the public.
But there is something encouraging too, isn’t there, in the realization that art may indeed challenge the powers that be? It is somehow heartening to me to see that Big Coal is threatened by this work. They, apparently, still believe in the power of art in our culture, even if it is largely perceived by many to be innocuous and irrelevant.
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