I recently came across an article, "
Adirondacks Artist Takes on a Towering Controversy," in which Pamela Polston writes about a 2008 show by Adirondack Artist Peter Steward. In his show Peter Steward, of Lake Placid, NY, "found a way to link the history of his beloved Adirondack Park with the contemporary -- and contentious -- proliferation of wireless communication towers throughout the area." This is a very good example of the political role art can play.
Steward's whole show is about the influence of the "future" and future technologies on the Adirondacks. Most of his work is done on different panels which creates a disjointed feeling--as though he is saying that technology will cause the Adirondacks to become disjointed.
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"Tower of Babel" by Peter Steward
(painting featured in the article) |
Technology in the Adirondacks can definitely be thought of as an issue. Cell towers (even towers that are disguised as trees--see Sam's
post from last week!) dilute the feeling of wilderness. They are not natural, and what is wilderness if your cell phone is always ringing? We have an idea that wilderness is removed from society, but technology is making everything more connected. What happens if the Adirondacks become a wifi hotspot? Can you imagine people on their computers in a canoe?
These are some of the questions Steward seems to be trying to provoke among his audience with his art. In an interview, he says "I could have painted straightforward landscape paintings, but I was really fishing for a theme that had to do with culture and nature, and the idea of 'footprint' and wilderness."
The article from the link you posted was very interesting. Seward's paintings are really cool and I love how they deal with both culture and nature. I also love how he titled his painting "Tower of Babel" since it plays on our babbling into the phone. I found Seward's website in case anyone else is interested in looking at more of his paintings.
ReplyDeletehttp://peterseward.com/07.htm
I especially like his painting "The Lake George Frankenpipe." The subject is the famed tree tower coined "frankenpipe" to campaign against its interference.
This is a great painting, and it brings up a great controversy that relates back to the essential question that we ask every class: what is wilderness, exactly?
ReplyDeleteWhile the image of someone surfing the internet mid-canoe trip might seem ridiculous, it's actually not that improbable given the current state of our wilderness. Humans have let their technological tendrils reach almost every part of the globe at this point (at least, this holds true for much of America).
As sad as it may be, there might come a time where all "wilderness" spaces will be connected and accessible to humans, technologically speaking. There is not much we can do about it, as long as an economic incentive remains.