Trafo Kunsthall, Asker.
"Mercy Mercy Me, Ecology" 2014
Vintage world maps dating from 1930. The lyrics from Marvin Gayes'1971 hit Mercy Mercy Me, Ecology has been cut into the maps. The maps float on top of a bright orange red background in the frame.
12 works.
Dimensions - 6 a 55,5 cm x 49 cm and 6 a 49 cm x 55,5 cm.
On April 22, 1970, some 20 million Americans observed the first Earth Day. It was a celebration of nature and an expression of concern about pollution, threatened wildlife, and other environmental damage caused by humans. In 1967, for example, the bald eagle—a symbol of American bravery and strength—had been named an endangered species. Two years later, pollution in Ohio’s Cuyahoga River caught fire. Tuna and other fish were found to contain high levels of mercury, a heavy metal dangerous to human health.
These events alerted many Americans that more had to be done to protect the natural world from destructive human activities. In 1970, President Richard Nixon established the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This government watchdog was meant to develop and enforce regulations to safeguard clean air and water, and protect human health.
Pollution remains a global concern, but since the late 1970s, environmental scientists have been growing more alarmed by the dangers of climate change. They have found evidence that people-produced carbon dioxide and other “greenhouse gases” from factories, power plants, and cars trapped heat within the Earth’s atmosphere. They predict this will lead to a steady rise in average temperatures, higher sea levels, and major shifts in weather patterns. About 97 percent of top climate researchers believe these changes are happening now, though many Americans refuse to believe that climate change is real or that anything can be done about it.
Like antiwar protestors, environmental activists found natural allies among performing artists. Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” with its lyrics, “They paved paradise to put up a parking lot,” was a big hit in 1970, and like Gaye’s “Mercy, Mercy Me (the Ecology)” became one of the anthems of the early environmental movement.
whatsgoingonnow.org