Thursday, January 29, 2009
The Spencer Museum of Art is showing climate change in a way that combines maps, photographs and an 18-foot-long kayak.
The museum’s newest exhibition, “Climate Change at the Poles,” blends science, art and anthropology to show changes at the earth’s North and South Poles.
breakbox
Keep scrolling down to a view a map of related events.
“It’s really important for students to realize and understand that art really does reference every part of our lives,” said Sierra Falter, Lincoln, Neb., senior, and president of the art museum’s Student Advisory Board.
Museum staff will give an overview of the exhibition at a gallery talk this evening at the museum. The free event starts at 6:30 p.m. and will also feature a preview of the Lawrence Arts Center’s production of “The Ice Wolf,” an Inuit legend. The production is one of many community programs associated with the climate change exhibition.
Other outreach events include a book and film series at the Lawrence Public Library and the art museum. DJ Spooky will perform “Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica,” a multimedia production about Antarctica, on March 27 at the Lied Center. Campus and community lectures have also been planned for the coming months.
Video
Watson Library will open a new third-floor art exhibit Feb. 12. The display will feature pieces about climate change.
Jennifer Talbott, assistant to the director, said the exhibition emphasized how people could adapt to change. It coincides with the current fourth International Polar Year, which began in March 2007 and ends in March of this year. IPY is an international scientific program that involves projects in the Arctic and Antarctic.
The exhibition was organized primarily by three museum staff members: Talbott, Kate Meyer, curatorial assistant, and Angela Watts, assistant collections manager.
The three organizers set up the museum’s north balcony gallery to represent the North Pole and the south balcony gallery to represent the South Pole.
“The north balcony is more how people live in the Arctic and the south balcony is about how people analyze the Antarctic,” Watts said.
The North Pole section contains more than 50 Inuit objects, including a polar bear suit and a kayak. The museum obtained these objects from the former Museum of Anthropology’s Ethnographic Collection, Watts said. The Inuit are an indigenous people who live in the Arctic regions of the world.
“It’s nice how we can learn from people who have dealt with challenges in places of the globe where scientists tell us change is occurring,” Meyer said.
Talbott said the South Pole section contained more than 20 items that focused on the scientific aspect of climate change. This includes tools and maps from the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets, or CReSIS.
The art museum and CReSIS worked together to develop the idea for the climate change exhibition. CReSIS has its headquarters at the University of Kansas.
Stephen Ingalls, associate director for CReSIS administration, said the center evaluated how ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica responded to climate change and how the sheets contributed to a rise in sea level.
“It’s another avenue for us to be able to go out and communicate the challenges of climate change and to highlight the work going on at KU,” Ingalls said.
Johannes Feddema, professor of geography, said climate change was difficult to communicate because of the misconceptions surrounding the topic. Feddema, who also serves on the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, said people often made the mistake of seeing climate change as something to believe or not believe.
“It’s something you should look at the best evidence and see what it tells you,” Feddema said. “The museum has a way of showing this information in a nontraditional way.”
Falter said that every student could learn something from the exhibition, no matter what his or her major may be.
“Climate change is something we have to deal with for a while and the whole museum is going to encompass climate change from now until the summer,” Falter said. “It involves different conversations about climate change and this is just the beginning.”
The exhibition opened on Saturday and will remain open until May 24.
See Where Related Events Are
Map by Matt Bechtold. Graphics by Cat Coquillette.
— — Edited by Heather Melanson
Research project helps scientists study Greenland
Audrey Fusco, graduate research assistant at the Center for Remote Sensing of ...
CReSIS joins NASA for ice excursion
The Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets will study climate change ...
KU Researchers Complete Glaciers’ Study
After gathering data on glaciers in Antarctica since November, KU researchers will ...
University geologists scout glaciers in Antarctica
Assistant professor of geology Leigh Stearns and graduate student Brandon Gillette are ...
What lies beneath
KU researchers are traveling to Antarctica to research a large mountain range ...
Photojournalist shows work at Spencer Art
Stephen Williams encourages students to bring their own photos to share.
CReSIS plans trip with improved radar
Researchers will study causes of climate change by measuring thickness of glaciers ...
Ice sheet research awarded $17.9 million
CreSIS received money to develop and continue polar ice research.
Reframing the worlds of art and science
Collaborations encourage students to garner new ways of learning these seemingly separate ...
Second education
KU joins the list of universities using the virtual world of Second ...
Spencer Museum of Art hosts Student Night
The Spencer Museum of Art will host its annual Spring Student Night ...
Science departments seek minority students
The University is working with other universities and designing its own programs ...
Grant money helps improve University research
Research funding from both private and federal sources increases this year.
Campus museums reduce hours
The Spencer Museum of Art and the Natural History Museum are working ...
Local artists celebrate solstice
The Fresh Produce Art Collective is hosting a party to kick off ...
Midwest road trips guide
The Midwest offers a variety of trips, ranging from The Garden of ...
Library exhibit spotlights climate issue
The first KU Libraries exhibit will incorporate an interdisciplinary approach to the ...
Livin' it up in Lawrence
If you can’t send yourself to the vacation this spring break, bring ...
Bored and Broke: Deals let students spend ...
Discounts and freebies help students go out on the town without going ...
Sustainable fashion show debuts tonight
Eco-friendly meets fashion forward at the Spring Student Night.
Kansan.com Round-Up: Jan. 20-23
Miss a Kansan news story from the past week? Here's where to ...
Oread neighborhood tenants violate city ordinance
Many students living in the Oread Neighborhood are unaware of city housing ...
NASA scientist reveals sea level problem
Robert Bindchadler, NASA scientist, spoke Wednesday at the University of Kansas. He ...
Kansan.com Roundup: March 29-April 3
Miss a story from the past week? Kansan.com staff has you covered.
NSF awards six $30,000 doctoral fellowships
The new fellows will be participating in the C-CHANGE program focusing on ...
Kansan.com Round-Up: Jan. 26-30
Miss a news story from the past week? Kansan.com staff members have ...
Kansan.com Roundup: April 13-17
Miss a story from the previous week? Kansan.com staff members have you ...
Kansan.com Roundup: Feb. 2-6
Miss a story this past week? Kansan.com staff have you covered.
Green festival returns to Lawrence at new ...
Businesses, organizations plan to educate families and consumers with eco-friendly products and ...
Kansan.com Roundup: March 2-6
Miss a story in the past week? Kansan.com staff members have you ...
Kansan.com Roundup: Feb. 16-20
Miss a story from the previous week? Kansan.com staff members have you ...
Kansan.com Roundup: Feb. 23-27
Miss a story in the past week? Kansan.com staff members have you ...
Kansan.com Roundup: April 20-24
Miss a story in the past week? Kansan.com staff members have you ...
Museum offers student night
Kansan.com Roundup: Feb. 9-13
Miss a story from the past week? Kansan.com staff members have you ...
Podcast: As Heard from the Hill
Tune in this week for two birthday parties, movie reviews and a ...
University of Kansas Interactive Map
Learn about the rich academic, political, scientific and architectural history of the ...
Lawrence charities respond to economic woes
There is a marked drop in charitable donations.
Plan for student ghetto topic of meeting
A meeting Monday to discuss a new Oread Neighborhood plan will be ...
On the road to the Final Four
From Bill Self’s neighborhood to the Alamo, know all the sights to ...
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
KUnited presidential candidate Libby Johnson and vice presidential ...
1 comment
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID