Creativity & Climate Action

Elias Sime, Detail, Tightrope: Infatuation, 2015 at The Hood Museum of Art, Hanover, NH

The re-imagined Hood Museum of Art re-opened
​last weekend at Dartmouth College.
​Among the treasures, I saw
this work by Elias Sime.
Undulating. Pulsing. In motion. 
Alive. And yet it's made out of castoff
motherboards, toxic contributors to multitudes of e-waste.

Elias Sime, Detail, Tightrope: Infatuation, 2015 at The Hood Museum of Art, Hanover, NH

And yet the city he envisions is "a sprawling ecosystem
of form and water." It's a huge work, covering a
wall. Is it a tile mosaic? Is it marble?
No. It's a captivating vision of
what's possible when we see beyond
what appears toxic and allow  beauty to emerge. Bliss.

El Anatsui, Hover, 2003 at The Hood Museum of Art, Hanover, NH

And then, on another wall, in the same gallery, this.
El Anatsui's "shimmering tapestry" evoking
material flowing in a breeze, but no,
it's a carefully constructed compilation of
bottle tops and copper wire. Garbage comes to life. 

El Anatsui, Detail, Hover, 2003 at The Hood Museum of Art, Hanover, NH

So when I got home with this week's buckets full  of
compost from Umpleby's Bakery & Cafe,
I was startled when I saw this.
Lemons. Lots of lemons.  I hadn't planned
on taking any photographs, but who could resist the vibrancy?

Compost lemons from Umpleby's Bakery & Cafe, Hanover, NH

That's how it is for me. Apparent waste evokes joy. There
is possibility. I wonder if that's what Elias Sime
or El Anatsui were thinking? Or not.
It's just what happens when creativity and
climate action converge at the compost pile or anywhere.

What have you seen or experienced this week
that evokes joy or invites creativity? Let
it happen, when and wherever
it may. It's magical and life-giving and for
me, makes the world a much more interesting place.

Happy January my friends.

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