As Utah’s reputation for bad air grows, Utahns have decided something needs to be done about the air pollution.
Inspired by the restlessness of a population demanding change, many artists have begun to incorporate propaganda in their art to draw the attention of the Utah legislative body. Betsy Brunner, a graduate student in communication who helped write a grant with her adviser in order for the exhibit to take place, explained how this need for involvement has inspired change in other parts of the world.
“I recently read an article online about artists confronting the air pollution issue in Shanghai,” she said. “This one artist came up with this crazy idea that they would vacuum out the pollution. But because of that, the government is actually looking into how they could make something like that happen.”
Kevin DeLuca, Brunner’s advisor and a professor of communications, explains the similarity between Beijing and Salt Lake City.
“The topography is very similar,” he said. “We are both metropolitan areas surrounded by mountains.”
He explained that the mountains trap the pollution in the valley, causing the citizens to endure long periods of inversion.
Imaging the Effects of Air Pollution is a collaborative exhibit that incorporates this idea of protest blended with art in order to stir up some emotion from those who view it. It has a sense of being incomplete, as spectators walk around examining the various exhibited pieces. To some, the idea of a “disaster zone” certainly comes to mind.
The exhibit is a blend of artistic talent from China, Taiwan and America. Despite the geographical distances between these countries, they all have a common theme in their work: pollution and how it affects those living in metropolitan areas. The artists featured in the exhibit are Huang Xu, Dai Dandan, Li Gang, Mei Mei Chang and Matthew Niederhauser. Each artist brings a distinct perspective to the idea of air quality.
The most visually striking piece is a wall-mounted sculpture made out of reinforcement material. The piece is an accidental creation of Gang, who had originally planned on using the material as a picture frame for his other work. When Gang mounted the frame to the wall, it began to collapse on itself. Instead of discarding the frame, he instead began to build around it in order to give it reinforcement. The sculpture is meant to signify the mountains surrounding not only Salt Lake City, but also those around Beijing.
“A lot of times, Salt Lake gets compared to Beijing in a number of different ways,” Brunner said. “We see Beijing in the news all the time, but Salt Lake doesn’t get that much attention. We want to draw attention and put pressure for people to change their own behaviors and to create laws, whatever it takes to improve our air quality.”
The fear of climate change rings throughout Imaging the Effects of Air Pollution. “Even with disaster activism, some of the pictures that have been taken were pictures of devastated landscapes,” DeLuca said. “Artists face a bigger problem today, because how do you picture climate change?”
The impact of a few artists, united under a powerful cause, could drive attention for something to change in our valley. A powerful image, such as the pieces showcased in this exhibit, has the power to elicit a call to action for those attending the exhibit. At best, the exhibit could bring our changing climate to the forefront of our legislative body.
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