Busy Tree
Presenter: Alyssa Duyanen
Presenter Status: Undergraduate student
Academic Year: 19-20
Semester: Spring
Department: Art
Funding Source/Sponsor: SYRCE Symposium
Screenshot URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=15hejvpl5GrLjZuUiG3luAgmN3sCbqqLM
Abstract:
During the 1970’s, people from all over America focused their efforts on serious environmental concerns like pollution and whaling (the hunting of whales for their meat, blubber, and oil). Despite fighting for the same goal of environmental preservation and conservation, Americans’ efforts took on many different forms ranging from the iconic peaceful protest, Earth Day to Greenpeace’s dangerous confrontation with the Soviet whaling fleets in the North Pacific. Although these events were highly successful in bringing societal awareness and support, and influencing politicians to enact policies for environmental protection, these are issues that still stand today. Therefore, we need to stay hopeful like the millions of Americans from the 1970’s, and stay busy carrying on their efforts.
This digital collage is composed of over thirty randomly, repeating images from the two major environmental events I addressed above. It is meant to reflect the passion and dedication from the millions of Americans combating these issues by showing images like people carrying a full grown tree down Wall Street, and people in small, inflatable boats trailing behind massive Soviet fleets. All of these small images come together to form a lively green tree, which unironically symbolizes the courage to fight for what is right, and the connection of everything. By demonstrating various efforts, I hope the message this piece conveys is that there are many ways you can help protect the planet, no matter how small or big, or how cautious or bold the action you take is.
Works Cited
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Dempster, Charlotte. “Greenpeace vs Sea Shepherd.” Not a Fish, 22 Jan. 2019, notafishblog.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/greenpeace-vs-sea-shepherd/.
“The First Earth Day.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 24 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-first-earth-day.
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Greenpeace East Asia. “History.” Greenpeace East Asia, www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/history/.
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Weyler, Rex. “Greenpeace Activist Bob Hunter Is Seen with the Greenpeace Ship Phyllis Cormack in the Background during a 1970s Anti-Whaling Campaign in the North Pacific.” Www.vancouversun.com, 2015, www.vancouversun.com/Greenpeace+activist+Hunter+seen+with+Greenpeace+ship+Phyllis+Cormack+background+during+1970s+anti+whaling+campaign+North+Pacific/11005866/story.html.
Wills, Matthew. “The First Earth Day, and the First Green Generation.” JSTOR Daily, 2020, daily.jstor.org/the-first-earth-day-and-the-first-green-generation/.