Pole to pole: artists everywhere

Nasser Azam preparing canvases on the ice desert in Antarctica  

From pole to pole, artists have been pinning the Earth at both ends this March; with Dutch sculptor Ap Verheggen in Greenland and UK painter/sculptor Nasser Azam in Antarctica.

As a continuation his Performance Painting project (an exploration of environmental conditions and their effect on painting)UK Nasser Azam embarked on a widely-announced trip to Antarctica this February 2010. Numerous excursions to the fish freezers of Billingsgate and experimentation with lacing acrylic paint with anti-freeze have been just some of the preparations disclosed for the trip in which he faced -30˚C (wind chill of -45˚C) temperatures and 100kph winds.

"I have prepared the canvases in the core colours - a red, a blue, a yellow - I am keeping the palette to a very simple colour scheme. I want to see how I can visualise everything against the starkness of everything being white." Azam is recorded on Artshuddle blogspot.

His safe return was announced in the second week of this March, in which he was accompanied by thirteen completed paintings. The expedition was accompanied by a cameraman to document the mission.The Antarctica paintings are due to be showcased in an international touring exhibition later in the year

The artist’s hope was to take inspiration from the harsh landscape, 24 hour sunlight and extreme physical conditions when composing his work on the 3m x 3m canvases which he laid on the ice. John Jones worked with Azam to produce specially designed canvases that could withstand the -30C conditions.

At the other end of the world, this Dutch sculptor Ap Verheggen was to be found in the The Greenland village of Uummannaq, launching a series of four art projects in areas undergoing tremendous climate change.

For the first project, he designed one giant sculpture that represented a dogsled driver. In principle, the sculpture – the various parts of which have already been shipped to Greenland – will be erected on 17 March 2010. The longevity of the work is unknown, depending on when the iceberg melts. Two years is one estimation of how long it will be afloat. If the iceberg detaches from the sea ice, determined by weather and currents, the iceberg could float to Canada, ending up along the east coast of the United States before it melts.

A recovery program has been organized for the sunken work. Made of pure iron, however, it does not constitute a pollutant as iron is one of the sea’s natural elements.

Unlike Azam’s formalist interest in environmental conditions and their effect on painterly outcomes, Verheggen’s work engages with place and the wider social environmental concerns of his context. His work is aimed at raising awareness of climate change and how it is effecting local Inuit culture. The rapid melting of glaciers in Greenland since 2002 has resulted in never before seen islets appearing and unprecedented weather conditions.

“It rained on New Year’s Eve, and in January temperatures rose to an unprecedented 52 degrees Fahrenheit” Ap Verheggen said about his visit to Uummannaq earlier this year, while looking for a location for his sculptures.

Global warming is an ever present concern for Greenland, The bedrock in the centre of Greenland has been pressed below sea level by the weight of the ice sheet, thus, if the ice melted, much of central Greenland would be under water.

“Climate change brings about culture change” commented Verhagen, “Usually it is the driver who determines when the journey begins, where it goes, and when it is over. By placing the dogsled driver on an iceberg, we show that nature ultimately determines the course of the journey.”

The next set of sculptures in Verheggen’s series will be placed in other locations within northern Canada, as well as on melting permafrost in Siberia. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has pledged its supports to this project, as it draws attention to global warming and its effects on man and nature in a unique way.

Azam’s background in commerce have left him with strong communication skills, an eye for the market and a strong sense of artistic purpose that comes across as part-genius, part-egotist. His public sculpture “The Dance” in London is a fine, if nostalgic, piece of abstracted figurative bronze scultpture, half-Moore, half-Boccioni. The huge engraved capitals “AZAM” on its pedestal are an affront to eyes used to a show of artistic humility.

Azam is confronting in his liking for ostentatiousness, and almost gimmicky projects which are reminiscent of the entrepreneurial zeal that Richard Branson filled the papers with with his hot-air balloon antics in the early 90’s.

In 2008 Azam undertook his Life in Space project was an experiment in creating paintings in Zero-Gravity. He used a specially modified parabolic aircraft to create totally weightless conditions. He completed two tryptichs called “Homage to Francis Bacon”. The first tryptich which represents a first in terms of its zero gravity context, sold in New York for $332,500 in November 2008.

The environmental impact of his journey to Antarctica has not been mentioned by Azam. Carbon offsets appear not to be a concern of his and are spoken of (though the benefits of the latter are debatable in how much they help anyway, apart from lining the pockets of those who would have implemented environmental projects anyway).

Azam lives in a world of his own aesthetic choosing. He is able to do this through a 20-year career in corporate finance and his present commercial success in the galleries of New York and London in addition to a tireless regime of production.

The conditions of Antarctica were one of the most extreme expressions of his personal exploration of his relationship with environmental conditions. On returning he commented:

“It was impossible to prepare completely for this project, and I couldn't have predicted how tough the conditions were going to be. But I was able to complete most of the paintings as planned, and hope that they convey at least some of the amazing beauty of Antarctica. I can't wait for them to go on display in London and in other locations around the world'.

Azam’s monumental canvases were completed on an ice desert, an ice lake, an ice cave and a glacier. They were left out overnight at each location for the elements to contribute to the compositions which resulted in four of the canvases being lost in high winds during the night. Two days later one of the lost canvases was retrieved following a special search mission.

Other strange artistic goings on have taken place in Antarctica to befuddle the penguins and last poor polar bears. In 2006, Miami based artist Xavier Cortada arrived in the Antarctica as a recipient of the 2006-2007 National Science Foundation's Antarctic Artists and Writers Program. There he implemented various art projects including placing flags for endangered animals from each time zone around the South Pole and creating a collaborative mural with scientists who work there.

The relevance of such formalist explorations as Azam’s at this juncture into his purely painterly concerns may be questionable, despite the fact that he seems to be enjoying himself. In contrast, in his project Verheggen uses his creative ability, in thought and hand, to create a work that operates as a catalyst for environmental awareness and action as well as formal impact.

Verheggen’s and Cortada’s approaches testifies to a strong worldwide art movement where artists are increasingly intent on the reengagement of their art with the urgent concerns that environmental degradation presses upon all of us, even on the most nostalgic artist personalities however preoccupied they might be.