bearboat, oil and metallic on canvas, 2019
the animals are innocent
an exhibit by Dana Simson lamenting the effects of climate change
A long story has been written
since the first bits of life began here.
This is the chapter where we
face ourselves.
a f o l k a r t a s s a u l t
journeyland, ceramic, glass bead eyes, wood, paint and glazes , 2019
Recognizing the threat of climate change, for example to habitat and food sources, Dana Simson created the exhibit the animals are innocent to highlight the challenges faced by wildlife because of warming temperatures, rising waters, man-made pollutants, and wilderness encroachments. Too many species are nearing extinction as a result of these forces. The colorful animal portraits and ceramic boats populated by small animals are artistically arresting, while concurrently conveying and lamenting the fragile nature of wildlife existence.
A series of ceramic toy boats on wheels made of ceramic & mixed materials have various animals or components of nature- like a small forest in a boat captained by a fox. The boats’ iconic detailed decoration is inspired by the elaborate craftsmanship one might see on museum artifacts. The show’s mission is for people to be drawn in by the playful toy quality of the folk art boats- to realize the deeply disturbing nature of why they are in boats as their habitat, food sources and future is threatened by climate change based in human industry. My animal portraits and other paintings further exploring our effects on the natural world will hang on the wall.
Dana and her husband John Orth, who met as art students at Syracuse University, have witnessed first-hand the effects of climate change from their waterfront home on the tidal Manokin River located off Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay. Rising waters sometime make the one-mile causeway to their home impassable. They have seen changes in the migratory wildfowl and shore bird populations and challenges to the usually abundant fish and shellfish of the Chesapeake Bay Region.
Amongst the animals menaced by climate change that can be found in Dana’s creations are the polar bear, kingfisher, fish, frog, egret, owl, rabbit, birds, and livestock. In September 2019, scientists reported that the number of birds in the United States and Canada has fallen by 29 percent since 1970. Scientists also advise that climate change, and the loss of sea ice habitat, is the greatest threat to polar bears. The impacts of this change are felt first and worst in the Arctic, where food becomes scarcer, weakening the polar bears and their reproductive systems.
The exhibit opened the week of the United Nations Climate Summit and youthful protests around the world advocating measures to control climate change. Dana Simson’s the animals are innocent joins the call for action!