Interview with Monmouth University professor and artist Karen Bright
Artist and graphic designer Karen Bright, professor emeritus at Monmouth University, showcased her sublime vision of Earth’s second ice age in an exhibition titled “Inside the Anthropocene” at the Center . It will be held in the Brookdale Community College Visual Arts (CVA) Gallery during the Fall 2023 semester.
The exhibit included a series of powerful post-Sandy infographic prints based on data from organizations such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA, and the U.S. Naval Observatory. These prints vividly depict climate change, the region’s heritage, and its impact on the planet. Two of Karen Bright’s paintings included in the exhibition, “After the Elephant” and “The Monarch,” explore issues related to mass extinctions caused by human activities and the need to protect biodiversity. Addressing urgent needs. In addition, her sculpture series Still Water, created specifically for this exhibition, explores the multifaceted nature of water as a vital provider of life and a protagonist during extreme weather events. Masu. The exhibition provided a space for visitors to think and reflect on the challenges facing the world in the 21st century, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and the Anthropocene. The work challenged viewers to expand their imaginations and think about new and sustainable interactions between humans, nature and the planet.
Marie Maber, art professor at Brookdale Community College, interviewed the artist.
Marie: Do we feel that the earth would be better off without humans?
Karen: I think Earth is okay. Ultimately, all of us on Earth are at risk. If we did not live here, the Earth itself would regenerate into whatever form is required for the state of reality at that time.
Still, it is the non-human animals, small creatures, birds, forests, and marine life that live on Earth that will be irreversibly affected by climate change.
We must also not forget that poor countries with little infrastructure, which contributes to global warming, also have their lives and families greatly affected. Look at the storm surges, tsunamis, and high waves that have occurred. That’s totally out of proportion. All of them are affected by our abysmal response to global warming. Mother Earth speaks to us with the ebb and flow of the tides. What was once-in-a-lifetime storm for her is now the once-in-a-decade storm. She talks to us about the wildfires in Canada and the Pacific Northwest. She has been, and still is, trying to grab our attention and elicit the appropriate response. Rising atmospheric temperatures are scary, and it’s hard to imagine it getting much worse.
So, the simple answer is, yes, the Earth would be better off without human inhabitants.
Marie: One of our architecture students, Sophie, writes about this exhibition: “To fully experience the exhibition, you need a sense of existential dread.”
Karen: Sophie told the truth. Unless we approach an exhibition with some kind of inherent awareness and concern about how climate change will affect our future, we will only be scratching the surface of the story and message. Their pleasure lies in existing in shallow waters and at most experiencing beautiful colors and unique three-dimensional shapes.
Karen: Messages from the Future forces us to confront looming realities that would otherwise be distracting. We humans are busy people. We take care of ourselves and our loved ones, shop, cook, pay our bills, raise our families, (if we’re lucky) take care of the elders in our families, follow our dreams, and Build your career. There is very little time or bandwidth for existential questions or our time.
My intention here is to remind, suggest, connect, and achieve small shifts in thinking.
We will continue to increase our exhibitions and create new works. Artists are often given the opportunity to provide the final word on the show’s reviews. What do you want to say? First of all, I would like to say “Thank you!” Marie, thank you for having the original vision to bring my work to Brookdale. I would also like to thank my girlfriend Elisa Elorza who helped me every step of the way. This exhibit gave me endless inspiration (as is usually the case with anything when you have a tight deadline). This inspired me to create the Still Water sculpture, which represents a revelation in my approach to form and materials. In that dimension, they are an important new way of communication for me. I’m not an artist who can keep repeating the same techniques. I’ve never been there.
The way I see it, the picture is more frightening. They captivate the viewer through color and dynamic composition. If you stick with it long enough (Sophie’s point) they’ll get to the heart of it. The sculpture reigns in beauty with fascinating shapes and textures, surprises, and colors. They have magical properties. My approach here is to capture the viewer’s attention through beauty. Let’s respect the earth. Love the earth and everything in it. Graphic diagrams use fact and data messaging more directly, but reframe the way you ask difficult questions.
Messages from the future connect using something personal and emotional (donations). In fact, my intentions have remained the same throughout my career, and no matter what approach I take, what I want to convey or protect remains the same. I see my role as a messenger. You may be wondering what the most important goals are. It is simply about asking the public to protect and care for all living things. All living things deserve the best. The best legacy. Happiness to everyone. To protect, to defend, it’s all in the Constitution.
Marie: Did you gain any new wisdom in presenting images and documents that show humanity’s failure to protect the planet?
Karen: Perhaps my sense is that we have not yet met the challenges posed by global warming. My efforts to create visual art to promote awareness and action on climate change and global warming are sadly not enough. That will never happen. Consider the parable of the drowning man. God sends canoes, motorboats, and helicopters to rescue drowning people from rising waters. Each time, the man refuses help, saying that God will save him. In the end, the man drowns, and when he gets to heaven, he asks God why he didn’t save him. God says, I sent you two boats and a helicopter, what more do you want from me? I feel that Mother Earth is sending us messages and we are not listening, we are not listening, and we will never be listening enough. We will never meet tight deadlines.
Marie: Do you believe that efforts to reverse pollution of the world’s oceans, rivers, drinking water, and ecosystems can reverse the devastating effects of pollution?
Karen: I’m glad for all the efforts to control pollution. But I fear it’s too late to make a big impact. That being said. When the world stopped commuting during the coronavirus pandemic, the mood briefly cleared quickly in major cities. In other words, the Earth has some resilience. But the extent to which we all need to adjust our lives to limit the effects of pollution, rising tides, and rising temperatures will require many more coronavirus shutdowns. That’s not a bad idea. Global shutdown. Is the international climate summit having an impact on reversing the effects of climate change around the world? That’s promising. I’m glad it’s being held.
Karen Bright’s interview and solo exhibition ‘In the Anthropocene’ is a powerful reminder of our collective responsibility to protect the planet and promote sustainable coexistence between humans, nature and planet. Art is a catalyst for self-reflection, inspiring us to listen to messages from the future and act decisively to protect the heritage of all living things.