For the last year I’ve been working on climate mitigation in all my work. I’ve recovered most of my work since the early part of this century and reached back to my earliest memories of painting, creating what I feel is my best work in years. I think about almost nothing else all day when I’m making work, and while it’s almost been tangential to the visual process it is the main underlying theme, both spiritual, technological, and structural foundations of the medium of impressionism and painting, a late 19th-century technology reimagined for the 21st century. As listed in a previous post, I know I’m not alone. In the NFT space I’ve often found artists who are also working in this medium, exploring both spirituality and the ecological crisis we’re facing, but are we doing enough? It remains to be seen.
I often have no idea why everyone in the world is not focused exclusively on climate change, as a missing puzzle piece that creates all of the other issues of our time, it’s the bedrock and foundation of all of our realities. The political games, the individual struggles we all have will all mean nothing if this planet is lost. So much is at stake. I’ve been working with Climate Changemakers for the last three months to get out the word about these policies, and I have no idea why there hasn’t been a bipartisan interaction, with both sides passing the legislation which seems so obviously beneficial. When I was posting NFTs this morning and getting the word out about some of my work, I learned that one of the senators from the democratic side would not be supporting Build Back Better, the social policy bill that is trying to be advanced in the Senate this week. I was devastated to learn that all we worked for in the political action group would not pass by Christmas. It would have been the greatest gift to see everyone come together to pass this.
From what Jen Psaki said in a statement, this isn’t over. I really hope it still gets through. As much as a moderate as I am, I just don’t understand why this wasn’t passed. It seemed so uncontroversial and positive. I just don’t understand. I’m becoming more motivated as a climate activist for the next week to try and find a way to make up for it. I want to learn about why Build Back Better is being ignored by folks who don’t support this bill. I don’t even know where to start.
Because of this, next year I’ll be working in a more cohesive way to investigate through my art the changing climate process and look at hypothetical solutions. It’s all on my mind right now. Where we live, our direct environment is at risk, and with the storms all across our country in the last year, nowhere is safe. Until we tackle the climate crisis we’re just not in a position to consider other issues in a meaningful way.
I wish I wasn’t writing this. I’d rather talk about advent tonight. I’d rather be making art and posting about it, but right now I’m just seeing a lot of posts about what happened this morning. It’s not too late. We can all come together because if we do the world is truly at a moment that we just can’t see yet. It could be incredible. If anyone reads this who doesn’t agree with the climate provisions, and so much that is in this bill, take a look at the details and see if it’s not something that you can support, especially if your representatives do not support it. I don’t know how to get the word out other than climate changemakers, it’s a non-partisan collection of resources and activists who are here for the climate, and little else. We can’t ignore this. We have to move quickly on this to find what’s inside all of us: and unlimited potential for a better tomorrow.
The Reluctant Blogger 