Green Times Square Holly Tempo
In late 2007, I was invited to participate in Green-er Sessions: Sketching Solutions to Climate Change, an exhibition in which artists, scientists and architects presented solutions for climate change. I submitted a proposal to create a public artwork in Times Square, New York in which all digital ad space would simultaneously be replaced by live footage from the rain forest. The response to my proposal was moving and enthusiastic; and what was initially an ideation about how I, as an artist, might address global warming has evolved into a public art project.
Green Times Square is a site-specific artwork and intervention on behalf of the rain forest. Intended to infuse preservation of the rain forest into corporate advertising strategies, the project aims to facilitate a significant paradigm shift in the values of consumer culture. The project will enable companies to align their business practices with the public’s growing interest in ecological and social responsibility.
This is a complex endeavor that requires copious amounts of research, introspection and brainstorming; travel to New York and South America; and interface with scientists, videographers, CEO’s, advertising professionals, and indigenous persons. Every aspect of this process will require intense commitment, a fluid approach, and careful monitoring.
I have been encouraged by the work of Macarthur fellow, artist, and urban revitalization strategist Majora Carter to “Green the Ghetto”; and, by Van Jones’, founding of The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Greenforall.org. I have been impressed by the carbon credit strategy of Carbon Conservation, a firm founded by young entrepreneur Dorjee Sun. I, like most others, have been horrified by the financial scandals and world wide economic recession; and, inspired by the creative action that led to the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.
My self-imposed studies have led me to some interesting questions:
- How can a rainforest ecosystem mimic and use corporate advertising strategies as a form of camouflage to promote its survival by bringing public attention in a very real way to the importance in maintaining its assets; and, conversely, bring the live experience of the jungle to a congested urban environment?
- Since one can view Times Square as an urban ecosystem of sorts, how is it influenced/changed if I “green” it?
- How might the current renaissance of concerns about global warming, endangered natural resources, the “carbon footprint” of individuals and industry, “green” business practices, etc., be used to effect a change in corporate ethics and global business practices?
- How might one continue to engage the black and brown perspectives of “green” issues, since the impact of poorly managed globalization is greatly felt in communities of color across the US and globally as well?
- How can I, as an artist, promote a reform of business practices that will reframe values from a canonization of the bottom line to sustainability?
The potential impact of this project is incalculable. The simultaneous replacement of digital advertising with live footage from the rain forest will delight, amaze, and educate the million plus daily visitors to Times Square. The sights and sounds of Amazonia will enter and inhabit the urban jungle for a time.
Imagine entering Times Square greeted by the glare and cacophony of digital billboards and having that silently shift to live footage of the jungle. Perhaps there will be images of scarlet macaws on a salt lick or the dense topography of the forest canopy. Imagine how the tenor of experience will be altered at the site. The sounds of the city will suddenly include the buzz of insects and roar of the Amazon River. Many of the 1.5 million daily visitors to Times Square will have a respite from the siren song of consumption and experience a different kind of message. My hope is to produce a beautiful experience that resonates from the boardroom to the jungle.
Green Times Square Holly Tempo
In late 2007, I was invited to participate in Green-er Sessions: Sketching Solutions to Climate Change, an exhibition in which artists, scientists and architects presented solutions for climate change. I submitted a proposal to create a public artwork in Times Square, New York in which all digital ad space would simultaneously be replaced by live footage from the rain forest. The response to my proposal was moving and enthusiastic; and what was initially an ideation about how I, as an artist, might address global warming has evolved into a public art project.
Green Times Square is a site-specific artwork and intervention on behalf of the rain forest. Intended to infuse preservation of the rain forest into corporate advertising strategies, the project aims to facilitate a significant paradigm shift in the values of consumer culture. The project will enable companies to align their business practices with the public’s growing interest in ecological and social responsibility.
This is a complex endeavor that requires copious amounts of research, introspection and brainstorming; travel to New York and South America; and interface with scientists, videographers, CEO’s, advertising professionals, and indigenous persons. Every aspect of this process will require intense commitment, a fluid approach, and careful monitoring.
I have been encouraged by the work of Macarthur fellow, artist, and urban revitalization strategist Majora Carter to “Green the Ghetto”; and, by Van Jones’, founding of The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Greenforall.org. I have been impressed by the carbon credit strategy of Carbon Conservation, a firm founded by young entrepreneur Dorjee Sun. I, like most others, have been horrified by the financial scandals and world wide economic recession; and, inspired by the creative action that led to the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.
My self-imposed studies have led me to some interesting questions:
- How can a rainforest ecosystem mimic and use corporate advertising strategies as a form of camouflage to promote its survival by bringing public attention in a very real way to the importance in maintaining its assets; and, conversely, bring the live experience of the jungle to a congested urban environment?
- Since one can view Times Square as an urban ecosystem of sorts, how is it influenced/changed if I “green” it?
- How might the current renaissance of concerns about global warming, endangered natural resources, the “carbon footprint” of individuals and industry, “green” business practices, etc., be used to effect a change in corporate ethics and global business practices?
- How might one continue to engage the black and brown perspectives of “green” issues, since the impact of poorly managed globalization is greatly felt in communities of color across the US and globally as well?
- How can I, as an artist, promote a reform of business practices that will reframe values from a canonization of the bottom line to sustainability?
The potential impact of this project is incalculable. The simultaneous replacement of digital advertising with live footage from the rain forest will delight, amaze, and educate the million plus daily visitors to Times Square. The sights and sounds of Amazonia will enter and inhabit the urban jungle for a time.
Imagine entering Times Square greeted by the glare and cacophony of digital billboards and having that silently shift to live footage of the jungle. Perhaps there will be images of scarlet macaws on a salt lick or the dense topography of the forest canopy. Imagine how the tenor of experience will be altered at the site. The sounds of the city will suddenly include the buzz of insects and roar of the Amazon River. Many of the 1.5 million daily visitors to Times Square will have a respite from the siren song of consumption and experience a different kind of message. My hope is to produce a beautiful experience that resonates from the boardroom to the jungle.