Jennifer Talbott, assistant to the director at the Spencer Museum of Art, left, and Kate Meyer, curatorial assistant, prints and drawings, have helped produce the latest exhibit at the museum, “Climate Change at the Poles.” At center is a sculpture by Nathalie Miebach titled “Antarctic Surveyor II — Tracking Solar & Lunar Transitions 2008.” Miebach translates climatological data from the Antarctic to create her artworks.

A working Inuit kayak is part of an installation of pieces on display at the Spencer Museum of Art in the exhibit “Climate Change at the Poles.”

Lewis Lindsay Dyche is shown wearing an Inuit parka, circa 1895, in this albumen print. Both the photo and the outfit are on display at the Spencer’s “Climate Change at the Poles” exhibit.

Stone carving of an Inuit woman holding a baby.

Ivory carving of a caribou from Inuit people active in Alaska.

The term “climate change” is steeped in divisiveness.

Politics vs. science, nature vs. doomsday, Al Gore vs. George Bush.

But what about the artistic aspect of the phrase?

Such is the concept behind “Climate Change at the Poles,” a new exhibit at Kansas University’s Spencer Museum of Art.

“We wanted to capitalize on that name and that assumption,” says Kate Meyer, curatorial assistant in prints and drawings at the museum.

“When you go into an art museum, your assumption is you’re going to look at objects for their aesthetic value first. That is a component that you may not think about all the time when you look at a map or radar equipment or an oar. But that’s very much an element of how you can appreciate them.”

“Climate Change at the Poles” takes advantage of the museum’s intrinsic north and south balcony displays.

“The north half is objects related to people who inhabit the North Pole. The other half is objects related to people who visit and study and try to make sense of the South Pole — because it is uninhabited,” Meyer explains.

The KU-headquartered Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) approached the gallery in 2006 with the idea for the unusual exhibit. This also serves as a tie-in with the International Polar Year, which is a period devoted to polar research.

“One of the main components of the CReSIS grant is education, so this was one of their ideas about how to educate the public about climate change,” says Jennifer Talbott, assistant to the director at the museum.

Glacial space

The museum didn’t just gather material for “Climate Change at the Poles”; it actively created some.

Photographer Terry Evans was commissioned by the Spencer to travel to Greenland to photograph the Jakobshavn Glacier.

Evans, a Kansas native based in Chicago, set up camp in Ilulissat, on the west coast of Greenland.

“It is beautiful,” she says. “There is Precambrian dark rock, moss, lichen, no trees, and nearby is the ice fjord that leads to the Jakobshavn Glacier.”

There she connected with CReSIS and NASA scientists, where she tried to capture both the innate beauty of the surroundings and the pragmatic work of the researchers dedicated to analyzing the glacier. Much of her time was spent in a helicopter taking aerial photographs, which proved a challenging experience.

“Understanding the scale of what I was seeing was confounding,” she recalls.

Since there were no signs of man-made markers, it was difficult for her to judge whether a chunk of ice was 20 stories high or knee high.

Evans admits that confusion continued when she began pouring over her photographs while back in the states. She equated her emotions with those of the CReSIS researchers, who measure the depth of the glacier and the rate it’s melting in order to predict rates of climate change. Both represent formidable tasks with many inconvenient truths.

“It is a mystery that I’m still trying to understand, which is part of what this exhibition is about,” Evans says.

Her exhibit opens Saturday at the museum’s Asian Gallery II.

Ingenuity on display

The Spencer staff is particularly pleased that the entire “Climate Change” collection is material that has never before been on display in the museum. The bulk of items are on loan from places such as Spooner Hall, the Spencer Research Library and various contributors from outside the state.

Meyer and Talbott cite several of the Inuit artifacts as personal favorites.

A full Inuit parka once worn by naturalist Lewis Lindsay Dyche is presented intact. However, it is entirely sealed in a glass case because the preservation method of the era involved heaping amounts of arsenic.

Another arsenic-laced artifact is an Inuit quilt made from 100 duck skins.

“It’s reflective of the innovative people that we’re dealing with,” Talbott says. “It’s just beautiful and in such good shape. You can see the coloring of the black and green feathers, which is the coloring of the head of the male eider duck.”

Talbott also points to a remarkable seal gut parka.

“It looks like a windbreaker that Gor-Tex makes. It even has drawstrings on it — that’s made in 1895 or before,” she says.

The staff hopes modern viewers can find the artistic beauty in these items, whether they’re a 19th century kayak or 21st century climatological equipment.

Meyer says, “We try to make people think about, feel and understand the places these people are inhabiting.”

“CLIMATE CHANGE AT THE POLES” EVENT SCHEDULE

Saturday

It Starts With Art!: Children’s art appreciation classes for ages 5-14 / How’s the Weather?:

10:30 a.m.& 1:30 p.m.

Explore the exhibition Climate Change at the Poles and discover how you can create a “weather report.” / To enroll, contact SMA Education Department, 785.864.0137 or smakids@ku.edu, or visit the Spencer’s Web site to enroll online.

Feb. 13

Performance: “The Ice Wolf”

7 p.m. / Lawrence Arts Center, 9th & New Hampshire

“The Ice Wolf” is based on an Inuit story and performed primarily by a cast of children / In conjunction with Climate Change at the Poles

Feb. 19

Book Discussion/Film Series: Climate Change

Book Discussion: 6 p.m. / Film: 7 p.m. / Book Discussion: North & South Balcony Galleries / Film: SMA Auditorium

This collaborative program pairs film screenings at the Spencer with book discussions sponsored by the Lawrence Public Library. In conjunction with the exhibition Climate Change at the Poles, the Library has created a book discussion group on the subject, and the Spencer has assembled a series of films with storylines or themes similar to those found in the literature. A book discussion precedes each screening. To register for the Book Discussion group, contact Maria Butler at (785) 843-3833 ext.123 or e-mail mbutler@lawrence.lib.ks.us.

Book Discussion: 6 p.m. / Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change by Elizabeth Kolbert / North & South Balcony Galleries

Film: 7 p.m. / “Everything’s Cool” /SMA Auditorium / This comedic documentary tackles a very serious topic: global warming. Everything’s Cool focuses on a group eager to change Americans’ attitudes about climate change. (2007, 89 minutes)

March 5

Reception: Spring @ the Spencer

6:30 p.m. / SMA Galleries & Central Court

A celebration of the Museum’s spring exhibitions.

March 12

Book Discussion/Film Series: Climate Change

Book Discussion: 6 p.m. / Film: 7 p.m. / Book Discussion: North & South Balcony Galleries / Film: SMA Auditorium

This collaborative program pairs film screenings at the Spencer with book discussions sponsored by the Lawrence Public Library. In conjunction with the exhibition Climate Change at the Poles, the Library has created a book discussion group on the subject, and the Spencer has assembled a series of films with storylines or themes similar to those found in the literature. A book discussion precedes each screening. To register for the Book Discussion group, contact Maria Butler at (785) 843-3833 ext.123 or e-mail mbutler@lawrence.lib.ks.us.

Book Discussion: 6 p.m. / “The Long Summer: How Climate Changed Civilization” by Brian Fagan / North & South Balcony Galleries

Film: 7 p.m. / “Nanook of the North” /SMA Auditorium / This classic film documents one year in the life of Nanook, an Inuit hunter and his family as they struggle to survive in the harsh conditions of Canada’s Hudson Bay region. Without the use of dialogue, this piece describes the trading, hunting, fishing and migrations of a group barely touched by industrial technology (1922, director Robert Flaherty, 79 minutes)

March 26

Panel Discussion: Climate Change at the Poles

5 p.m. / North & South Balcony Galleries

Co-sponsored by the Lied Center and the Art, Ideas, and Action program / Invited guest speakers Jonathan Chester (photographer), Brandon Gillette, (PolarTREC & CReSIS), Stephen Williams, photojournalist, and Paul D. Miller (aka DJ Spooky) share their personal experiences at the Poles. In conjunction with Climate Change at the Poles

March 27

Town & Gown: Perspectives on Nature and Art

10 a.m.-12 p.m.

Focusing on the exhibitions Climate Change at the Poles and Trees & other Ramifications: Branches in Nature & Culture, faculty from a variety of disciplines will discuss the natural environment, offering new perspectives for understanding its meaning and impact on our lives / Co-sponsored by the Hall Center for the Humanities

March 27

Special Event: Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica

7:30 p.m. / Lied Center

New York-based conceptual artist, writer and musician Paul D. Miller, the DJ prominently known as DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, presents a multi-media event Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica / An acoustic portrait of the rapidly changing Antarctic ice forms that incorporates Spooky’s original field recordings to create a unique and powerful moment around man’s relationship with nature. / In conjunction with Climate Change at the Poles

April 2

Opening Reception: Technology/Nature

7 p.m. / SUA Gallery, Fourth Floor, Kansas Union

An SMA Student Advisory Board juried art exhibition. / In conjunction with Climate Change at the Poles and Trees & other Ramifications: Branches in Nature & Culture

April 8

Lecture: Bruce Mau, principle of Bruce Mau Design, on Massive Change: the Future of Design and Life on Earth

7:30 p.m. / Woodruff Auditorium

The Kenneth A. Spencer Memorial Lecture, Sponsored by The Commons / In conjunction with the University Lecture Series at The Commons.

April 9

Conversation: Bruce Mau, principle of Bruce Mau Design

9:30 a.m./ The Commons in Spooner Hall

Sponsored by The Commons / In conjunction with the University Lecture Series at The Commons.

April 9

Book Discussion/Film Series: Climate Change

Book Discussion: 6 p.m. Film: 7 p.m. / Book Discussion: North & South Balcony Galleries Film: SMA Auditorium

This collaborative program pairs film screenings at the Spencer with book discussions sponsored by the Lawrence Public Library. In conjunction with the exhibition Climate Change at the Poles, the Library has created a book discussion group on the subject, and the Spencer has assembled a series of films with storylines or themes similar to those found in the literature. A book discussion precedes each screening. To register for the Book Discussion group, contact Maria Butler at (785) 843-3833 ext.123 or e-mail mbutler@lawrence.lib.ks.us

Book Discussion: 6 p.m. / The Two-Mile Time Machine: Ice Cores, Abrupt Climate Change, and Our Future by Richard Alley / North & South Balcony Galleries

Film: 7 p.m. / “Encounters at the End of the World” / SMA Auditorium / Director Werner Herzog takes his camera to the Antarctic community of McMurdo Station, where a hearty crew of 1,100 people spend the austral summer. This group of researchers, scientists and assorted adventurers show us life at the bottom of the world as we see that we are not as invincible or as dominant as we like to believe. (2008, 99 minutes)

April 21

Lecture: Dr. Edith L. Taylor on The Lush Vegetation of Antarctica: Understanding Ancient Climate from Fossil Plants

7 p.m. / Lawrence Public Library Auditorium, 7th & Vermont

In conjunction with Climate Change at the Poles / Taylor is professor, department of ecology and evolutionary biology and senior curator, paleobotany division, KU Museum of Natural History.

April 23

Special Event: Spring Student Night

6-8 p.m. /

Sponsored by the SMA Student Advisory Board / In conjunction with Trees & Other Ramifications: Branches in Nature & Culture and Climate Change at the Poles

April 26

Artists Talk: Terry Evans on A Greenland Glacier: The Scale of Climate Change — Photographs by Terry Evans

2 p.m. / SMA Auditorium

In conjunction with Climate Change at the Poles and A Greenland Glacier

May 2

Arts & Culture Festival:

1-4 p.m. / SMA Galleries and Front Lawn

Co-sponsored by SMA Student Advisory Board and Student Union Activities / In conjunction with SMA spring exhibitions

May 14

Book Discussion/Film Series: Climate Change

Book Discussion: 6 p.m. / Film: 7 p.m. / Book Discussion: North & South Balcony Galleries / Film: SMA Auditorium

This collaborative program pairs film screenings at the Spencer with book discussions sponsored by the Lawrence Public Library. In conjunction with the exhibition Climate Change at the Poles, the Library has created a book discussion group on the subject, and the Spencer has assembled a series of films with storylines or themes similar to those found in the literature. A book discussion precedes each screening. To register for the Book Discussion group, contact Maria Butler at (785) 843-3833 ext.123 or e-mail mbutler@lawrence.lib.ks.us.

Book Discussion: 6 p.m. / “Storm World: Hurricanes, Politics, and the Battle over Global Warming” by Chris Mooney / North & South Balcony Galleries

Film: 7 p.m. / “Art from the Arctic” / SMA Auditorium / From 2003 to 2005, British artist/filmmaker David Buckland organized three sailing expeditions to the High Arctic as part of a series of collaborations between artists, educators and scientists, designed to create public awareness of global climate change. (2004, 59 minutes)