Florida Governor Charlie Crist and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger accept Antarctic “ice paintings” from artist Xavier Cortada at the Florida Summit on Global Climate Change in Miami on July 13, 2007.

Xavier Cortada, recipient of a 2006-2007 National Science Foundation Antarctic Artists and Writers fellowship, traveled to Antarctica to implement a series of projects and installations. While there, the Miami artist created “ice paintings” using glacier and sediment samples provided to him by scientists working in Antarctica.  The artist titled the works on paper by randomly selecting the names of geographic features from a map of the continent that inspired their creation.

Governor Schwarzenegger’s ice painting:
ninnus

Using water from the melting Antarctic ice cap to make art is an ingenious way to draw people’s attention to one of the most important issues of our time, and in addition, it’s a beautiful painting.  I’ll display it proudly.

–Arnold Schwarzenegger

Governor Crist’s ice painting:
widerøe

Thank you so much for sharing with me your Widerøe ice painting.  What an extraordinary painting.

— Charlie Crist

Artist: Xavier Cortada Title: widerøe Medium:  Ice from the Western Antarctic Ice Sheet, sediment from Antarctica’s Dry Valleys and mixed media on paper Size: 12 inches x 9 inches Year: 2007 Created onsite at McMurdo Station, Ross Island, Antarctica

 

Cortada created the ice paintings in Antarctica by melting ice from the Western Antarctic Ice Sheet.  The governors’ leadership in decreasing greenhouse gas emissions in their states will help reduce the likelihood that this ice sheet will melt thereby causing sea levels to rise, destroying fragile ecosystems and displacing millions from their homes along the coastlines of Florida and California. 

In gratitude for their leadership, Cortada presented each of the governors with one of his Antarctic ice paintings at the Florida Summit on Global Climate Change.  Governor Crist convened the summit in Miami during July 12th -13th, 2007 to engage state, regional, national and international leaders, as well as significant members of the business and environmental communities, in a discussion to explore opportunities for advancing the global climate change agenda and for adopting specific climate action plans. To learn more please visit www.myfloridaclimate.com.

To see more ice paintings please visit http://www.cortada.com/antarctica/icepaintings/index.htm.