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Event Announcement

THE SIXTH EXTINCTION

A Multimedia Show

On Display at SUNY Cobleskill, October 24th – December 7th.
Reception October 26th 6-9pm.
Artists Talk November 29th 3-4pm.
Documentary Preview – November 30th 11am – 12pm

We are living in a period called THE SIXTH EXTINCTION. Past extinction periods were typically caused by great catastrophic events; an asteroid collision or massive volcanic activity which suddenly and violently changed living conditions on a global scale. There is something profoundly different about the extinction period we live in today.

The Sixth Extinction is not happening because of some external force. It is happening because of us, the collective actions of humans- developing and paving over the landscape, clear-cutting forests, polluting rivers and streams, altering the atmosphere’s protective ozone layer, and populating nearly every place imaginable.

This mass extinction is the fastest in Earth's 4.5-billion-year history.

If we continue to live as we do, fifty percent of the Earth’s species will have vanished within the next 100 years. Such a dramatic and overwhelming mass extinction threatens the entire complex fabric of life on Earth, including the species responsible for it: Homo sapiens. Though it is true that life, so incredibly resilient, has always recovered after major extinction spasms, it is only after whatever has caused the extinction event has dissipated. That cause, in the case of the Sixth Extinction, is ourselves -- Homo sapiens. This means we can continue on the path to our own extinction, or, preferably, we modify our behavior toward the global ecosystem of which we are still very much a part. The latter must happen before the Sixth Extinction can be declared over, and life can once again rebound.

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The objective of this project is to raise awareness of the seriousness of climate change, mass extinctions and oil depletion and the need for urgency to act now. It is my hope that we are able to quickly grasp these crucial issues and in so doing, change our relationship with this planet that we call home.
                                                                         -Cynthia Marsh 

SHOW DESCRIPTION

  • Cynthia Marsh has selected an unusual collection of NASA images of the planet taken from one of five Earth-observing instruments named ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer). The primary goal of the ASTER mission is to obtain high-resolution image data over the entire land surface to provide scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for monitoring planetary changes. Although in some cases, these images are documenting our devastating impact on the planet, they reveal the beauty of our home as seen from above and define patterns we observe on a much smaller scale in the natural world around us.
  • John Miglietta has produced a documentary film entitled: "Just Around The Corner-a Work in Progress" which will premiere during the exhibition. A short trailer for the film will run during the entire show. In the documentary, high school students from New York City and the Oneonta area of upstate New York reflect on what challenges they may be facing due to possible economic, environmental, and social disruptions resulting from Climate Change and Peak Oil. And, they look into some of the more promising strategies to adapt to what may be coming.
  • David Kenny's “Window Vision” is a video installation of natural environments with a human touch. The installation includes 2 contrasting audio dialog’s to highlight the distinction between animal to earth adaptation and human to earth adaptation. “Become very aware of how humanity interacts with Mother Nature.”
  • Robert Forlini has contributed images from a photo shoot he did for this show in contemplation of the patterns found in nature on a macro and micro scale.

THE SIXTH EXTINCTION is a Not-For-Profit show under the umbrella of UCCCA

Thanks To: NASA for their help in acquiring these images, to Fred Marsh and James Mullen for their support and encouragement, to writers Jim Kunstler, Richard Heinburg, Bill Mckibben, Daniel Quinn and Peter North. Thanks to Congressman Sherwood Boehlert, Rich Brandt and Volcano Editions. Thanks to UCCCA for supporting this project and providing its Not-For-Profit status. And last but not least, thanks to Rob for your encouragement and support in all my endeavors.

 

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updated 12/6/06