2010 Interpreting War

Working with Artist-in-Residence Nina Berman, YI Writers began the semester developing their own definitions of war, whether it involved conflicts between nations, battles between human beings and nature, or opponents in a board game. Through a generous consignment by Nikon, Inc., YI Writers learned photographic skills on Nikon D5000 digital SLR cameras, and used them to capture and convey their own interpretations of war.

For many years, mankind has been responsible for some of the most devastating tragedies happening to the environment. The recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a prime example of how devastating our development is to things around us. Many have tried to reverse the damage, yet there is still that side of people who would rather continue doing what they do, which may be harming the plant life and other wildlife around us. Though we aren’t always aware of how our actions may affect the environment, just about everything a human does may have a long-term effect on the earth’s status. Driving a car that emits dangerous gases into the air from the exhaust creates a dark and uninhabitable world if kept going. 

The air is a major concern for damage to the earth because, of course, we need it to live. Trees so often fall victim to human aggression in our societies. Skyscrapers, buildings, and city waste depots weren’t always where they are now. To think, the land which we live on used to be fully inhabited by wildlife, trees, grass, bushes and uncontaminated water. Our development as a race and a country ensures that trees won’t be around here for much longer. Fake ones maybe, but not so many real trees. So far, we have made some attempts at trying to fix our mistakes by planting trees, putting certain things on the endangered list, and trying to let nature flourish within our own cities in natural preserves. Central Park is a great example of this. This project is a document of the many different ways New York has attempted to keep nature as a part of our lives, as opposed to cutting it all down to make way for progress and putting many other species in danger. Some pictures will represent the beauty of plant life, some will exhibit parts of our city that have barely any plant life, and some will show how we have been able to accept plants as part of our lives.