Earth from Above
- Date: November 19, 2008 through April 30th, 2009
- Location: "Paseo de la Princesa", Old San Juan
Open to public - FREE entrance - Details: www.yannarthusbertrand.com
Earth from Above
By Leslie Paige
Now more than birds can enjoy the beautiful view of the world from above thanks to the visually stunning art of internationally acclaimed French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand and his renowned Earth from Above documentary-style outdoors exhibit.
This informative visual smorgasbord of Earth's natural formations and urban developments will be free and open to the public from November 19, 2008 through April 30th, 2009 alongside Viejo San Juan's winding seaside "Paseo de la Princesa". Local residents and island visitors can admire-during the day or in the evening-a collection of 124 staggering aerial shots (each measuring about four feet by six feet) of natural landscapes and industrial developments in more than 100 countries. Some are the result of human activity, while others have been carved entirely by nature-and none of these images can be seen on foot.
In addition to the unique perspective each photograph brings to the collection, visitors can read (in English and Spanish) about the fascinating story of the world's impressive beauty, as well as its increasing population, changing climate, contaminated waters, and shrinking biodiversity in complementary educational materials.
Arthus-Bertrand sought not only to provide a unique and cultural experience, but also to pose such profound questions as: What type of world will our future generations inherit and how can we preserve the heritage of natural abundance? Through research data provided by World Bank, UNESCO, and UNICEF, among others, the artist highlights staggering statistics about the world's consumption of electricity, deforestation in developing countries, and decaying fishing zones in an attempt to provide a report of both the wonderful and troublesome state of our planet.
Approximately 500,000 people have participated in this exhibit, which has been displayed in 27 languages and viewed by more than 100 million people around the world. Past exhibits have been staged in Afghanistan, Austria, Chile, Canada, Lebanon, Korea, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The United States, Sweden, Taiwan, and Portugal, just to name a few.
Puerto Rico was host to the exhibit in 2007, after which it traveled across the globe to Slovenia, Morocco, Greece, and Canada. It returns to Puerto Rico from November 2008 through April 2009 with the addition of new photographs, including San Juan's historic El Morro fort and Manatí's Mar Chiquita.
The former director of London's acclaimed Natural History Museum, Sir Neil Chalmers, has touted Earth from Above to be a "powerful combination" of "inspiring images with an environmental narrative" that has drawn a "great multitude and variety of audiences" to the museum.
The artist, Arthus-Bertrand, stumbled upon the idea of taking photos from the sky about 30 years ago while studying lions with his wife in Kenya. He found that zipping over the African landscape in a hot air balloon provided a unique way of capturing the beauty of the natural world. Ten years later, after carefully scoping out more than 76 countries and clocking 3,000 flying hours by helicopter, Arthus-Bertrand's vision was born.
Yann Arthus-Bertrand has produced 60 books of his work and holds the most prestigious award in France, the Legion D'Honneur, for his photographic work on the environment. He now lives in France where he founded the Altitude Agency in Paris, specializing in aerial photography. He is also a strong proponent of environmental conservation efforts.
