Antarctic, Arctic come together in campus art

A UNC professor and a local Carrboro artist went to the ends of the world and back to create the latest show at the FedEx Global Education Center.

Brooks de Wetter-Smith, the James Gordon Hanes Distinguished Professor of Music, and painter Nerys Levy bring their unique take on the polar regions with their work capturing life in Antarctica and the Arctic with the exhibit “Ice Counterpoint.”

“I think everyone who goes to the polar regions comes back changed,” de Wetter-Smith said.

Though professionally trained in music, de Wetter-Smith said he has been interested in photography from a young age.

“What I’ve tried to do is to look at these areas from the perspective of a musician because that’s what I am,” he said. “I try to see relationships visually to what I’m so accustomed to thinking about aurally — what we hear with our ears and what we perform.”

He said visual relationships, such as balance and contrast, are similar to the tonal relationships of music.

His work includes several photographs presented on large canvases and a multimedia piece with video, photographs and music.

Levy and de Wetter-Smith took separate trips to Antarctica but traveled to the Arctic together last year.

Both artists said the Antarctic seemed to be a harsher landscape. The Arctic was more accessible but seemed to be more affected by climate change, de Wetter-Smith said.

“You get a sense in the Arctic that wildlife there is in a much more fragile situation because the climate is changing so rapidly,” he said.

Levy created several large paintings, examining the forms of the land and some of the animals.

The extreme conditions were an additional challenge for Levy because she could not sit in place and paint for a long time.

“One realizes the limitations of working in those areas but learns how to deal with that to try to capture the moment,” she said.

Both de Wetter-Smith and Levy said they felt compelled to bring attention to the fragility of the wildlife in these areas and the way the polar climates are changing.

“To think of all that melting and threatening these animals is really daunting, and that really commits you to a show like this,” Levy said of participating in the exhibit.

In addition to the exhibit, the FedEx Global Education Center is also sponsoring programs related to climate change.

“Climate change is an issue currently being addressed by the world,” wrote Laura Griest, manager of global events and exhibitions for the center, in an e-mail. “Focusing on this issue is a reminder of how small and interconnected our world really is.”

Levy said that after visiting the regions, she hopes to be an ambassador for their nature and wildlife, advocating on their behalf.

“We have a responsibility to those animals,” she said. “They may not wear trousers and skirts, but they are communities in their own rights.”

Additionally, the artists did not want to overwhelm viewers with facts and figures but instead interest them in the wonders of the region.

“If you show them works of beauty, they get it,” Levy said.



Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.