Kategorie: News
Campaign to combat climate change
Museums from around the world are joining the Ocean us Foundation in an unprecedented campaign to combat climate change. Under the title "Last Call for Beauty", Ocean us is bleaching famous paintings to draw attention to the extinction of coral reefs in the world's oceans.
When famous masterpieces of art lose their colour, it is a catastrophic loss. A spectacular campaign by the Ocean us Foundation is now making this a reality - and the most famous masterpieces of painting from world-renowned museums are fading. From the Palace of Versailles and the Albertina Museum to the Prado, the Guggenheim and the National Art Gallery Victoria, numerous major art museums are getting involved. They are raising international awareness of coral bleaching, the worrying coral bleaching in the oceans and the crowdfunding campaign for the "Global Coral Restoration" project.
The importance of such projects cannot be emphasized enough when you look at the latest reports about the current situation on the Great Barrier Reef: Record temperatures on the Gread Barrier Reef; coral bleaching on a catastrophic scale.
Without coral reefs, our world would be lifeless and grey. Colours stand for vitality and are the ultimate means of expression. This is especially true in art: whether Monet's water lily impressions or Van Gogh's sunflowers - the iconic masterpieces of art history would be hard to imagine without their characteristic colours.
And yet this is exactly what major museums from all over the world are now showing: the joint campaign "Last Call For Beauty" by the international Ocean us Foundation demonstrates what happens when works of art gradually lose their colours.
The digital process of bleaching symbolises and draws attention to the dramatic increase in coral bleaching in the world's oceans, which threatens to destroy this important ecosystem to the point of extinction.
Programme to rebuild the coral reefs
The impressive campaign is part of the "Global Coral Restoration" project of the international Ocean us Foundation. Together with leading marine scientists and experts from other disciplines, the globally operating initiative has developed a concrete plan to rebuild the world's oceans. The foundation's first project, "Global Coral Restoration", aims to reverse the predicted functional extinction of coral reefs. The ambitious goal is to restore nine million square metres of damaged reefs worldwide by 2030.
Linda Neugebauer, founder of Ocean us: "An ocean without functioning coral reefs is unthinkable. They are home to a quarter of all marine species and are essential for the survival of many coastal communities. We now have the opportunity to make a huge collective effort to restore the diversity and richness of the oceans. And to ensure that our world does not continue to lose colour and therefore life."
"Bleaching Art" is part of a series of creative actions as part of the "Last Call for Beauty" campaign developed by Chema Herrera, Creative Director and Head of Marketing and Communications at Ocean us. The campaign will run until December 2024 and is supported by major international institutions and companies.
Chema Herrera, Creative Director of Ocean us, on the campaign he developed: "Last Call for Beauty" raises the question of how far we are willing to go to lose beauty. "Be it in art, in fashion, in music, in our lives or on our planet. We all want to be beautiful, whether at work, in the family or on holiday. Beauty motivates us to act. And right now we need to act urgently to prevent the loss of one of the most beautiful ecosystems. The worst thing would be to simply accept the loss of beauty in all its dimensions on our planet."
11 of the world's most renowned museums are participating in this impressive campaign with their most emblematic works. These include the Albertina in Vienna with Monet's "Water Lily Pond", the Prado in Madrid with El Greco's famous oil portrait of a "Nobleman with his hand on his chest" and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, with Tiepolo's "Cleopatra's Banquet". The Munch Museum in Oslo is showing the world-famous "Scream" by expressionist painter Edvard Munch and the Palace of Versailles Nocret's "The Royal Family in Olympus".
"Man and nature are inextricably linked: Nature and animals are among mankind's first motifs; they are a recurring, inexhaustible motif in art through the millennia. And just like our artistic treasures, nature is also vulnerable and requires special protection: let us work together to preserve our unique treasures for future generations." Prof Dr Klaus Albrecht Schröder, General Director of ABLERTINA in Vienna
"I see many similarities between the protection of our environment and that of artistic masterpieces. It is a common struggle for the treasures that we have inherited, whether natural or created, and that enable us to live, and to live in beauty." Christopher Leribault, President of the Palace of Versailles in France
"Today, more than ever, the mission of museums is to impart knowledge and encourage critical thinking. Raising awareness of issues such as sustainability is one of the priorities of the Thysen-Bornemisza Museum's purpose, and our art collection is an excellent vehicle for developing the many initiatives we have undertaken in this regard. We are very pleased with our collaboration with the foundation Ocean us." Evelio Acevedo Carrero, General Director of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid
"Art is a powerful instrument of change: not only can it inspire reflection on the current environmental catastrophe, but it is also a valuable tool to change our perception of the relationship between culture and nature. In its most ephemeral forms, art also reminds us of the no less ephemeral nature of our presence on Earth." Andrés Duprat, Director of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Argentina
"Tiepolo's iconic painting depicts the love affair between the Roman consul Marcus Antonius and the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. The painting tells the story of a famous contest in which Cleopatra bets that she could organise a more lavish feast than the legendary debauchery of Marcus Antonius. Tiepolo depicts the dramatic moment when Cleopatra wins the bet with her trump card. She takes off one of her priceless pearl earrings, dissolves it in a glass of vinegar and drinks it, causing Mark Antony to lose his bet. The campaign reminds us that we are collectively betting on the future beauty of coral reefs and other ecosystems - how could we stand idly by and watch them dissolve before our eyes, like Cleopatra's precious pearl?" Ewan McEoin, Senior Curator National Gallery of Victoria in Australia
Global crowdfunding campaign for the realisation of "Global Coral Restoration"
In an international campaign, Ocean us has launched a crowdfunding initiative. The foundation project aims to raise a total of 40 million euros for the realisation of the "Global Coral Restoration" project and can already rely on the commitment of large companies and institutions. The aim is to realise a concrete plan for global coral restoration on an industrial scale, which is to be launched this year.
You can find out more about the "Global Coral Restoration" campaign and the crowdfunding project here: www.support.oceanus.life/coral
For more information about Ocean us' plan to restore the world's oceans within a generation, visit hoceanus.life