If you’ve been Downtown within the past week, you may have noticed nearly 30 giant decorated globes dotted about Market Square, PPG Plaza and Gateway Center and wondered what they are all about.
They’re part of the public art exhibition “Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet.” The idea for the exhibition emerged in 2005 and became a nonprofit in 2006, raising awareness of solutions to climate change.
The following year, the globes — each weighing a ton — began their tour of, well, the globe. In the summer of 2007, more than 120 globes were displayed in Chicago. Some were auctioned off, raising $500,000 for environmental clubs at Chicago public schools.
The public art was part of the Clinton Global Initiative, and according to founder Wendy Abrams, was created with the idea that it would stop people in their tracks to make them think about solutions to climate change.
“This was started when we still referred to climate change as ‘global warming,’ ” Ms. Abrams said. “It was before [the release of documentary] ‘An Inconvenient Truth.’ ”
She said the effort took a lot of time and that she recognized that leaders weren’t leading, but were following public opinion instead. The goal was to engage the public on a topic that can be hard to understand.
“Even small things, like taking mass transit or using cold water for laundry help,” said Ms. Abrams. “You don’t need an MIT degree to make change.”
Pittsburgh is the Globes’ 20th stop. The exhibit officially opens Monday and the globes will be here through October. Since 2007, the globes have been displayed in cities across the United States, including Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City and Washington D.C., as well as worldwide starting in 2009: among them Amsterdam, Jerusalem, Vancouver and Warsaw.
Three globes were designed by local artists: Katy DeMent, Ashley Kyber and Lindsay Wright. “Bee Mindful,” was designed by Ms. Wright of Greenfield, who said she received inspiration from the ideas of environmentalist and writer Rachel Carson, who was born in Springdale.
“I knew the globe was going to be in Pittsburgh,” Ms. Wright said, “So I wanted to tie in Pittsburgh themes.”
The globe is covered with a black and yellow honeycomb design to represent the colors of the city, as well as the color of bees and easy to identify warning signs, such as caution signs on the street and poisonous animals in nature, as a representation of the cautiousness people should have in preserving this planet. It also features small bee sculptures containing representations of different food items pollinated by bees.
“If bees go, our favorite foods go,” Ms. Wright said. “Let’s pay attention to even the little guys when we’re talking about climate change.” She added that humans must work together like bees to make this world a better place to live.
Having done work as a science illustrator, typically drawing insect and dinosaur illustrations for textbooks, Ms. Wright appreciated the new challenge the globe brought, being a 6-foot-tall, 5-feet-in-diameter public art sculpture. Because the globe raises awareness and is displayed in her hometown, she was glad to apply and accept the challenge when called upon.
Megan Scarsella, project manager at Cool Globes, said that the group has worked with a lot of cities and not all have been easy. But she said Pittsburgh has been a joy to work with; the city leaders, rather than looking at the roots of industry, are embracing the future of it. The exhibit was made possible, in part, with support from the Mayor’s Office, PNC Bank and local foundations.
Overall, approximately 200 artists have come together to design these globes. Each time the exhibit visits another city, additional artists contribute to show off global and local initiatives.
Adam Duke: aduke@post-gazette.com
First Published: June 18, 2018, 12:00 p.m.