1956

Artist: Juan Leonardo Bravo

Observations

In 1956, author Waldemar Kaempffert wrote an article in the New York Times entitled "Warmer climate on the earth may be due to more carbon dioxide in the air." I do not intend to conduct a deep analysis of this writing, nor do I wish to express my opinion of what I believe to be the truth about climate change. What I would like to do instead is to give an account of the reasons behind why this exhibition is taking place and how this article inspired the producer of this exhibition to carry it out.

Pripiat

Size: 80″ x 80″
Acrylic on canvas

It is amazing how some causes can go on for so long. I'm not talking about the typical fights with a moral or religious basis, those struggles are latent, and I think they will be with us forever. I refer to issues that claim to be the truth based on science, and the "irrefutable" evidence of the scientific apparatus of our day. In this case, I am referring to the struggles surrounding the issue of climate change.

Sixty-five years ago, when Waldemar Kaempffert wrote this article, a whole generation had been exposed to concerns about the apparent changes that our planet was suffering due to climate change. Sixty-five years is a long time, but it seems as if the prominent inhabitants of the planet, humans, have not yet reached a massive conviction that it is our human activity that is causing what is happening today.

As early as 1956, Waldemar presented this issue as an old one. He recounts how in 1861 Irish scientist John Tyndall was credited with the discovery of the greenhouse effect, which underpins the science of climate change. Gentlemen, this climate- change thing has taken a long time. King Solomon said it right, "there is nothing new under the sun" and this climate-change thing is no different. I think that many of my generation and subsequent generations must feel the frustration when it comes to how exhausting it must be to continue discussing this matter.

What happened to science? Scientific evidence seems to fade as soon as it collides with politics: The first diminishes and dilutes in the presence of the other. Politics serves as a handful of salt against the icy scientific evidence that climate change is the unequivocal result of human activity. The long wait for a concerted and realistic reaction from our leaders is one that can test the patience of the most submissive citizens

I think it is this frustration that has led to the organization of this exhibition. It is that which has energized the assignment made to Juan Leonardo Bravo. I believe that this young artist has taken this assignment very seriously and has decided to enter the arena and has brought us his weapons of choice, his favorite ammunition, and the appropriate energy to discuss the subject in every corner that we can. His works, seen as a whole, can be perceived as a reactionary, tired, and moody manifesto. Juan explores the subject from an ironi stance, this is the last of the artistic protests on the trite topic of climate change.

This repeated ghost is a poorly told joke, a kind of bored old man, who tells us the same stories of a planet that burns because we don't know how to live on it. Every new generation has its Juan Bravos, passive warriors who use the paintbrush as they see fit to attract the attention of those who see, so that perhaps, after a cautious look at the state of our world, some other politician or leader will change his mind and get to work to try to change things. What else could we do? Nothing seems to work. Not the student protests, not the multitudinous speeches, nor does the occasional well-intentioned actor seem to make things change.

Juan titles his exhibition "1956" as a tribute to the article by Waldemar and all the reporters and scientists who have sincerely reported on climate change in the last sixty-five years. But at the same time, it presents us with the ironic issue of time regarding the already-belated action on this matter. The date of this publication is an announced protest that has been under construction for sixty-five years, a struggle that, in the eyes of the artist, has managed to intoxicate the media and enter the consciences of the younger generations, which is far from having become a reality and widespread with social consequences. Today, the issue of climate change continues to be a long- standing conflict that not even the supposed "scientific proof" has managed to clarify.

In the streets, any protest or march includes a range of generations who walk for the planet, but on the other side of the pavement is a large group of skeptics who, either well or ill-intentioned, view the matter with carelessness. The marches and protests then lead to the White House or the mayor's office or whoever else is the target of the protest in the moment, believing that they have the power and the answers to solve the problem of the apocalyptic oven in which we seem to live. The media is on our side, the cameras point to the incapable political leaders who cross their hands or point back to us, reminding us that it was us who elected them and it is then when we come to the realization that the problem is not of the political class, but ours.

Sixty-five years is a long time and social consensus today seems impossible. 1956 is the protest of Juan Leonardo Bravo, a colorful argument that tries to attract the attention of the guy on the other side of the sidewalk and convince them to move away from their positions and join the march, which is why this exhibition has decided that its place is not only in the private space of an art gallery, but it must also be in the streets, where the people are. Perhaps in sixty-five more years, we will reach a consensus on how to take care of our planet. Or perhaps not, and another protest is necessary.