Hannah R. Kligman: February 2011

large block, ~30x38", carved with dremel, unfinished

smaller block, ~10x18 ", unfinished, both hand carved and dremel carved
man in hazmat suit collects dead blackbirds, inspired by media coverage images of the Arkansas event

large block again, silhouette of blackbirds taking off from a tree, unfinished
this was inspired by images I found in the media coverage of the Arkansas event, however it is also inspired by a reoccurring dream of mine that involves a giant flock of birds and the end of modern civilization as we know it.

Wood block carving is taking me a lot longer to finish than I thought. I probably was a bit ambitious with the four 30x38 " blocks I cut the other week because it's taking forever to finish even one. I am envisioning a series focusing on the black bird kill in Arkansas that happened this past New Years Eve. But this event expands into a host of environmental disasters that have/are happening all over the world lately. I am especially intrigued by the conspiracy theories that are floating around regarding the bird and fish kills in Arkansas on the New Year, but I think the project could expand to other events as well, or general comments on these phenomena. The wood block medium seems especially important to this series of prints because I want them to be graphic and striking, mirroring the striking nature of these disasters. The wood block 'look' reminds me of stuff that might be seen in a propaganda poster, and the apocalyptic conspiracy theories I have been hearing lately remind me in various ways of propaganda.
Finally a timely article from the NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/nyregion/15doomsday.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

It's not all crack-pot conspiracy theories, there is real concern about environmental disasters and what will happen to our society afterwards. Fascinating stuff! Even in today's technology-driven world we are intimately connected to our landscape and natural surroundings.