Charles Long’s “CATALIN”
In 2014 I walked into the Contemporary Austin’s Jones Center and was in awe by the atmosphere of Charles Long’s art installation, “CATALIN”. I love when an artist takes into account the space where their art is being exhibited and invokes new emotions by creating a certain artistic depth. Charles Long did exactly this as he utilized form to its fullest potential and created an installation that portrayed a message about global warming and the melting of the polar icecaps. This art was named after a plastic solution called Catalin that can be detoxified and rehabilitated, like our Earth can according to Long. Charles Long made Catalin and acronym for “Casually Altering Today’s Atmosphere Living Ironically Now”. Long displays figures that resemble Icebergs that were created through 3-D printing. These icebergs are a symbol of the evanescent existence of our resources. The structure of these forms are composed of economic data and this data can be observed on the surface of the pieces. This illuminates how consumerism affects our planet. In Long’s installation, the room is surrounded by biodegradable figures made from mushrooms and white forms made from recyclable fabric. These structures are projected with different forms of refracted light and the atmosphere of the room is very surreal. These structures exhibit the underlying theme of saving our ecosystem through sustainable natural resources and putting a halt to the melting of the polar glaciers. Long does and effective job to promote ecological awareness through his art and his installation was so diverse and intricate that it stimulates our brains to delve deeper into the subject matter. Charles Long’s immense amounts of symbolism and use of organic shapes contrasting upon mechanical processes formulates a conclusion that we must find a way to stop the diminishment of our home.
