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Event
The Human Element
~THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT~
Presented by ReVision Energy and Sierra Club Maine
The Human Element
Directed by Matthew Testa
Genre: Documentary
1hr 20mins
Tues April 16 | 7pm
Free with online registration
During his four-decade career as a photographer and explorer, James Balog has focused his lens on the complex relationship between humans and nature. From panoramic mosaics of Americas most cherished champion trees to unsettling portraits of endangered species posed quizzically in a studio, Balogs work has challenged us to contemplate our place in, and responsibility to, the natural world. Now a major voice in the climate change conversation, and operating at the height of his career, Balog is witnessing the most sweeping and rapid environmental change in the history of the planet. The power of human activity has now surpassed all other forces shaping our world. But how can one photographer convey this? Attempting to document a subject so vast will be the greatest challenge of Balogs career.
The Human Element follows Balog on an artistic journey to distill this crucial moment in our environmental history into an approachable body of images and ideas. To achieve this, Balog is breaking this dense topic into what ancient societies identified as the four elements of life: Air, Earth, Fire and Water, seeking to photographically portray each element and examine how human activity has changed its nature.
Balog further humanizes this story of change by investigating how altering the elements is in turn affecting everyday Americans right now. The Human Element seeks to change this outlook by featuring iconic subjects who are often overlooked victims of climate change. Balog visits Tangier Island, a fishing community in the Chesapeake Bay who is facing the imminent reality of sea level rise threatening their islands future. We meet Yadira Sanchez and her three children in Denver, Colorado, all of whom suffer from asthma, and attend a special school on a hospital campus for children struggling with air. Balog embeds with a Cal Fire strike team on the frontlines of the most expensive wildfire in California history to witness how human activity is changing how wildfires behave on the landscape. And he ventures deep into Kentucky coal country, meeting unemployed miners finding hope from a new source.
In this way the film promises to reach outside the environmentalist bubble to a new audience by appealing on a relatable, emotional, personal level. Balogs ultimate hope is not to preach, but to use art to raise awareness of the interconnectivity between nature and a singular, all-powerful force on earth: The Human Element.
Environmentalists have often taken the view that human progress is anathema to the health of the planet. Balog sees it differently. Humans have indeed influenced the planet. This is clear from looking at the four elements. In fact, Balog concludes, its safe to say that humanity is tantamount to a fifth element that affects and modulates the others. But ultimately this means humans are part of the whole system of nature and not apart from it. Knowing this, Balog finds great hope that the fifth element, the human element, can bring the whole system back into balance.
** All tickets sales are final. Frontier cannot refund or exchange already-purchased tickets. If a show is subject to a cancellation, Frontier will notify you at the time we are made aware and provide a full refund through the portal in which you purchased your tickets. Please provide a current working phone number and/or email at the time of transaction.
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LocationFrontier (View)
14 Maine Street
Brunswick, ME 04011
United States
Categories
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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Contact
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