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Fossil fuel addiction subject of new exhibit

The fuel gauge needle has entered into the danger zone and is playing a perpetual game of tag with the empty line.

The winner is inevitable; it is only a matter of time until the glaring red E is declared the victor and modern life slowly sputters to a stop. Eventually, a quick push to the gas station for another oil fix wont be enough to kick start the engine back to life.

The earth is “running on empty” and ATHICA’s new exhibit is shining a spotlight on the world’s fossil fuel addiction in an effort to start the slow journey toward recovery.

But, according to “Running on Empty” curator Bart King, the journey is always darkest right before dawn.

“About 90 percent of the works submitted for this exhibit were very sad, gloomy and apocalyptic, but we do have a handful of pieces that have a more positive feel and are more hopeful,” King said. “It is a little dark and scary and it’s meant to be because I hope it kind of scares people into doing something because we can’t wait for technology to develop and fix everything. We need to do something now.”

King designed the show to reflect the worldwide effort that will be required to find a solution. The exhibit features international artists from Canada and Germany in addition to artists from across the United States and Athens.

Each artist chosen to exhibit offers a unique perspective of the current crisis that when gathered together in one showcase, King hopes will have the ability to make a huge impact on visitors and allow them to view the energy problem from many perspectives.

Just as every artist views the problem from their own unique perspective, the mediums and methods they use to communicate their visions differ greatly and, at least for one artist, are part of their solution.

“My multi-media work is very much a form of recycling,” David Macaluso, a Brooklyn artist who paints with used motor oil, said. “Motor oil is essentially a waste product so my local mechanic just gives it to me and I take it and recycle it into art that brings attention to the effect oil has on people and the ripple effect it has in the economy.”

Macaluso believes this innovative use of recycled materials and new methods of presentation give his art a forward-looking position while presenting universal world problems.

Although the theme of universal suffering or change runs throughout “Running on Empty,” retired University professor John English designed his installation to take visitors out of the gallery and into an image that transformed his views about the future.

“It was a photo on the front page of the New York Times that showed a line of young [Iraqi] men waiting in line with canisters to fill with gas and it really set me on my heels,” the activist installation artist and journalism professor emeritus, said.

“I was shocked that petroleum is [Iraq's] national product and they, the second largest oil producing country in the world, are waiting in line for gas.”

“If they are running out what hope is there for us? We are way farther down on the food chain.”