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Michael Pinsky

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Visual artist and researcher

Michael Pinsky
L'eau Qui Dort by Michael Pinsky
BornMichael Pinsky
1967 (age 56–57)
Leadburn, Scotland
EducationRoyal College of Art, London
Known forContemporary Art
Websitehttp://www.michaelpinsky.com/

Michael Pinsky (born in 1967) is a British artist known for his environmental and socially engaged public art. His work often explores urban spaces, human impact on the environment, and the intersections of art, architecture, and activism. Pinsky's installations encourage public interaction and dialogue around contemporary issues, such as pollution, climate change, and sustainability.

Education

Michael Pinsky studied in England at Manchester Polytechnic, the University of Brighton and at the Royal College of Art in London. He was awarded a Doctorate from the University of East London in 2000.

Exhibitions and projects

Pinsky's work has been shown at: Somerset House, London, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chengdu; TATE Britain; Saatchi Gallery; Victoria and Albert Museum; Parc de la Villette, Paris;Institute of Contemporary Art; BALTIC, Gateshead; Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow; Modern Art Oxford, Milton Keynes Gallery, Cornerhouse, Manchester; Liverpool Biennial, Centre de création contemporaine Olivier Debré; Armory Center of the Arts, Los Angeles and the Rotterdam International Architectural Biennial.

Pinsky's projects in the public realm have often courted controversy in the press. Notable projects include:

  • Pollution Pods. The artist created a series of interlinked geodesic domes which contained polluted air from cities around the world. There was some confusion and concern about whether the environments within the domes could have a detrimental impact on visitors' health. During an interview for BBC1, the presenter David Sillito was "speechless" when the artist explained that he could not use genuine London air within the London pod. The Pollution Pods have been exhibited at the Starmus Festival, Trondheim, Somerset House, London, World Health Organisation's first international conference on Air Pollution, Place des Nations, Geneva, Klimahaus Bremerhaven, Germany, TED Annual Conference, Vancouver, Canada, Science Gallery Melbourne, Australia, UN Climate Action Summit, UN Buildings, New York City, COP 25, Madrid. COP 26, Glasgow KunstMuseum, Bonn, The Draiflession Collection St John's College, Oxford and COP 28. Greta Thunberg when visiting the Pollution Pods remarked "It's an incredible exhibition. It'll really bring attention to these problems, and if people can experience this, people from all around the world, how these people live everyday, it will bring lots of attention and people will be more encouraged to deal with these problems". Dr Tedros Adhanom tweeted that the Pollution Pods successfully raised awareness about impacts of air pollution on health. Teresa Ribera, Minister for the Ecological Transition of Spain, said: "Air pollution and climate change are the two sides of the same coin. The symbolic installation of the Pollution Pods at COP25 should remind everybody that we are negotiating for cleaner environments, cutting emissions and gaining better health for all." Artnet rated the Pollution Pods as one of the 100 Works of Art That Defined the Decade. Stir Magazine listed Pollution Pods as one of the ten most unforgettable artworks of 2019. The BBC featured the installation for Earth Day "as one of the best ways to change the world".
  • City Speaks. The artist constructed a lectern which captured peoples voices and relayed what they said as enormous dot-matrix text ascending Hull's tidal barrier. Many media outlets claimed that the installation was being used for profanities, including a number of sexual references such as "send nudes" and "ejaculation". However, it was well received by many, the comedian Mark Steel, said that 'City Speaks' was "one of my favourite works of art ever".
  • Plunge. The artist marked the predicted sea level in the year 3012 on major monuments throughout London. Giles Fraser, Canon Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral stated that "this clever installation imagines a world where St Paul's Cathedral, the Donmar Warehouse and the Athenaeum are all under water, powerfully makes the climate change point". Charles Saatchi was a little less enthusiastic in the Evening Standard: "Pinsky's artwork may appear a little bleak and pessimistic to some viewers but particularly so to committed Global Warming deniers such as me". Maria Balshaw, Director of Tate discusses Plunge in her book Gathering of Strangers:

    For decades, artists have been at the forefront of demands for action. Some offer compelling visions for what our world could resemble if action is taken; others show us the brutal reality of life without change. There are thousands of works I could include here by way of example, but I would like to point to a piece of public art called Plunge, created in 2012 by the artist Michael Pinsky. The work encircled noteworthy buildings and monuments in London with an illuminated blue line, showing the predicted sea level in the year 3012. The public who encountered these lines on their journeys around the capital were invited to imagine just how much of London would lie below the water's surface. The lines were also intended to suggest a protective shell, indicating that we may still be able to change our situation. The overarching message of Pinsky's work, however, was that adaptation is essential if we want our low-lying capital city to remain habitable.

  • L'eau Qui Dort. The artist dredged discarded objects from the depths of the Parisian canals and erected them on the surface of the water. This ecological project was commissioned for COP21, but the public interpretation of the work changed after the terrorist strike on Paris. Elian Peltier from the New York Times suggested that "the charged atmosphere after the attacks added tension to the installations".
  • Come Hell or High Water. The artist semi-submerged a fleet of cars in the Tyne for the World Summit of Arts and Culture.
  • Lost 0. The artist used reclaimed street signs to build a monument to the lost ring road in Ashford as part of the largest Shared space Scheme in Europe. The sculpture was featured extensively in the press. Jeremy Clarkson, a prominent opponent to the scheme, predicted there would be a "Jaguar dance of death", however studies demonstrated that there was in fact a 41% drop in road accidents due to the scheme. He later admitted "he got it wrong".
  • Pontis. The artist created bilingual Latin and English signs in Wallsend Metro station. This project was shortlisted for the Gulbenkian Prize for Museums.

Awards

Pinsky has received awards from the RSA, Arts Council England, British Council, Arts and Business, the Wellcome Trust and his exhibition Pontis was shortlisted for the prestigious Gulbenkian Museums Award.

References

  1. "Michael Pinsky: Pollution Pods". Somerset House. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  2. "Foreword_Chengdu MOCA". www.chengdumoca.org. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  3. "Results & submissions : REF 2014 : Output details". ref.ac.uk.
  4. Saatchi Gallery. vimeo.com.
  5. "Chinese pattern puzzles created by Michael Pinsky at Victoria & Albert". Demotix. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  6. "Michael Pinsky - L'eau qui dort - La Villette". La Villette (in French). Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  7. ^ "ArtFacts.net".
  8. "Baltic Plus - Panacea Casebook: Live Performance: Michael Pinsky, Zoe Walker & Neil Bromwich". balticplus.uk.
  9. "Panacea - Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow".
  10. "PANACEAHOTHOUSE". HOME. 6 October 2006.
  11. "Liverpool Biennial – The UK Biennial of Contemporary Art - 2016 - Artists". biennial.com.
  12. Yeginsu, Ceylan (22 April 2018). "How's the Air in London? 'We Should Be Worried'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  13. "INTERNATIONAL SNAPSHOT: Building that cleans the air; Detecting plant feelings; Controversial "pollution pods" | Architecture And Design". Architecture And Design. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  14. "Could you smell which city you are in?". BBC News. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  15. Christopher Beanland, Travel writer (22 June 2017). "Art installation captures the unique scents of the world's most polluted cities". The Telegraph. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  16. "Michael Pinsky: Pollution Pods". Somerset House. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  17. "WHO | Pollution Pods exhibit, Place des Nations". WHO. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  18. "Klimahaus Bremerhaven: Pollution Pods". klimahaus-bremerhaven.de. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  19. "Pollution Pods: A tasting menu of our planet's air quality, at TED2019". TED Blog. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  20. "Pollution Pods". White Night 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  21. "Pollution pods connect the dots between air pollution, climate change and health at UN Climate Action Summit". who.int. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  22. ^ "Pollution Pods at COP25 show climate change and air pollution are two sides of the same coin". who.int. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  23. Reid, Carlton. "Minds Might Be Better Focused At COP26 If Negotiators Had To Walk Through These Pollution Pods". Forbes. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  24. "Up in the Air". Kunstmuseum Bonn. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  25. "Draiflessen Collection - THE FINAL BID. Michael Pinsky". draiflessen.com. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  26. "Pollution Pods". St John's College. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  27. Cop28 Pollution Pods simulate air quality in London, Delhi and Beijing, 7 December 2023, retrieved 21 December 2023
  28. "Greta Thunberg Experiences 'Pollution Pods' at UN Youth Climate Summit". NowThis News. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  29. Ghebreyesus, Tedros Adhanom (4 December 2019). "Glad to see @WHO's Pollution Pods successfully raising awareness among #COP25 participants on the impacts of #AirPollution on health. No country is immune to pollution & #ClimateChange. We need stronger action to mitigate the health impacts & save lives.https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1201825909768101893 …". @DrTedros. Retrieved 31 March 2020. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  30. "The 100 Works of Art That Defined the Decade, Ranked: Part 2". artnet News. 30 December 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  31. "Art that STIRred 2019". stirworld.com. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  32. Vince, Gaia. "Earth Day at 50: The best ways to change the world". bbc.com. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  33. Reporters, Telegraph (15 August 2017). "Rude words appear on giant art project in Hull because computer doesn't recognise Yorkshire accents". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  34. Thornton, Lucy (14 August 2017). "City of Culture's tidal art project flooded with 'blue' messages". mirror. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  35. "'Send Nudes': A UK Art Project Is Accidentally Projecting Naughty Phrases Across a Town Square". artnet News. 16 August 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  36. "Hull, Series 8, Mark Steel's in Town - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  37. "Blue rings on London landmarks suggest 3012 sea levels". BBC News. 11 February 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  38. "The eco artists turning trash into treasure - CNN.com". CNN. 16 March 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  39. Editorial (29 February 2012). "In praise of ... Plunge". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  40. "The mysteries of the deep grow deeper". Gulf-Times (in Arabic). 28 February 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  41. "Gathering of Strangers: Why Museums Matter". shop.tate.org.uk. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  42. Peltier, Elian (9 December 2015). "New York Times - In Paris, Art Confronts 2 Crises". The New York Times.
  43. "BBC NEWS - UK - England - Tyne - Cars are turned into floating art". bbc.co.uk. 27 June 2006.
  44. "Road sign art 'confusing drivers'". BBC. 9 July 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  45. "Arts Council England - GFA award 2014".
  46. "'Fewer injuries' in Ashford shared space road scheme". BBC News. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  47. "'I was wrong about shared space', admits Clarkson". Kent Online. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  48. "The Independent - Tyne takes on Titian".
  49. "Latin lessons for Tyneside travellers". BBC. 13 March 2003. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  50. "Arts Council England - GFA awards 2014".
  51. "Michael Pinsky Exhibition in Chengdu - British Council". britishcouncil.cn.
  52. "Panacea". wellcome.ac.uk.
  53. "The Gulbenkian Prize for museums and galleries - Press release". thegulbenkianprize.org.uk. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2015.

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