The ICP has an incredible amount of very relevant media. Showcasing photos and videos about Climate Change, Syrian refugees, the LGBTQ community, current global politics, Isis, and the Black Lives Matter racial justice movement. The footage and images shown were very powerful, often showing extreme media, or sharing stories of war and hardship. The entire space sheds light on important events occurring in our current global climate. There was so much in one space that I almost wanted to break each section up, and spend a day in each one to really take everything in.

The first thing I saw when entering the room was a video the size of the wall being played. This video was of a glacier the size of Manhattan collapsing into the sea. This is footage that seems impossible to ignore, but is exactly the kind of proof of the shocking shifts in the earth’s temperature that is cast aside by politicians constantly. It was chilling to see that much ice collapse. This footage made me think of all the energy and water I use, and all of the waste I produce. It is literally melting ice around the globe, and causing serious implications on various forms of life everywhere, and mostly because of the systems that support our lifestyles. This brings me to thinking about how footage can be taken in as either proof for something, or a fabrication, and whether or not film and video are enough to make real change happen in our culture, or if the people in power need to literally be dragged to places like this glacier to see what’s happening, and how it will effect us as a species and planet.

The footage and images at the International Center for Photography are provocative, and evoke strong emotion. They bring awareness, and make the viewer question and ruminate on the awareness they have just gained. I am glad to have seen it, but worried about our planet.