Fort Asperen Ark: Flood warning
Posted by Marc | 4-09-2006 22:09 | Category: Culture, Environment
From the Fort Asperen Ark website: “The ice cap is melting, sea levels are rising and American experts have advised the business community against investing in Dutch companies because this low-lying country (the Netherlands) will be flooded within eight years.”
These are the words of English director Peter Greenaway, who wonders whether the Netherlands should build arks to ensure its survival. Peter Greenaway and his team are transforming Fort Asperen into Mount Ararat, the high and safe Biblical landing place of Noah’s Ark during the Flood.
Normaly I blog about advertising for a better cause. This post is a bit off topic although the image above is from the exhibition poster. I have been there in Asperen last week and it was great. A totally different approach on the subject of global warming. No complaint by Peter Greenaway but looking forward. Flooding? So what. Let’s build a ark.
At Asperen, are we witnessing the fulfilment of the predicted calamity resulting from climate change caused by man’s actions?
Now that we know that the ice caps are melting and sea levels are rising, do we need a new Noah’s Ark?
Does Greenaway’s interpretation reveal an optimism that Holland will survive a new flood in the future and that it will become the Mount Ararat of the North?
On your way to the top, can you experience the unpacking of the suitcases and the creation of a new society?
Does Greenaway’s choice of the Genesis story reflect the rich tradition of Dutch artists to choose Biblical subjects?
Is the story of Noah’s Ark a symbol for our desire to erase the past and begin again, as a way of reaching Paradise?
Read all about it at the Fort Aperen Ark website (in english and dutch)
The Fort Asperen will be open until sept 24th.
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