CHICAGO – Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP today announced its sponsorship of "Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet," a unique, outdoor art exhibit that uses public art to inspire individuals and organizations to take action against global warming.
From June through September there will be more than 120 globes - each five feet in diameter, nearly eight feet high and all sculpted in the shape of the earth - on display along Chicago’s lakefront from the Field Museum north to Balbo Drive, in Gateway Park at Navy Pier, and at six other off-site locations. Katten’s globe is #109 and is located in Gateway Park (photo on page 2 of release).
Artists from around the world designed the globes using a variety of materials to depict solutions to global warming and provoke discussion. Chicago cityscape artist Karen Perl was responsible for the design of Katten’s globe, calling her creation "Rebuild Green Cities." After the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the rebuilding of New Orleans and other Gulf Coast cities offers a chance to get it right. Where global warming may have contributed to destructive storms, a movement is now underway to reshape these cities into showcases for green living. Casting New Orleans as her subject, Karen Perl portrays a culture that was once passionately tied to traditions, surviving tragedy and beginning again. With vignettes including landmarks, a funeral procession, and voodoo symbols, Perl, whose own family members survived the devastation in New Orleans, tops her globe with a "healthy" Mississippi, complete with green architecture and returning pelicans.
The concept of Cool Globes was developed in 2006 by environmental activist and concerned mother of four, Wendy Abrams. The "Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet" project is the result of the efforts of a dedicated team of hundreds of individuals committed to encouraging people to act to reduce global warming. This summer’s exhibit in Chicago marks Cool Globes’ national debut.
