Saved till 2009!

The Black Car is staying on campus until 2009 thanks to the support of the Evergreen State College community! We are planning a series of projects around promoting the concepts behind the art work. The idea that sustainability means giving up your personal gas guzzler should come as no surprise yet most people ignore this fact. The Black Car makes ignorance less possible and challenges our community to begin the process of moving away from this primitive, resource inefficient form of transportation. We are looking for DIY revolutionaries who want to change their way of life and effect the lives of others by giving up their personal car in a public manner and pledging to not own one again until they are sustainable; if that ever happens. It is our goal to support two more similar projects this spring. If you would like to be one of them please e-mail us or leave a comment!

Save the Art!

Wednesday at 3PM the CLUC is voting on whether the black car will have an extension on its life here on campus. After less than a year the project may be forced to move to a location of uncertain whereabouts or to the landfill if no place can be found. This may happen despite the fact that it was built well enough to last as social commentary for many years to come.
Please show up at the meeting and show your support. The meeting is on the first floor of the Lab building near the Longhouse. Also check out the Cooper Point Journal for an article on the car.

Article in the Cooper Point Journal

Global warming is the elephant in the room that Americans for years have tried their best to avoid noticing. Despite the great skill we have at avoidance and distraction some problems just won’t go away. The science predicts a worldwide catastrophe of droughts, fires, erratic weather, extreme temperatures and strengthening storms. Most of us can recognize the chaotic weather patterns because we’ve seen it in our own lives. Yet what do we do about it?
The 1993 Isuzu Rodeo now covered in stucco and painted black in the Evergreen parking lot reminds students that climate change is dead serious. The black car was the product of three students creating global warming activism art last spring. The owner gave up his vehicle and pledged to never own a car again until they are sustainable, if that ever happens.
Its interpretation has been mostly left to the viewer. Is it against the war for oil? Is it marking the death count of young people on our nation’s highways? Or does it describe the end of an era, an era of over consumption, status symbols and pseudo independence as typified by the SUV? Whatever the viewer decides that is what it means and more.
At the end of February the black car is supposed to be towed away because of the agreement with Evergreen’s Campus Land Use Committee. The Black Car Collective is currently seeking an extension of the deadline but they have to prove that the art is relevant for students, staff and faculty. Please leave a comment on the website in support of the artwork.
Check out the Myspace group:
http://groups.myspace.com/blackcarproject