ReMain Nantucket Hosts Renowned
Environmental Documentarian and Photographer James Balog for a presentation of his film The Human Element
ReMain Nantucket is pleased to reintroduce James Balog to Nantucket for a free screening and discussion of his work and a new film, The Human Element on Thursday, June 27, 6:30 p.m. at the Dreamland.
Balog made his first Nantucket appearance at the Dreamland in 2014 to present and discuss his Emmy award-winning film for Outstanding Nature Programming, Chasing Ice.
Mr. Balog will also be the featured luncheon speaker during the workshop Keeping History Above Water: Nantucket, hosted by the Nantucket Preservation Trust, University of Florida: Preservation Institute Nantucket, and the Town of Nantucket. Tickets are available to join the workshop at the Nantucket Preservation Trust.
During his four-decade career as an award-winning environmental photographer, Balog has focused his lens on the complex relationship between humans and nature. From panoramic mosaics of America’s most cherished “champion” trees to unsettling portraits of endangered species posed quizzically in a studio, Balog’s work has challenged us to contemplate our place in, and responsibility to, the natural world. His own discoveries drove him to initiate the Extreme Ice Survey which utilizes time-lapse photography of melting glaciers to convey the effects of global warming. This work led to the 2009 Nova documentary, Extreme Ice, and the Emmy-award winning film, Chasing Ice.
Now a major voice in the climate change conversation, and operating at the height of his career, Balog is witnessing the most sweeping and rapid environmental change in the history of the planet. The power of human activity has now surpassed all other forces shaping our world. The Human Element follows Balog on an artistic journey to distill this crucial moment in our environmental history into an approachable body of images and ideas. Breaking this dense topic into the ancient identifiable four elements of life: Air, Earth, Fire and Water, a portrayal of each element is examined, including how human activity has changed its nature. Balog further humanizes this story of change by investigating how altering the elements is in turn affecting everyday Americans right now.
Balog concludes, “It’s safe to say that humanity is tantamount to a fifth element that affects and modulates the others. But ultimately this means humans are part of the whole system of nature and not apart from it.” Knowing this, Balog finds great hope that the fifth element, the human element, can bring the whole system back into balance.
“Jim’s film is deeply moving as he turns his camera and attention on some of this country’s most pressing climate issues,” said ReMain Nantucket executive director Cecil Barron Jensen. “It’s compelling work and we are proud to be part of the conversation which the film inspires.” “We are delighted to once again offer a warm welcome to a documentarian whose work provides a striking visual marker to the worldwide conversation of climate change,” added Virna Gonzalez, Program and Marketing Coordinator at ReMain. For free tickets to the film, visit the Dreamland box office or reserve tickets online at www.nantucketdreamland.org.