Spencer Tunick, an American photographer is famous for his installations that feature large numbers of nude people posed in artistic formations in front of historic locations. This time he has used the nude medium to highlight the danger of climatic change, ahead of negotiations on a global climate treaty that begin in December in Copenhagen.
Tunick has already worked on another project with the Greenpeace organisation focussing on environment. This time he used its activists stripped down for a naked protest in a vineyard near Macon, in central -eastern part of France, making a giant piece of artwork for the good cause.
Aiming to illustrate how global warming doesn’t only effect rainforests, the demonstrators aimed to alert people on how climate change is also effecting local vineyards in France.
Says Tunick: "A body is a living entity. It represents life, freedom, sensuality, and it is a mechanism to carry out our thoughts. A body is always beautiful to me. It depends on the individual work and what I do with it and what kind of idea lies behind it."
In his latest installation in Bourgogne, the naked volunteers were clicked in various themes and poses amidst lush green vineyard. The gathering was rather small for Tunick who holds the record for clicking the largest group of 18,000 nudes in one sitting in Mexico City, says msn.
Climate change is an issue that deals with one of humanity's greatest and most pressing challenges and requires an urgent response. The Global Leadership for Climate Action (GLCA) is a task force of world leaders committed to addressing climate change through international negotiations. A joint initiative of the UN Foundation and the Club of Madrid, the GLCA consists of former heads of state and government as well as leaders from business, government and civil society from more than 20 countries.
The leaders would be meeting in Copenhagen in December this year to thrash out a treaty on climate change. An agreement to begin negotiation to address climate change post-2012 has remained elusive. GLCA is working to help galvanize the international action and mobilize the political will necessary for a new international agreement on climate change.
The recent action thus aims to highlight the impact of climate change on French wine. The climate in the wine-growing regions is changing. Warmer temperatures mean that the harvest is taking place earlier. According to recent report Wines end up having higher sugar levels and alcohol content while retaining less acids - which means they are unbalanced with an overripe flavour and heavier texture.
These changes put France's wine producing reputation at risk. Great wines get their taste and body from their terroir. This, combined with age-old skills produces amazing wine. Given current emission levels, an increase in temperatures of 4 to 6°C between now and 2100 is predicted. Such changes in the climate would leave the vineyards increasingly vulnerable.
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