L.A. architect Christophe Cornubert's carbon-dioxide cube debuts in Copenhagen

You can make art to address any political subject, and the debate over climate change is certainly no exception, as a new futuristic installation by a Los Angeles architect proves.

In Copenhagen, where the United Nations' summit on global warming is currently underway, artists  unveiled on Monday what they are calling "The CO2 Cube," a three-story site-specific artwork that was designed by L.A.-based architect Christophe Cornubert.

The structure, pictured, sits on St. Jørgens Lake, near the city's Tycho Brahe Planetarium. Its creators said the cube represents the space that one metric ton of carbon dioxide would occupy if stored at standard atmospheric pressure -- specifically, a space that is the equivalent of 27 feet cubed, or 19,683 cubic feet.

The size of the installation is crucial: The average citizen of an industrialized country releases one metric ton of carbon dioxide per month, according to a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

"A lot of the conference is buttoned up and behind closed doors. So we wanted a way to reach out to the public," said Mia Hanak, executive director of San Francisco-based  Millennium ART, which is one of the organizations involved with the cube's creation.

The other organizations include the U.N.'s Department of Public Information, Obscura Digital as well as Google and YouTube.

Visitors in Copenhagen don't enter the cube but instead walk along a moat, which runs around the structure's perimeter. The external surfaces of the cube serve as video screens that feature artwork as well as streaming news clips and other web content.

"It is an art piece first and foremost but it's also an art piece with a message," said Travis Threlkel, director of Obscura Digital, which coordinated much of the video technology for the installation. In all, there are currently three hours worth of video content, according to Threlkel.

"The CO2 Cube" was designed by Cornubert, whose architecture and design firm Push is located in L.A.'s MacArthur Park neighborhood.

The price tag for the cube is difficult to quantify since costs are spread across various parties that are contributing to its creation, according to Millennium ART.

"The CO2 Cube" is intended to be a carbon-neutral installation -- eventually. Those involved with it said that the artwork is currently running off of the local power grid but added that they are partnering with Terrapass to calculate the project's total footprint. Once the Copenhagen presentation is completed, they said they will look into different ways to make it a carbon-neutral project.

Plans are afoot for the cube (or various incarnations of it) to travel to other locations. Organizers said they have confirmed that it will appear at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. There are also plans for a multi-city U.S. tour, but no dates or venues have been announced.

-- David Ng

Photos: The CO2 Cube in Copenhagen. Credit: Joshua Brott

Comments

[Mike]

What a load...yeah, we'll make it carbon neutral after Copenhagen, but in the meantime, enjoy 3500 square feet of pointless streaming video!

[William Wray]

I wonder if a wind farm would be a better investment that this silly big bird box.

[eyeful]

"pointless" streaming video? Apparently the point - so obvious for the thinking person - is entirely lost on you. That's a "load" you get to carry...

[William Wray]

If you’re a thinking person can you explain why this is so great? Since art can be anything these days why not call doing something about the problem literally on the ground a work of art? Anyone who cares grasps the carbon footprint, we don't need a carbon block to visually articulate the problem, we need action. How much pollution was made in the process of making this deep thinking mass? Better a tree planted there. This block of green narcissism will not change one republican mind… Perhaps it will stroke the ego of the supposedly thinking art aficionado that can't articulate the problem in his on mind without a visual aid?

[Cate]

It's a beautiful iceborg, a silly mate.

[Donald Frazell]

The same thing could be accomplished with simply raising four screens for viewing projected film. For much cheaper and far less energy usage. If this is art, then surely what they do at Disneyland projecting their animated films on sprays of water is great art. And is pretty cool, especially with a young child hoisted on your shoulders.

Certainly much more talented artists involved with that project, but is the display itself art, of simply the true meaning of the word Installation? You know, installing hardware for a practical purpose, in which case the sprays of water are certainly genius compared to this. But art? No wonder there is so little of it anymore. Imagine the laughter this will generate in a hundred years, or tears as the world may be barren of all mass electrical consuming devices like this.

Kinda self defeating, dont you think? But certainly great PR, which is what art is now. You know, marketing propaganda and self promotion. Now THAT, we have mastered.

art collegia delenda est