New exhibit at Poster House shows 'failed' efforts to warn humanity about climate change

A new exhibition at Poster House, “We Tried to Warn You! Environmental Crisis Posters, 1970 to 2020,” pays homage to posters that have failed.

The works have not failed in terms of design or technique, but rather because “they failed to successfully modify behavior,” according to the museum’s own blurb for the exhibit. “Almost all of the environmental issues showcased in these posters remain or have worsened.”

“We Tried to Warn You” features 33 works spanning 50 years, including collages from Robert Rauschenberg and illustrations by the late Milton Glaser, who created the iconic I Heart New York design and showcases posters designed to illuminate issues such as corporate malfeasance or global warming.

The exhibition’s curator, Tim Medland, spoke to WNYC’s Alison Stewart on “All of It” on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the exhibit, decades of activism and how messaging has changed over the past five decades. Below are edited excerpts from their conversation.

Alison Stewart: How has the ask behind environmental posters changed over time?

Tim Medland: So the early call to action was direct. I tried to make a point of it right at the beginning of the show. We start with 1970 because it's the first Earth Day. And to put it into perspective, 20 million Americans participated in the first Earth Day. That's a tenth of the population at the time, give or take.

We have a quote from Richard Nixon as you walk in the door, from his State of the Union address, and everybody goes, “Richard Nixon? Really?” Well, he was the president when the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] came into being, when the Clean Air Act came into being. And maybe he did or didn't believe in environmentalism. Some of his advisers definitely did, surprisingly.

But more to the point, 20 million Americans said, “We want you to notice this. And there is not a politician on Earth who I don't think will pay attention to that larger constituency. What then happened was, clean air was the first real issue that everybody could understand because we had the smog issues, pollution coming out of your exhaust was disgusting. It was pre-catalytic converter. So there were distinct issues to address.

Have people’s attitudes changed? And have the posters addressed a change in attitudes?

The messaging behind the posters has changed. First, the nature of the crisis has changed. Right. You know, to be clear, the fumes coming out of your exhaust are infinitely cleaner than they were 50 years ago. Situations have been addressed, it’s just overall, we're now dealing with the carbon dioxide emissions, climate change, existential threats.

And one of things the show addresses is corporate malfeasance, corporate duplicity and how we now know what's happened. So the more recent posters are very frequently angry because they're calling out those corporate actors. It's a change in tone.

What is interesting is that, while we have the change in tone, though, it's been branded “slow violence,” and I think it's much harder for us all to deal with something that's that insidious and isn't visible on a day-to-day basis.

Yes, we have orange skies in New York for three days, but the 1.1 degree, 1. 2 degree change, 1.3 degree change … What does it actually mean? And that, I think, is harder for posters to communicate and for us to actually deal with.

You cite some photographs from outer space as having changed the visual language of environmentalism: the Earthrise photo, taken from the Apollo 8 mission, has been called the most influential environmental photograph ever taken. How does it change how people think about climate change and see the planet Earth?

I think first of all, it led to a lot of posters that were produced with the Earth on them. It’s amazing how many different ways you can project exactly the same image if you want to. So skilled poster designers can do that.

I think we became aware of how vulnerable we are. It was our only planet, and again, it was at that period of respecting nature. So we're ‘68, ‘70s – we're in the hippie era and that hippie imagery — the way I try and explain it is '90s — the sort of respect earth, love earth, love nature, hug a tree, and all very worthy stuff — before we then move to the specifics of, within water, acid rain and rising ocean levels.

There's one poster that looks exactly like a Volkswagen ad, except it says, “We're sorry that we got caught.” What is that in reference to?

So this is by a group called Brandalism. It's designed by Jonathan Barnbrook, who's a famous British graphic designer. And as you say, it looks exactly like a European Volkswagen poster. They are everywhere across Europe. This was produced in 2015 at the time of the Paris Accord, and it also happened to be the time when a whistleblower had explained what the larger VW group had been doing with their diesel engines.

Basically, when a new car goes to be tested by the EPA or another regulator, they get tested for exhaust emissions. Great. They go into test mode and they either come out clean or they need work. So VW always tested very, very clean. So that's great.

We know where this is going …

Unfortunately, if they were not in test mode, they were not clean. So far, they've been fined $33 billion and they're sorry they got caught. But again, it's that very direct naming and shaming, which is the new way of the later posters.

Are there any intellectual property issues here?

Yes. Cease and desist orders abound.

Some of the posters evoke images of childhood: Porky Pig with a gas mask. There's Count von Count from Sesame Street. How does this environmental messaging get at the idea of childhood? Why is it a good tool for persuasion?

Ooh, that's a good question and not one I expected. I think children get it. Why would you not want to protect nature? And so the imagery works for them. And yes, it's frequently from shows or books that they've already read. And also, for the adults, it brings in their inner child. It’s actually interesting how many adults will go to the Eric Carle poster to stand in front of it and smile.

Of all the posters, which do you think is the most aesthetically artistic?

The one that strikes me as the most artistic is by Ernest Trova. It's from 1971. And it's interesting because it's not the poster I wanted. There was a series of six posters produced by Olivetti to raise money for the U. N. Environment Programme in 1971. And Ernest Trova was one of the artists. Roy Lichtenstein was one of them. Georgia O'Keeffe was another one.

I thought, “Oh, yes, I'll have an O'Keeffe! I'll have a Lichtenstein! This is what I want.” Um, they weren't actually that good. And then I saw this Ernest Trova one. He’s less well known now, but he was a sculptor and his most famous sculpture was called “The Falling Man.” That's a human leaning back into an uncertain future and against an orange sky. So now we've, although it was in 1971, it seems incredibly prophetic and it's more abstract, but I really liked that.

“We Tried to Warn You! Environmental Crisis Posters, 1970 – 2020” is on now through February at Poster House, which is located at 119 West 23rd St. Museum entry is free on Fridays. General admission is $12 for adults and $8 for seniors and students. Kids under 18 can enter for free.