Beth Shadur
Beth Shadur created a globe for the Cool Globes Public Art Project in Chicago. The Cool Globes Project addresses the issue of global warming, and invited artists to present solutions to the problem. Shadur’s globe, For the Seventh Generation, uses the Native American Iroquois concept that we take care of the earth for the seventh generation to come. Shadur used symbols from various world cultures indicating how each culture values the earth and its elements. Included are the Iroquois turtle, representative of the Turtle clan whose role it is to protect the earth; the blackbird holding a white feather, also a Native American symbol of protector of the earth; the Jaan bee, who takes its food from the flower while pollinating it for future growth; and the Chinese water symbol, expressing the love of the water. Also included is text from Leviticus in Hebrew and English, “for the earth is mine,”; text from the Faithkeeper of the Iroquois tribe on the seventh generation symbol; and a poem by Arizona poet Lois Roma-Deeley, created especially for the globe. The symbols and text decorate the ocean areas of the globe, while flowers indigenous to Illinois decorate the land masses, to show the Native American value of using indigenous plant material to save water.
Shown below are pictures of the work in progress.