HOUGHTON — What would the world look like if there were no ice?

Climate Change prognosticators predict that, unless mankind does something about it, there will come a time when all of the ice in the Earth’s poles will melt. A World Without Ice is a multimedia exhibit now showing at the McArdle Theater on the Michigan Tech campus.

The installation shows images of disappearing glaciers while melting ice aids the ambient music.

Project composer Stephen Rush said, “The pictures are beautiful. I mean, they’re really gorgeous. But, of course, you’re looking at arctic lakes that shouldn’t be there and glaciers that are disappearing way too fast. So, there’s kind of a weird emotional reaction to it. ‘It’s so pretty, it’s so beautiful!’ And yet, ‘Oh, this is really a big problem’.”

The photos were taken by former Nobel Peace Prize winner Henry Pollack, which were then put together into a video montage. Rush and sculptor Michael Gould combined the images on screen with music and natural sounds to create a multi-sensory experience.

Rush said, “My hope is that people go to this installation, have some sort of heart connection to the situation, to what they experience musically or visually, and let them make up their own minds and calculations about what to do about it.”

The exhibit is free and open to the public. A World Without Ice will be on display through Tuesday.

Leave a Reply