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News

Find the latest news about Buffalo Bayou Partnership and all the doings along Buffalo Bayou.

Jul 01

What is WE ARE THE ASTEROID III Saying about Global Warming

Sign of the times along Buffalo Bayou

HOUSTON – June 14, 2019 – With global warming being at the forefront of international discussion, Buffalo Bayou Partnership is pleased to present a conceptual artwork, We Are the Asteroid III, by the Brooklyn artist and environmental activist Justin Brice Guariglia.  Using a solar-powered LED message board typically used on roadways, Guariglia shares surprising poetry, metaphor, and humor to break down barriers and enable important conversations about today’s planetary warnings.

As Guariglia notes: “The ecological crisis we face today is the moral imperative of our time. At this critical juncture, art must be used as a positive force for social and political change, and to help open our minds to new possibilities.”

By utilizing the LED message board, Guariglia seeks to contrast the audience’s expectations of the medium. Highway signs can evoke a feeling of tension and change, typically used at construction sites to caution passers-by and draws attention to our ecological issues.

“As an organization that cares deeply about the many threats to our environment, We are the Asteroid III is the perfect installation for us to present.  This work adds to Buffalo Bayou Partnership’s growing emphasis on public art as a way to communicate the important issues of our time,” says Anne Olson, Buffalo Bayou Partnership President.

Text for We Are the Asteroid III comes from philosopher Timothy Morton, Professor and Rita Shea Guffey Chair in English at Rice University. Morton is considered one of the most important ecological voices in writing today, exploring the intersection of object-oriented thought and ecological studies.

Aphorisms featured in the message board:

WE ARE THE ASTEROID

WARNING: HURRICANE HUMAN

TRIASSIC WEATHER AHEAD

GLOBAL WARMING AT WORK

GOODBYE ARCTIC ICE

THERE IS NO AWAY

NEANDERTHALS ‘R’ US

DANGER: ANTHROPOMORPHISM

FOR SYMBIOSIS: REDUCE SPEED NOW

On display through August 31, We are the Asteroid III is located in Buffalo Bayou Park at the Wortham Foundation Grove along Allen Parkway (between Waugh Drive and Montrose Boulevard).

Buffalo Bayou Partnership
Established in 1986, Buffalo Bayou Partnership (BBP) is the non-profit transforming and revitalizing Buffalo Bayou, Houston’s most significant natural resource.  The organization’s geographic focus is the 10-square mile stretch of the bayou that flows from Shepherd Drive, through the heart of downtown into the East End, and onto the Port of Houston Turning Basin.  Thanks to the generous support of foundations, corporations, individuals and government agencies, BBP has implemented more than $200 million in improvements for the redevelopment and stewardship of the waterfront – spearheading award-winning projects such as Buffalo Bayou Park, protecting land for future parks and green space, constructing hike and bike trails, and operating comprehensive clean-up and maintenance programs.  Buffalo Bayou Partnership also activates the waterway through pedestrian, boating and biking amenities; volunteer activities; permanent and temporary art installations; and wide-ranging tours and programs that engage tens of thousands of visitors each year.

Justin Brice Guariglia (b. 1974) is a contemporary visual artist known for his work on

ecological issues. His photographic, sculptural and installation works address the Anthropocene, the name given to our current ecological period, in which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment. Sotheby’s has called Guariglia “one of the most prominent cultural figures working to address climate change.”

Guariglia has frequently collaborated with scientists, philosophers, and artists to forge a deeper understanding of our climate crisis. REDUCE SPEED NOW!, Guariglia’s 2019 Somerset House UK commission, deployed 10 highway message boards placed in the institution’s neo-classical courtyard, brought together the critical voices of international activists, poets and philosophers to address the ecological crisis as a catalyst for social and political change.

His 2017 solo exhibition at the Norton Museum of Art debuted work originating from an ongoing series of missions flown with NASA over the glaciers of Greenland. The exhibition traveled to the Fisher Museum of Art in 2018. WE ARE THE ASTEROID, a collaborative project with philosopher Timothy Morton, premiered at Storm King Art Center the same year. Iterations of the project have been displayed in Chicago, along with various sites across New York City in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of New York City, and the New York City Parks Department. Before exhibiting We are the Asteroid III in Buffalo Bayou Park, the work was on view at Rice University Moody Center for the Arts.

Timothy Morton (b. 1968) is Rita Shea Guffey Chair in English at Rice University and the author of many books and essays on philosophy, ecology, literature, music, and art, notably Dark Ecology: For a Logic of Future Coexistence, Hyperobjects: Philosophy and Ecology after the End of the World, and The Ecological Thought. Morton has also written extensively about the literature of Percy Shelley and Mary Shelley, Romanticism, and ecotheory.


###

For press inquiries, email Karen Farber, BBP VP of External Affairs, or call 713.752.0314 ext. 353.

News Coverage

  • 15 Major Developments Headed for Houston in 2023 and Beyond Houston Chronicle, January 24, 2023
  • Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern Offers Inspiration and Reflection Beneath Houston Texas Highways Magazine, January 24, 2023
  • 36 Hours in Houston: Things to Do and See The New York Times, January 19, 2023
  • 11 Things You Must Do at Houston's Buffalo Bayou Park Chron.com, January 14, 2023
  • Rising in Houston: Projects to Look Forward to in 2023 and Beyond Greater Houston Partnership, January 4, 2023
  • Year in Review: Kinder Foundation Giving $100 Million to Buffalo Bayou Project was a Deal of the Week Houston Business Journal, December 22, 2022
  • Texas 100 List: Influential Professionals to Watch in 2023 Houston Business Journal, December 21, 2022
  • Top Exhibits in Houston This Month: December 2022 365 Things to Do, December 8, 2022
  • Listen: Buffalo Bayou East will transform East End. Why affordable housing is the first step. Looped In Podcast, December 1, 2022
  • Buffalo Bayou East breaks ground with affordable housing project Houston Chronicle, December 1, 2022
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Press Releases

  • Buffalo Bayou Partnership Announces Kinder Foundation’s $100M Catalyst Gift to Accelerate Buffalo Bayou East Master Plan September 26, 2022
  • Buffalo Bayou Partnership Unveils New Cleanup Boat August 3, 2022
  • East Downtown Trail Opens to the Public June 14, 2022
  • Light Up the Night Along Buffalo Bayou East March 15, 2022
  • Buffalo Bayou Partnership’s Time No Longer Wins International Art Award September 22, 2021
  • Three Houston Parks Team Up to Celebrate the Legacy of Jazz in Houston with Free Concerts and a Series Spectacular Featuring Mavis Staples August 6, 2021
  • Houston Endowment Awards Buffalo Bayou Partnership $10M Grant December 9, 2020
  • Immersive Installation by Anri Sala in the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern November 23, 2020
  • Houston Celebrates Texas Arbor Day by planting 600 trees at Buffalo Bend Nature Center November 10, 2020
  • Carmen Herrera: Estructuras Monumentales (En Español) September 28, 2020
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Monthly Newsletters

  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - January 2023 January 12, 2023
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - December 2022 December 1, 2022
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - November 2022 November 4, 2022
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - October 2022 October 6, 2022
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - September 2022 August 31, 2022
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - August 2022 August 4, 2022
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - July 2022 July 1, 2022
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - June 2022 June 2, 2022
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - May 2022 May 4, 2022
  • Buffalo Bayou eNewsletter - April 2022 April 6, 2022
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Banking on Buffalo Bayou

  • Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Summer 2021 June 2021
  • Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Winter 2020 January 2020
  • Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Spring 2019 May 2019
  • Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Winter 2019 January 2019
  • Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Summer 2018 July 2018
  • Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Summer 2017 August 2017
  • Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Spring 2017 March 2017
  • Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Winter 2016 December 2016
  • Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Summer 2016 July 2016
  • Banking on Buffalo Bayou - Spring 2016 March 2016
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