Rebeca Méndez on “Storm Cloud,” John Ruskin, and a Perfect Sky

Posted on Fri., Sept. 27, 2024 by Aric Allen

Artist, designer, and UCLA professor Rebeca Méndez discusses her work Any-Instant-Whatever (2020), which is featured in “Storm Cloud: Picturing the Origins of Our Climate Crisis,” one of The Huntington’s exhibitions for PST ART: Art & Science Collide.

Her video installation Any-Instant-Whatever documents 12 hours of Los Angeles’ winter skies, creating an immersive experience that encourages contemplation while also addressing themes of environmental change.

“Storm Cloud” examines the impact of industrialization and a globalized economy on everyday life from 1780 to 1930. The exhibition’s title comes from a series of lectures in 1884 by art critic John Ruskin, who observed how industrialization was polluting the skies.

The exhibition “Storm Cloud: Picturing the Origins of Our Climate Crisis” has been made possible with support from Getty through its PST ART: Art & Science Collide initiative.

Red sun dial logo with text reading PST Art

Southern California’s landmark arts event, PST ART, returned in September 2024 with more than 70 exhibitions from museums and other institutions across the region, all exploring the intersections of art and science, both past and present. PST ART is presented by Getty. For more information, visit PST ART: Art & Science Collide