NEW YORK, NY.- Asia Society showcases the work of photographer and mountaineer David Breashears who, with Glacier Research Imaging Project (GRIP), has retraced the steps of renowned mountain photographers of the past century to recapture images of the Himalayan mountains and glaciers from exactly the same vantage points.
Rivers of Ice: Vanishing Glaciers of the Greater Himalaya comprises recent photographs by Breashears, shown alongside corresponding historic images, revealing the alarming loss in ice mass over the intervening years due to climate change.
ARTKABINETT collectors of fine art photography will be captivated by this exhibition documenting immediate impacts of climate change on our planet -- a significant social concern of our social network.
Breashears has retraced the steps of the 1921 British Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition Team, using as a guide, the photos of surveyor and photographer Major Edward O. Wheeler and amateur photographer George L. Mallory, who would later perish attempting to reach Everestís summit in 1924. Returning to the same vantage points, Breashears has meticulously recreated their shots, pixel for pixel.
Many of the Greater Himalayaís glaciers are in China, and the rivers that flow out these mountains and from these frozen reservoirs will help determine the fates of people from Afghanistan to the North China Plain," says Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director of Asia Societyís Center on U.S.-China Relations.
What the world chooses to do about climate change, will determine the fates of these glaciers and these peoples. This exhibit of photographer and mountaineer and photographer David Breashears is a stunningly beautiful testament to what is at stake.
Known as the "Third Pole," the Himalaya are home to the worldís largest sub-polar ice reserves. The meltwaters of these high altitude glaciers supply crucial seasonal flows to the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Salween, Irrawaddy, Mekong, Yangtze and Yellow rivers, which hundreds of millions of people downstream depend on for their livelihoods.
For centuries, glaciers have inspired awe and wonder.The idea that human assault might ever triumph over such powerful features of our natural landscape seemed almost unimaginable.
But now climate change is disrupting the ecological balance of the Tibetan Plateau and the mighty glaciers of the Himalaya are, in fact, disappearing.
Rivers of Ice: Vanishing Glaciers of the Greater Himalaya showcases the work of photographer and mountaineer David Breashears, who with Glacier Research Imaging Project (GRIP), has retraced the steps of renowned mountain photographers of the past century to recapture images of these mountains and their glaciers from exactly the same vantage points.
Rivers of Ice displays his recent photographs alongside the corresponding historic images, revealing the alarming loss in ice mass that has taken place over the intervening years.
The snow and ice stored within the magnificent arc of high-altitude glaciers in the Greater Himalaya are crucial sources of seasonal water for almost every major river system of Asia, from the Indus in the west to the Yellow in the east, with the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Salween, Mekong, and Yangtze Rivers between.
If current melt rates continue, these glaciers will be unable to maintain mass balance, ultimately disrupting the water supply to hundreds of millions of people downstream. GRIP is using the power of images to raise public awareness and shape policy focused on mitigation and adaption to the climate crisis
Images of special note include a photograph from 1899 by Vittorio Sella, and 55 inch video displays of two gigapan photographs (ultrahigh resolution panoramic images at a size of over one billion pixels that are comprised of multiple photographs stitched together), showing extraordinary detail, and two 21 foot wide panoramas, comprised of six photographs.
Additional video footage is also included in the exhibition and its accompanying website featuring interactive gigapan photographs.
Since 2007, David Breashears has been trekking and photographing in the greater Himalaya, most often to the glaciers surrounding Mount Everest, whose summit he has reached five times. His goal is no longer this highest peak, but a series of ledges and outcroppings scattered among the glaciers.
His photographs reveal a startling truth: the ice of the Himalaya is disappearing. GRIP is using the power of these images to raise public awareness and shape policy focused on mitigation and adaption to the climate crisis.
David Breashears was shooting his IMAX film on Mount Everest in May 1996 when a paralyzing blizzard struck, killing eight explorers. As a result, he suddenly evolved from filmmaker to rescuer and hero.
With his own life in jeopardy, Breashears and his crew rescued explorers from all over the mountain, narrowly surviving themselves. Thirteen days later, his team regrouped and reached the summit, becoming the first to obtain IMAX film images from the top of the world.
He has since reached the summit for the fifth time. In May 2008, Breashears' 1996 Mount Everest saga was featured on PBS's Frontline in Storm Over Everest, in which he returned to the summit to relive that tragic spring.
David Breashears's courage, skill, and determined quick thinking in the face of a near-death experience are a testament to the true definitions of heroism and survival. He recounts not only surviving the savagery of Mount Everest, but also persevering and conquering the worldís highest peak.
Rivers of Ice is organized by Asia Society Museum in partnership with GRIP, a project of the Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations and GlacierWorks. http://sites.asiasociety.org/riversofice
