MONDAY TO ILULISSAT….

I looked up from my New Yorker just in time to catch my first glimpse of the approaching coast of eastern Greenland. Below me the ice bergs were scattered everywhere. I shot frantically for about 3 minutes between iPhone and Canon trying to catch what I could through the frosted scratched airplane glass window.

The iceberg filled sea below me made my adrenalin flow. Maybe it's the visual majesty of this vast scale of primal landscape conflated with the mental anguish - the knowledge of its potential deadly impact on our lives or I should say our impact on it....It just fills me with intense emotions.

So many images to make paintings and prints from...it has begun:

RETURN TO PINGVELLIR….

In 2002 we explored this historical site where the world’s first Parliament met in 930AD.

We loved walking through it not only because of its cultural significance but also because we could clearly see the rift along the landscape, marking the Mid-Atlantic Ridge - part of the longest mountain range in the world.- mostly underwater but not here in Iceland where the Eurasian and North American plates have continued to spread apart. That is was causes continued earthquakes such as the disastrous one of 2010 which stopped air travel between Europe and the US for an extended time. The average spreading rate for the ridge is about 2.5 cm per year.

What has changed is the crowds of people. Actually all through Iceland we have noticed how much more populated the country is with tourists.

But what is still the same is his beautiful and captivating this magical country is. Here are some road shots:

TO WEST ICELAND AND THE LIBRARY OF WATER...

On Saturday, August 2, we drove to Snaefellsnes, a peninsula on the western coast of Iceland. The ride out captured what is so Iceland: the changing weather from bright sunshine to brooding clouds and rain all in a 2.5 hour drive to get there.

Our destination was the coastal town of Stykkisholmur to visit Roni Horn's 2007 permanent installation: The Library of Water.

I have been an admirer of her work for years. What prodded me to finally visit was my reading Rebecca Solnit's The Faraway Nearby this winter. She had been in a writers residency program there that she describes in her powerful book.

Horn's space embraces a brilliant concept bringing together her commitment to water, weather, reflection and illumination and primarily the environment. Twenty four glaciers from all around Iceland are represented by there melt water - totally an amazing accomplishment.

It was definitely worth the trip and at the end there was a surprise bonus. I discovered a Volcano Museum overseen by Haraldur Sigurdsson, the renowned volcanologist and scholar. In 2001 he graciously contributed an introduction to the catalog for my exhibition The Volcano Series. He was born is this town and still lives there part of every year. The art collection was captivating. We also saw a marvelous National Geographic film on the momentous 2010 eruption featuring him. I understand he will be in Greenland soon after me...I look forward to reconnecting.

FLYING OUT TODAY TO ICELAND....

I first traveled to Iceland thanks to an invitation by Josette Bonafino  to be an “art mentor” to a group of Philadelphia high school students participating in her MYX Exchange Program with Icelandic youths.  We were there for the summer Solstice of 2002. That ten days in such a magical environment compelled me to return with Richard.  We did later that July and August traveling throughout the country, flying from South to North and being filmed by the Travel Chanel.  Here’s a link to that video:

Diane Burko - Iceland: 2002 by Pioneer Productions - Vimeo

I created a whole series of paintings and photographs on that experience. Here is one image:

Godafoss 2, 48"x74", 2003

RETURNING TO THE ARCTIC CIRCLE: ILULISSAT, GREENLAND

I believe that nature reveals itself over time and it is imperative to have more than one glimpse if possible.  With that goal in mind, next week I will witness another aspect of the Arctic Circle: Greenland's ILULISSAT - formerly known as Jakobshavn.

Ilulissat is a large outlet glacier which is one of the fastest moving glaciers on our planet depositing almost 10% of all Greenland icebergs. It is presently moving ice from the Greenland ice sheet into the ocean at unprecedented speeds. It is the same glacier that spawned in 1912 the deadly iceberg  that sunk the Titanic...For over 250 years scientists have been studying it to understand  ice melt and climate change.  I want to personally thank such researchers as Asa Rennermalm, Marco Tedesco and Jason Box who have contributed their advice and knowledge as I prepared for this expedition

Greenland has always intrigued me – but more so after making a series of paintings based on NASA’s and Jason Box’s chronicling of the iceberg that broke off of Petermann Glacier first in 2010 which was 4 times the size of Manhattan:

60" x 72", Oil on Canvas, 2012

In 2012 another piece measuring 46 square miles broke away. If such activity continues the whole glacier could be compromised contributing to sea level rise. Because Northern Greenland and Canada have been warming five times faster than the average global temperature,  and in June 2012 scientists reported the largest sea ice loss on record – this may come to pass. 

HEADING SOUTH TO PYRAMIDEN

After sailing across the glacier front of Kronebreen, we sailed out of Kongsfjord anchoring on October 6 at Blomstrandhalvøya where we stayed over night. Some of us chose to forgo a landing on the 7th to  work instead on the the ship. I focused on getting all my images transferred to my hard drive as well as polishing up my first video.

Docking at Pyramiden

From there we sailed further south and on Tuesday the 8th we moored at PYRAMIDEN.

Pyramiden is a Russian settlement originally founded by Sweden in 1910 and sold to the Soviet Union in 1927. It was a viable coal mining community with a population of over 1,000 inhabitants until 1998 when it was suddenly closed. It remained largely abandoned with most of its infrastructure and buildings still in place. Russia is now beginning to maintain the structures and develop this ghost town into a tourist destination.

I took a whole series of images that I actually began to develop on board. Here are some examples:

In a recent episode on Pyramiden, on the History Channel titled " Life After People" they predicted that due to the low rate of decay in a frigid climate, the abandoned town's major buildings would be visible 500 years from now.

Leaving Pyramiden for Skansbukta

TO SKANSBUKTA AND NORDENSKIOLDBREEN

SAILING

On the 9th of October we sailed from Pyramiden to Skansbukta and cruised along Nordenskioldbreen.

NORDENSKIOLDBREEN

And on October 10 - our 14th day , we sailed from Skansbukta back to Longyearbyen.

SAILING BACK DOWN SOUTH

Friday October 4 was a sailing day back down to Krossfjorden glacier and anchored at Ifortende Julibukta. There were  two landings: one in the morning and then again in the afternoon. Large plains of snow framed by heavy grey and pink sweeps of sky before us as we landed on a beach of scattered ice: chunks, boulders, and pebble sized in surprising shapes. But the morning light was flat and grey with the sun only shining on the glacier across the water.

Morning in Krossfjorden

Finally with the afternoon landing it began to slowly graze the snow and light up the shore of transparent glasslike shapes of ice providing dramatic shadows all around.

RETURNING TO NY-ALLESUND

We stayed over night at Krossfjorden and sailed the next morning Saturday October 5 to Ny-Alesund with a landing before lunch. It was curious visiting the same place we had stayed for three days earlier in September - what a difference two weeks can make: snow was everywhere.

The contrast of the dry brown ground of September 16th to the white covered roads houses and plains was palpable.

RETURNING TO KRONEBREEN BY SEA

ANCHORED BY KRONEBREEN

The next day, Sunday October 6 we took the Antigua from Ny-Alesund closer to the Kronebreen Glacier. For me this was a high point relating to my initial idea for the Arctic Circle Expedition. My proposal was to see the glaciers of Svalbard from above before seeing them by boat and Zodiac. And here I was – it all happened as wished – I even had the additional experience of walking on Kronbreen at least a dozen times as we landed periodically up the glacier checking Jack Kohler’s measuring instruments. (see earlier posts)

It’s difficult for me to express the confluence of time, sensory and spatial memory in words. Hopefully it will be communicated somehow in the work to come.

VIDEO COLLABORATION WITH HAN SUNGPIL…..

On the seventh day, October 3, we headed back from our most northern landing in Raudfjorden. It was a very rocky sail for most onboard but luckily Han Sungpil (a gifted videographer/photographer and installation artist) and myself were not affected for almost the whole day. We spent the day collaborating….

The day before as we all were doing our projects on the snowy shores of the glacier I inadvertently wandered into the frame of Sungpil’s time-lapse camera that he left on the beach while he went hiking. The accident turned into a collaborative experience where we reviewed all the footage and edited it together – changing the time lapse from one jpg a second to one every ½, we created a 47 second MP4 video in HD which provides a comic image of myself buzzing along the coastline…. It was great to create the title and end page as well. But what was most serendipitous was the fact that I had been videoing the same landscape.

ON SHORE OF RAUDFJORDEN

Later in our voyage we worked together again and he helped edit my first video about the Arctic Circle experience....

Sungpil and me working

RAUDFJORD SNOWING ON OCTOBER 2

I think the second day in Raudfjorden was one of my favorites. The snow finally arrived.  The light changed from pale greys with whispers of light and the snow came down hard at times. Image opportunities were everywhere. I kept turning from the shoreline to the mountains behind me taking both the landscapes as well as my Arctic Object which I placed on the ground intermittently shooting looking up and looking down.

My "Arctic Object" on shore

At one point the object was totally covered with show and lost. I frantically searched quietly for sometime and then asked those near me to help - Terry Adkins was my savior…he found it a few feet from me.

BEGINNING OF OUR SAILING: FIRST ENTRIES

We set sail on Friday afternoon (9/27) west through Isfjorden dropping anchor in a beautiful inlet fjord called Trygghamna where a magnificent mountain called “Elk” greeted us in Horn Harbor. The next morning (9/28) after breakfast and a safety talk in preparation for our first Zodiac landing we did with beautiful light, warm 40 degree weather and very little wind.

First landing

On Sunday (9/29) after sailing due North all through the night we anchored in Magdalene Fjord. On our morning zodiac ride a harbor seal greeted us.  The day was much grayer. but what grays they were…warm and cool with thin patches of titanium and zinc white - some mixed with alizarin crimson - every now and then a wisp of light ultramarine blue pierced through.

The ground was a sandy beach with ice of all dimensions, textures and opacities scattered along its shore. I could walk on thin ice layers that crunched with the sound of toast similar to what I once experienced walking on Kilauea in moonlight in 2000.

Further in there were areas of yellow ochre and sap green vegetation caused by the history of whale processing on this shore. In the early 17th century Svalbard was a whale-hunting center shared between the Dutch and the English.

On Monday evening (9/30) we docked in Hamilton bay at the top of the northern most fjord: Raudfjord.

Hamilton bay

Magdalena from Zodiac

The next day 10/1, I took an exhilarating zodiac ride around 11:00 AM confronted by incredibly blue transparent icebergs, scattered ice all around as well as the face of a small glacier which periodically calved. light was very grey when we began but improved by the time we had to return revealing an incredibly lit mountain in reds, rusts and ochre.

This was the day of our first polar bear siting from the ship. Thanks to Sungpil I have a great photo:

Polar bear shot by SungPil

AERIAL VIEWS….A SELECTION:

Flying over around 4:00pm

I suppose my fascination with all things aerial began when I was a teenager on my first Eastern Airlines flight from Kennedy to Miami Beach… The magic of being up in the clouds and seeing those abstract patterns of light and shadow and color hooked me and still does.

We have been blessed with almost perfect weather for all our flights over Norway. And there have been quite a few since flying out of Oslo on Sunday September 15th. On the 16th there was our flight West over Svalbard to Ny-Alesund.

On the 17th the flight I took all afternoon with Jack and his crew had perfect weather…

About to take off in our Squirrel AS35O

Approaching Kronebreen

Another view of front

A lake on Kronebreen

About to land

MORE IMAGES FROM AIR AND ON CREVASSE…

On the 18th when Richard joined us for our second day of flying, it was somewhat cloudier but still spectacular… More amazing views from above as well as on the ground where we returned to the crevasse area for more data gathering and walked with our crampons on this unknown terrain....

On the Crevasse

Looking Around

Heading Back to Base

TOMORROW WE SET SAIL......

Here a some facts about the ship we will be sailing on:

The Antigua was built in 1957 in Thorne, Yorkshire (U.K.) as a fishing boat and was in service for many years. Looking at this elegant barkentine today, it’s hardly recognisable as the working vessel it once was.  Between 1993 and 1997 the ship was reconstructed - with a magnificent sense for maritime detail - into a beautiful sailing ship with all the comforts of a modern passenger vessel. Sixteen double cabins offer every form of comfort. The Antigua is recognizable for its convincing lines and stylish interior, which ensure your stay will be an exclusive maritime experience.

I am thrilled with the depth and diversity of our group and with our director Aaron O'Conner. Someone counted 9 languages amongst us. There are individuals here from Korea, The Yukon, Indonesia, Ireland, United Kingdom, Brazil, Toronto, Vancouver, Tawain and many parts of the states. They range from being artists/scientists to musicians, composers, performance artists and poets along with some painters, photographers and a landscape architect....

AT THE NORWEGIAN POLAR INSTITUTE IN TROMSO

1990 image of Kronebreen

On Monday we found our way to the Framsenterett where the Norwegian Polar Institute is headquartered. They occupy 3 floors and share the rest of the building with many other agencies devoted to the study and welfare of our planet. I had an appointment with Ann Kristin Balto, an archivist who had agreed to provide historical images of Kronebreen for review.

Ann Kristin in Office

She asked Harold Faste, a photo grametry specialist and photographer, to join us and share priceless original images from 1906 to 1936 and then from the 60's to the 90’s of the glaciers around Ny-Alesund. We spent almost three hours there looking at images with them.

In the Archive Room

We then were invited by Ivar Stokkeland the librarian to the rare book room where he showed us books dating back to one from 1550 by a priest describing Northern countries in Latin. He also shared a large volume on the 1839 "Recherche Expedition" with beautiful illustrations.
Then he showed us the book by Leonie D'Aunet (1854) who was the first woman who ever visited Spitsbergen as the fiancé of that expedition artist. This is a book I must find when I return to the states...

Rare Book Room

First Female Arctic Explorer

We also toured the floors where the scientists were meeting and we finally got to spend time with Jack's wife, Elizabeth Isaksson who was a glaciologist mostly working with core samples in the Antarctic. After that we went to the Polaria which was a museum where Ann will be mounting an exhibit in November about how scientists are conducting their research and my video footage may be part of it.

MORE ON NY-ALESUND: THE SCIENCE

I have learned a great deal from Jack Kohler about his research and the unique qualities of the Kronebreen Glacier here in Svalbard. Apparently that’s why so many glaciologists are attracted to do research here.  Doug Benn, a professor at Svalbard UNIS was here with a team from Wales as well as Svalbard, up on the glacier for 3 days drilling a 295-meter deep (about 1,000) hole in which they dropped a sensor, which will record water pressure. They are coordinating with Jack Kohler who is primarily studying ice melt.  Jack began his measurement work in 2000 but is carrying on a process first started in 1986. The smaller glacier he works on has been recorded since the 60’s. In the spring instruments are set up and in the fall he comes back to document the changes.

There were three different devices we visited over our two days of flying.

1) The weather stations record wind velocity, gusts, direction and temperatures. They either store the data locally or send it back by satellite and unlike the GPS stations, they don’t use a lot of power. We visited a number of them to gather data or to dismantle.

The crew helped and strapped the poles to the sides of the helicopter.

 2) Some of the GPS stations have fancy electronic controls running them that are all custom built. The simpler ones can last a couple of years on Lithium batteries. Others are run by solar panels, which are of no use during months of dark winter, and then the windmills take over. One was removed because of the growing crevasses that had opened all around it. I couldn’t believe how we landed there crevasses in front, back, and to the sides of our helicopter.

3) The Measuring Poles, which serve as reference marks, were positioned upright on the glaciers. Running in a line from bottom to top. We spent a great deal of time throughout the day flying around locating them - sometimes with difficulty since the wind or a crevasse displaced them drastically. Sometimes we landed for Jack to measure their height (with an actual yellow tape). He told me that in the spring they were buried flush with the surface of snow and now some were 8 feet high.

FLYING OVER SVALBARD TO NY-ALESUND

Because of my constant desire to see the landscape from above I have been trying to arrange for the past year, helicopter flights over Svalbard before the actual expedition launches. Thanks to the generous assistance of Dr. Jack Kohler, from the Norwegian Polar Institute, we have been granted permission to accompany him in Ny-Alesund as he conducts his research measuring glacial change, giving us access to helicopter excursions over the Kronbreen glacial landscape below. Ny Alesund is a research facility where scientists of many nationalities convene. It’s the most remote permanent arctic research facility. Here's a link to learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archipelago

We arrived on Monday and I was up in the air this Tuesday the 17th as well as again today September 18.

I flew with Jack and his colleague Chris Nuth and a very able pilot Bjorn Frode Amundsen and his flight engineer/mechanic, BrynJulv Hauge. We went up the glacier landing to sometimes leave Chris at one station while we went off to another. The day was occupied with checking instruments, dismantling some weather stations and gathering data.

HAVE BEEN IN NORWAY FOR FIVE DAYS.....FIRST OSLO

We arrived on 9/11 and met our new friend Nancy Bundt (a dear friend of our good friend Audrey Flack) who has been our wise advisor for many of our pre expedition plans and continued sharing her expertise in food, restaurants and culture throughout our four day stay.

We spent much time visiting special food purveyors as well as restaurants such as Maemo and Alex Sushi (Nancy did a magnificent book on it) and having a very memorable as meal with Nancy and her husband Yorn Pedersen in their home.

We went to see the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Munch at the Munch museum, the National Gallery as well as the Oslo University close by and and at a chocolate factory called Fria where his paintings were installed as murals throughout the employee cafeteria. We had no idea he was so prolific....

Another exciting experience was the OSLO OPERA HOUSE. We all four enjoyed the exterior space as well as the interior and had great fun photographing each other....