Creativity at the frozen frontier the arts in antarctica

Abstract

For nearly 200 years Antarctica has been a focus for scientific endeavour and strategic political and economic aspirations. During that time, artists of many disciplines have made a steady and significant contribution to our understanding of life on the ice, adding further dimensions to the Antarctic experience by sharing unique insights and helping raise public awareness of the scientific issues. Many of these artists have been amateurs, heading south in other capacities, but in later years many have been professional artists travelling specifically to produce artistic works. This chapter presents some of their thoughts on their experience and how it affected their work as well as the rather unique challenges faced by creating their works in one of the most hostile environments on Earth. But just as it is brutal, Antarctica is also supremely beautiful, a “symphony of splendour” in the words of the photographer Emil Schulthess, and “at times anxious and at times peacefully resolute”, according to photographer Craig Potton.