StandardVision Artist Spotlight: Climate Change Awareness and Resources for Regeneration with Artist Uta Kögelsberger

On View:

#SLVA1 Screen at the Courtyard Marriott

901 W. Olympic Blvd. – Los Angeles, CA

Playing at the top of every hour through February 28th

For the month of February, StandardVision will be showcasing work from artist Uta Kögelsberger on the large-scale digital facade at the Courtyard Marriott LA Live. The selected excerpts are from Cull, the anchor piece in Kögelsberger’s larger project Fire Complex which observes the devastating impact of unplanned forest fires and sets about making a difference for the future.

Growing out of Kögelsberger’s involvement with the community of Sequoia Crest, CA, Fire Complex examines the damage the area has suffered over the past ten years—from the impact of persistent drought, the subsequent devastating attack of pine bark beetle exacerbated by a lack of forest management, and finally culminating in the devastating impact of the 2020 California Castle fire which destroyed an estimated 14% of the world’s giant Sequoia population. Aimed at raising resources and momentum towards the regeneration of the area, Kögelsberger has leveraged her photographic and video practices to not only bring awareness to this specific region’s devastation, but also to communicate the universal emergency of climate change.

The multi-channel video work Cull charts the efforts of the teams charged with cutting down the dead trees left standing that are now endangering the remaining structures and roads. In an orchestrated choreography, each tree is documented as it comes crashing to the ground, sometimes falling with such force that the earth beneath it shakes. Kögelsberger intentionally created the works comprising Fire Complex to be seen on billboards and large-scale facades, directly making the artwork an agent in the public realm. Set in stark contrast to the urban environment where the impact of climate change often seems a remote and abstract reality, the work becomes a timely reminder of the impact of our daily actions.

During the month of February, Kögelsberger’s feature on StandardVision’s large-scale media facade in downtown LA will coincide with the public installation of Fire Complex throughout the Los Angeles area; a series of the photographic works will be featured across four different locations in Hollywood on paper billboards. Alongside this public presence, Fire Complex also involves an ongoing replanting project in collaboration with the community of Sequoia Crest, Forest Services, with the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, and with Cal Fire.

Catch excerpts from Cull on view on the digital facade at the Courtyard Marriott DTLA through February 28th, and learn more about Fire Complex and ways to get involved by visiting Kögelsberger’s website.