1) The document discusses several artists who use their art to raise awareness of environmental and social issues. Crystal Morey creates sculptures that depict humans and endangered animals interconnected to bring attention to habitat loss and human impacts on the environment. Elina Peduzzi makes jewelry that celebrates her diverse Venezuelan culture and comments on political issues. Jonathan Huang was inspired to create sculptures about child sex trafficking after helping build a rescue shelter for victims in the Philippines. 2) These artists see art as a way to educate others and a "contribution" to addressing important issues like climate change, cultural identity, and human rights. Their works often have symbolic meanings and personal narratives to convey specific messages. 3) Using their

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SHiFT Magazine Spring 2014
“I don’t think the world can be
saved without paying attention to
what the scientists say, but sci-
entists can’t save the world. The
people who can save the world
are artists. That’s because what we
need is a new story we tell our-
selves . . . a new story about what
we are here for. “
Biologist Roger Payne in The Wisdom to Survive
When no one is listening?
By Cyndy Patrick
Another Inconvenient truth
Can Art
Save the World?

2. 22
SHiFT Magazine Spring 2014
“I think of this
piece as an adapta-
tion of humans un-
derstanding the need
to be close to nature
in order to survive
and thrive,” Morey
says.
S
eated on her stool in
her well-lit ceramics
studio, Crystal Morey
delicately carves away a slice
of clay from a figure of two
connected bears. Human faces
peer out from their chests and
child-like legs cross casually
beneath them. The totem
suggests a close and loving
human-animal relationship,
that of family members who
share the same planet—one of
interconnected co operation.
“I think of this piece as an
adaptation of humans under-
standing the need to be close
to nature in order to survive
and thrive,” Morey says.
Cavewomen riding Saber-
tooth tigers, horned gazelles
and modern humans peering
out from inside polar bears
and falcons—Morey’s sculptures stir a primal
animal nature deep within, jabbing at our
conscience. Her research on endangered and
extinct species inspired her newest collec-
tion of works, “Humans Incased in Animals.”
Morey encountered this idea of “putting on
the ceremonial garment to become something
else” while exploring the vast collection of
Inuit and Native American art housed in Victo-
ria, Washington,
Morey realized early on that she wanted
her art to mean something, to share a message
about those animals who have become en-
dangered and those that we have already lost.
Reading Pacific Northwest creation stories
illuminated the very different relationship
the first inhabitants of America had to nature
and how they saw themselves as part of that
Global Art-
nature.
It made me think about how we were
before the Industrial Revolution,” Morey says.
“I started to think about our surroundings and
how we affect them. I became aware of how we
have lost touch, that connection between us
and the animals.”
Like many of us, Morey said she feels
guilt and helplessness about all the destruc-
tive actions going on around us. Educating
people with her work about the intellectual,
emotional and primal relationship between
humans and their environment has become
her passion.
“Today every action has a reaction we can
see, in climate change, deforestation, ocean
acidity and the hunting of animals. All these
Crystal Morey working on a new sculpture
in her graduate studio at San Jose State for her
collection: “Era of the Anthropocene.” This
piece is meant to show human and animal
interconnectedness in a quickly changing
natural environment. Showing multiple per-
spectives, ideas and emotions, Morey hopes
to show the inevitability of a shared outcome
and future.
Polar Bear and Markhor
Ceramic and under glaze
The Polar Bear is endangered through
habitat loss and the Markhor through poach-
ing. These are both man-made situations, and
though these animals live in very different ar-
eas, it’s something they share. With these two,
I wanted to create an emotional narrative and
show a relationship between humans, animals
and the environment.
Bubal Hartebeest Journey
(Woman on horned gazelle)
Ceramic and under glaze
The Bubal Hartebeest went extinct in 1925
due to overhunting. The sort of muted color
scheme I used on many of the pieces in this
body of work was inspired by the fact that the
only way to see many of these animals now is
in old sepia-toned photos or dusty museum
dioramas.

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SHiFT Magazine Spring 2014
“Semillero” (Seedbed) (2006) (silver, gold,
copper, palm seeds, Fabrication.) This is a cele-
bration of Venezuela’s rich and diverse identity,
which is a precious blend of three cultures:
Indigenous, European and African. This is also
a tribute to the Spanish language spoken in this
part of the world. The necklace is fashioned
from three different metals; silver, gold and
copper, each piece with a different texture and
each connected to a cascade of red palm seeds.
The silver clasp is a “celebration of language”
with words inscribed from all three languages
actions are causing havoc and
leading us to an unsustainable envi-
ronment,” Morey says. “I feel that
bringing awareness to these issues
is my contribution.”
While Morey concentrates
on educating people about
endangered animals, Venezuelan
diplomat and artist Elina Peduzzi
takes the unique approach of using
her jewelry to celebrate her diverse
culture and to make political
statements.
Growing up in Uruguay and
Venezuela, Peduzzi says she was
surrounded by the enthusiastic
environmental movement of the
“My social conscience drives my art. My
background, my history, my experiences
and my thoughts about this moment in
human history, all influence my pieces,”
Peduzzi says.
Elina Peduzzi
times. She loved going camping
and being in nature as part of the
Girl Scouts.
This eventually led her to
become a youth delegate where she
worked in international relations.
Representing Venezuela, she at-
tended the Earth Summit in Rio de
Janeiro in 1992 and the Non-Gov-
ernment Organization’s Forum of
Women in China in 1995. Parallel
to her diplomatic work, Peduzzi
explored her creative side while
still in her 20s, by making jewelry.
She eventually started her own
business after taking classes and
working in a jewelry store.
Peduzzi experimented with
conceptual art, incorporating
organic materials into her work,
such as wood, seeds and coral
from native tropical species. One
of her first major projects
was “Semillero” (Seedbed).
A celebration of her identity,
she fashioned the necklace
from three different metals:
silver, gold and copper, then
connected a cascade of red
palm seeds. This piece won
first prize in the National Hall
of Jewelry in Venezuela.
“In Venezuela, we are a
perfect mix of three cultures,
the original Latin Americans,
the Europeans and the African
people. So now our cultural
identity is defined by these
three cultures and you can
see that in everything, in
food, in music, in traditions
and even languages,” Peduzzi
says. “All of them, they build a
necklace of unity because we
are all very diverse but united
culturally.”
In response to interna-
tional free trade agreements,
Peduzzi created “America XXI
Century,” a silver necklace
and earrings that won second
place in the Venezuelan Na-
tional Jewelry contest.
“It is my interpretation
of the movement in Latin
America for integration. In the
last 10 years we have created
ALBA (Bolivarian Alliance for
the Peoples of Our America),
UNASUR (Union of South
American Nations), CELAC

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SHiFT Magazine Spring 2014
(Community of Latin American and Carib-
bean States), Petro Caribe and MERCOSUR
(Southern Common Market). These are im-
portant initiatives to build a more united and
prosperous region,” Peduzzi says.
Her newest project, “News Media Filter,”
is a gold earpiece formed by taking a cast of her
own ear. The piece holds different “grades” of
filters that fit inside. Peduzzi says this piece is
a reflection about the trustworthiness of the
media and their roll in the climate of opinion
because sometimes it seems the news net-
works are biased.
“With Twitter and Facebook, anybody
can post a fake photo,” Peduzzi says. “That is
confusing and there is no discrimination.”
Peduzzi is busy working on a pair of
filtered glasses to add to her project. Behind
each of her works, there is a message she
wants to share with the world.
“My social conscience drives my art. My
background, my history, my experiences and
my thoughts about this moment in human
history, all influence my pieces. When I make a
piece, the process itself represents a reflec-
tion about what I want to say. There is a kind
of feedback in the process of making a piece,
always there are new ideas, research and learn-
ing,” Peduzzi says.
For artist Jonathan Huang, missionary
work has impacted his art, which takes a
departure into the darker side of humanity.
Through his sculpture, he explores the world
of child sex trafficking. As a member of his
church, Huang became involved in building
a rescue shelter in the Philippine Islands for
young girls freed from the sex trafficking
trade. Accepting this challenge has changed
his life and heavily influenced his art.
Huang studied sex-trafficking worldwide
before going on the trip to the island of Cebu
in 2008.
“It felt so heavy and seemed to be so insur-
mountable,” Huang says. “But then you meet
a survivor, one of these little girls and it’s like
the entire issue coalesces into a single person.
This is a person right in front of me and I can
help this person.”
Jonathan Huang
Partnering with the New Heart Commu-
nity Church and the International Justice
Mission, Huang and his wife helped establish
“My Refuge House,” an aftercare facility.
Along with local police, the team provided
surveillance equipment, gathered evidence,
conducted SWAT raids and made arrests. Now
these rescued girls, (average age of 14) needed
a safe place to rebuild their lives.
One of Huang’s first tasks at “My Refuge
House” was to fix the plumbing.
“I realized how much we take plumbing for
granted,” Huang says. “Plumbing is an under-
ground, unseen network and the delineating
line between the first and third world.”
Before Huang left the Philippines, the girls
threw a going away party. The Filipino people
are very musical. Filled with gratitude and
love, they sang songs to the group and taught
them a few songs in Tagalog.
Huang said after returning home he could
not sleep, He kept thinking of them and
dreaming of them singing songs. He could
hear the girls’ voices in his head, so he made
portraits of the girls out of clay.
“That is what really started helping me
to sleep, have peace and try to make tangible
again that experience I had,” Huang says.
That’s when the questions and the dia-
logue began to happen about Huang’s work,
opening a door to shed light on a very dark
problem that affects millions and needs to be
addressed.
Huang’s first work, “Katarungan” which
means “justice” in Tagalog, was a grim piece
and not well received by the public. He
followed up with, “Kalayaan” which means
“freedom.” Along with the sculpture, this
work included a gold stalagmite, a representa-
tion of wealth and greed. Trafficking involves a
physical exchange, a transaction.
“Limestone ceilings and walls are eaten
away by dripping water and re-formed into
stalactites and stalagmites,” Huang says. “A
girl who is trafficked, has her dignity, self-es-
teem and self worth eroded for profit and
lust”
Huang’s third work, “Lumakad” means,
“to walk.” It is a life-size sculpture created
from coil-built stoneware and modeled after
one of the girls. The piece is set within a
rose-patterned labyrinth made out of salt. It
was displayed at the 2013 Freedom Summit in
Fremont, Calif.
Huang’s intention was to create a quiet
place of reflection amid the noise and turmoil
of the conference. The rose symbolizes the vir-
gin. The work suggests innocence and purity.
His later work “Lakarin” which means “to
Lakarin 2 (Taga-
log “To Journey”)
This sculpture was
placed in an even
larger rose laby-
rinth. The rose lab-
yrinth made out of
salt was created to
provide a place of
quiet reflection at
a packed and over-
whelming confer-
ence on a huge glob-
al issue. Displayed
in Gallery III, SJSU
(2013.)

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SHiFT Magazine Spring 2014
journey” was a larger installation displayed
in Gallery III at San Jose State University in
2013.
Huang says he remains highly involved
with “My Refuge House.” Since their interven-
tion in Cebu, with the help of the International
Justice Mission, child sex-trafficking has
declined by 70 percent in 5 years. “We have a
responsibility,” Huang says. “If you can just
wrap your mind around one small part of it,
there is hope, there are solutions.”
Each of these 21st Century artists has
come to realize the same thing. We all need to
narrow our focus to one small problem and
take action to bring about change. Huang says
for him, art came long before his awareness of
social justice and human rights issues but as to
which drives which, “Well, they are two wheels
on the same motorcycle that am driving! I am
a ‘both’ kind of guy.”