Jul 312012
 

Last year Laura Von Rosk got the chance of a lifetime to accompany a scientific expedition to the icy wilds of Antarctica where she assisted at dive holes (the research involved diving under the ice), watched seals, hiked the glaciers and took pictures. She sent Numéro Cinq two lovely photo-and-text pieces on her time at the bottom of the world — “What It’s Like Living Here in Antarctica” and “More Adventures at the Bottom of the World.” A landscape painter by vocation, Laura has since produced a magnificent body of paintings based on her trip. Some of these pictures are currently on display at the Clement Art Gallery in Troy, New York, (July 27 to August 27). NC readers have a unique opportunity here to  compare pre- and post-Antarctica paintings, to see how a painter brings her own set of formal concerns and passions to a new landscape. Also you can look at Laura’s photos and see how the land forms of Antarctica transformed under her brush. More of the Antarctica paintings can be found at Laura’s own web page.

dg

 

Untitled (pressure ridges), oil on wood, 12″ x 12″.

 

Untitled (dive hole study 2), oil on mylar, 17.5″ x 9″.

 

Blue Glacier, oil on wood, 12″ x 12″.

 

Sea Ice, oil on wood, 12″ x 12″.

 

Moat Melt, oil on wood, 12″ x 12″.

— Laura Von Rosk

—————————

Laura Von Rosk lives with her dog Molly on a lagoon just outside Schroon Lake, New York. She curates the Courthouse Gallery at the Lake George Arts Project, a gallery dedicated to the experimental and the avant garde.

Nov 162011
 

Hiking to the Commonwealth Glacier

Here’s another, even more amazing, text & photo essay from the intrepid painter/writer/naturalist Laura Von Rosk (see her first report from Antarctica here) who flew to Antarctica (it’s spring there) early in Septembet as part of a scientific team headed by Albany, NY, cell biologist Dr. Samuel Bowser (friend them on Facebook at Bravo! 043 or visit his blog). In this report, the team continues its training at McMurdo Station’s “Happy Camper” school before heading to their own research site. The team’s mission is to dive (under the ice) and conduct studies on the the single-celled organisms known as Foraminifera from a field camp at Explorers Cove, situated at the base of the Taylor Valley, in the Dry Valleys, west of McMurdo Station in Antarctica.

Laura Von Rosk (normally) lives with her dog Molly on a lagoon just outside Schroon Lake, New York. She curates the Courthouse Gallery at the Lake George Arts Project, a gallery dedicated to the experimental and the avant garde. She’s an old friend and a wonderful landscape painter. See Laura’s paintings on Numéro Cinq here.

Antarctica map 1, map 2, map 3, map of Ross Sea area, map 5. Virtual tour of McMurdo. Map showing McMurdo Station and Taylor Valley.

dg

More Adventures at the Bottom of the World

Laura Von Rosk Reports from Antarctica

 View from the Observation Tube: Henry, Cecil, and Dannie

Over the last three weeks I’ve had some unusual experiences which included camping out on the Ross Ice Shelf with about 20 other Happy Campers, as we are called, observing tiny sea creatures 20 feet below the sea ice in the Observation Tube at McMurdo Station, taking my 1st Helicopter ride over McMurdo Sound, Assisting the divers at Explorers Cove, hiking to the massive Commonwealth Glacier, and seeing Weddell Seals up close as they popped up through two of our dive holes.

Continue reading »

Nov 042011
 

The  intrepid painter/writer/naturalist Laura Von Rosk (see her paintings here on NC) has flown to Antarctica (it’s spring there) as part of a scientific team headed by Albany, NY, cell biologist Dr. Samuel Bowser (friend them on Facebook at Bravo! 043 or visit his blog). The team’s mission is to dive (under the ice) and conduct studies on the the single-celled organisms known as Foraminifera from a field camp at Explorers Cove, situated at the base of the Taylor Valley, in the Dry Valleys, west of McMurdo Station in Antarctica. It’s a great pleasure to be able to publish Laura’s early report (dated October 9) and some of her photos. There will be more.

Laura Von Rosk (normally) lives with her dog Molly on a lagoon just outside Schroon Lake, New York. She curates the Courthouse Gallery at the Lake George Arts Project, a gallery dedicated to the experimental and the avant garde. She’s an old friend and a wonderful landscape painter.

dg

What it’s like living in Antarctica

From Laura Von Rosk

 

We arrived at McMurdo on Tuesday late afternoon. We have been very busy since, with training, reviewing plans for the season, etc., and just getting adjusted to the new environment. Each night I think I’ll get to email – but end up exhausted. Usually in bed by 11 PM, and up around 6 AM.

We weren’t sure we would get here on Tuesday because the night before we left Christchurch it was “Condition 1” [1] at McMurdo.

Today, Sunday, Oct 9th, is Condition 3 – beautiful sunny day, 0 degrees F, -18F wind-chill.

Continue reading »

Footnotes    (↵ returns to text)

  1. I pasted the 3 main definitions for weather here:

    Condition 3 (nice weather): Winds up to 48 knots, wind chill down to -75 degrees F, and visibility over 1/4th mile. Unrestricted travel and activity are allowed.
    Condition 2 (not so nice): Winds 48 to 55 knots, wind chill -75 to -100 degrees F, or visibility 100 feet to 1/4th  mile. Restricted pedestrian traffic only between buildings is allowed. Vehicular travel is allowed in radio equipped, enclosed vehicles only, and check out is required.
    Condition 1 (crazy…) Winds over 55 knots, wind chill lower than -100 degrees F, or visibility less than 100 feet. Severe weather is in progress. All personnel must remain in buildings or the nearest shelter.

    For a sample of Condition 1 visit this link:
    http://xmb.stuffucanuse.com/xmb/viewthread.php?tid=6811