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About the artwork and artist
Artist: Xavier Cortada
Title: "The Markers (South Pole)," 2007
On January 4, 2007, the 50th anniversary of the opening of the South Pole station, Miami artist Xavier Cortada arrived at the South Pole to create art as part of a National Science Foundation Antarctic Artists and Writers fellowship. In creating the work, Cortada used the 3 km thick glacial ice sheet that covers the South Pole as an instrument to mark time.
Cortada planted 51 flags along a half-kilometer stretch of the moving ice sheet. Spaced 10 meters apart, each flag marked the spot where the geographic South Pole stood during each year since 1956, when the Pole became permanently inhabited. The different colored flags also displayed the coordinates of the location of an important event that moved the world forward during that year.
At the 2007 location of the geographic South Pole, Cortada planted an ice replica of a mangrove seedling. Embedded in the moving ice, the "seedling" began its roughly 1,400 km journey towards the Weddell Sea. In 150,000 years it will reach the coastline and, theoretically, set its roots.
Through this work, Cortada invites viewers to reflect on our role on this planet. Juxtaposing geological time frames (e.g., “The 150,000-year Journey”) with human time frames (e.g., “The Markers”), Cortada reaffirms the notion that we are merely custodians who should live in harmony with nature during the brief time we are here.
Read more about Xavier Cortada's biography.
The Markers
1956
90°S (Antarctica)
Construction crews arrive at the South Pole1957
47°50'N 66°03'E (Soviet Union,
launched from Baikonur)
Sputnik, the first satellite to orbit Earth, is launched into space1958
48°52'N 02°20'E (France)
Pan Am's transatlantic 707 flight lands in Paris, jet age begins1959
32°47'N 96°48'W (United States)
Microchip is invented1960
11°21'N 142°12'E (Pacific Ocean)
Trieste dives to the bottom of the Mariana Trench: 35,813 feet1961
47°50'N 66°03'E
(Soviet Union,
launched from Baikonur)
Yuri Gagarin is first man in space1962
42°22'N 71°04'W (United States)
Rachel Carson's Silent Spring is published1963
38°53'N 77°02'W 38°53'N (United States)
March on Washington for Civil Rights1964
40°43'N 74°00'W (United States)
Beatlemania sweeps America1965
23°08'N 82°22'W (Cuba)
Freedom Flights for Cuban refugees begin1966
28°40'N 77°13'E (India)
Indira Gandhi elected first woman prime minister of India, the world's largest democracy1967
33°55'S 18°22'E (South Africa)
First human heart transplant1968
55°45'N 37°35'E (Soviet Union)
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty signed in Moscow, London and Washington, D.C.1969
28°24'N 80°36'W (United States,
launched from Cape Canaveral)
The Eagle lands on the moon1970
13°06'N 59°37'W (Barbados)
Ra II crosses Atlantic in 57 days1971
37°21'N 121°16'W (United States)
Microprocessor is invented1972
39°55'N 116°25'E (China)
Nixon visits China1973
33°86'S 151°22'E (Australia)
Sydney Opera House is built1974
08°59'N 40°10'E (Ethiopia)
Skeleton of "Lucy," our 3.2 million year old ancestor, is discovered1975
19°24'N 99°09'W (Mexico)
United Nations convenes First World Conference on Women1976
28°24'N 80°36'W (United States,
launched from Cape Canaveral)
Viking I and II land on Mars1977
01°43'N 44°53'E (Somalia)
Smallpox eradicated from Earth1978
53°33N 02°07'W (England)
First test tube baby born1979
40°01'N 105°16'W (United States)
Ten independent living centers were founded across the US for persons with disabilities1980
54°23'N 18°40'E (Poland)
Solidarity strikes across Poland1981
41°08N 73°42'W (United States)
IBM launches personal computer1982
50°50'N 0°08'W (England)
Whale hunting moratorium enacted1983
41°54'N 12°27'E (Vatican City)
Pope John Paul II retracts the ban on Galileo1984
37°19'N 122°02'W (United States)
Apple Macintosh launched1985
09°02'N 38°42'E (Ethiopia)
Live Aid concerts raise millions to reduce famine1986
14°37'N 121°00'E (Philippines)
Corazon Aquino leads People Power to end Marcos regime in the Philippines1987
39°46'N 86°09'W (United States)
Anti-depressant Prozac is introduced1988
33°27'S 70°40'W (Chile)
Chile plebiscite ends dictatorship, ushers in democracy across South America1989
52°30'N 13°25'E (Germany)
Berlin Wall is knocked down1990
51°04'N 01°51'E (English Channel)
Tunnel links UK and Europe1991
55°45'N 37°35'E (Russia)
Russia becomes "independent" as the Soviet Union collapses1992
22°53'S 43°06'W (Brazil)
First Earth Summit's Rio Declaration has 153 countries focus on sustainable development1993
15°46'S 47°55'E (United States)
World Wide Web browser is created, distributed1994
25°45'S 28°10'E (South Africa)
Apartheid ends in South Africa, Mandela elected president1995
44°40'N 111°06'W (United States)
Grey wolves return to the American West1996
76°43'S 159°40'E (Antarctica)
NASA announces that the Antarctic's ALH 84001 meteorite points to existence of life on Mars1997
35°00'N 135°45'E (Japan)
Kyoto Protocol enacted1998
03°10'N 101°42'E (Malaysia)
Petronas Towers topped at 1483 ft.,
the tallest building at that time1999
09°32'N 21°72'E (Egypt)
Breitling Orbiter 3 hot air balloon sails non-stop around the world2000
33°52'S 151°13'E (Australia)
Cathy Freeman, the Aboriginal runner, wins Olympic gold2001
12°03'S 77°03'W (Peru)
A 4,000-year-old site yielded the remains of the oldest known city in the New World2002
15°46'S 47°55'W (Brazil)
Brazil Soccer wins 5th World Cup2003
52°13N 00°08'W (England)
Human Genome Project completed2004
37°23'N 122°05'W (United States)
Google, digital music, wireless technologies and blogs boomed2005
20°24'N 03°41'W (Spain)
Spain ends all discrimination based on sexual orientation2006
27°08'S 109°22'W (Easter Island)
Scientists discover new species