Syd Cross
After making one of her first prints,
Syd Cross realized that painting, which had been her major in college, was not really her forte. While it is likely that many others would disagree with her self-suggested lack of painting skills, Cross found a new love in print-making, consequently changing her focus of studies and life work to center on lithography. “I think one of the things that attracted me to print-making was the idea of making statements and voicing opinions—especially political opinions. There’s a pretty big history with that in print-making. After doing a few prints and realizing that, I became very invested in the process” (Cross). Introduced to the field of teaching when a former professor at Flagstaff asked her to fill in for him while he was on his sabbatical, Cross was interviewed and then welcomed to the faculty of Clemson University—a school that, when applying for the job, Cross had no idea where it was located. Arriving at Clemson in ’81, Cross did not intend to stay in South Carolina for long but found it to be such a good fit that she stayed until retirement.
Cross’s printmaking started off in the vain of producing work with the intention of voicing personal opinions. “The work began with a personal quest to figure out how I fit into the world, what my observations were about that world,” Cross stated. “Then, at some point, I got kind of tired of that because I had bigger concerns outside of myself and outside of my circle of friend. That’s what led me to direct and make different goals for my work” (Cross). With this new desire to place her personal speculations on the back-burner while turning to focus on larger, more world-wide issues, Cross decided that a good issue to address with her work would be climate change. In the first few years of her time at Clemson, Cross began researching more about environmental issues plaguing the world at the time. Though climate change was not a very popular topic of discussion in the early 1980s, it was still happening, animal species were continuing to become extinct, and Cross was still able to hear about it. A deep interest in the health of the planet and the safety and values of the creatures residing on it led to Cross’s focus on these topics within much of her work, enabling her to be considered a South Carolina Ecological Artist.
"What I try to do is set up a relationship between mainstream media and the image of the animal with the idea that you need to question your value system and what merits your attention."
Syd Cross
Cross believes that her work may be related to the sphere of Eco Art in a tangential way. Resigned to the idea that the majority of humans are undeniably anthropocentric, Cross has noticed that the primary value humans hold for endangered species resides in these creatures’ ability to benefit the humans. “The only way we’re going to save the elephants and the rhinoceroses and the polar bears is if we make them profitable. As a society, we only seem to value things if they are profitable—our economy is based on that. Unless these animals can really turn a profit, there isn’t really a big investment; people don’t really see them as holding much value” (Cross). Some of Cross’s work serves to highlight this idea of the self-centered way humans view other species. In one piece, Cross depicts a polar bear encircled by a hula hoop, suggesting him to be a
mere form of entertainment. Much of her work also includes simple, perhaps seemingly superficial, aspects of nature, such as a pretty flower arrangement, in her work to remind people of what they really value in nature. Though a flower may seem arbitrary in the grand scheme of things its presence being something humans have become very accustomed to, the death of all flowers would be a huge loss to humans as well. Cross truly hopes that viewing her work will prompt people to reexamine their value system, taking particular notice of the way in which humanity has treated the environment, exploiting animals and even other cultures. “I think what I try to do is set up a relationship between mainstream media and the image of the animal with the idea that you need to maybe question your value system and what merits your attention” (Cross).
The idea of Ecological Art as an up-and-coming movement was surprising to Cross. “I know ‘eco’ is kind of a scientific prefix, but back when I was a high school student in the ‘70s they started Earth Day that occurred every April. The idea of ecology and ecosystems became mainstream language, so now it sounds a bit old-fashioned, in a way” (Cross). Though unaware of the continued rise in the Ecological Art movement (a seemingly common trend among artists), Cross mentioned having connections with other artists who are talking about the environment in their work in one way or another. In 2009, Cross engaged in a national portfolio exchange of prints, where artists create around twenty prints of an image that correlates to an idea or theme. Then, when they gather, the artists trade their prints so that each person can have one of their own and then one from each other participant. In this particular exchange, called the “Natural History Critical Condition,” artists related their work to the last icebergs, endangered species, and other images along those lines. Cross enjoys participating in such exchanges, as they create an interesting space to interact with the ongoing conversation regarding global climate change and its many implications. Though Cross such collaborations as well as exhibiting her work with other artists, she also appreciates solo shows. “When I have a chance to do a one person show is really when I can manipulate how the works are read and what they implicate” (Cross).