HANNAH ROTHSTEIN
HANNAH ROTHSTEIN
Bio
Each generation has artists that speak for it. The Baby Boomers had Koons. The Silent Generation had Warhol. And the Millennials? Hannah Rothstein.
Published in The New York Times, Newsweek, PBS Newshour, Vogue Italia, and more, Rothstein is redefining art in the eyes of the Millennial Generation. Her early works—Thanksgiving Special, Dr. Dreidel, and Broga (now a book published with Sterling, Yoga for Bros)—embrace a pithy, playful approach to our cultural lexicon and went viral on the internet. After these repeated experiences overtaking the internet, Rothstein decided to throw her abilities behind something that mattered more than pure humor: the fight against climate change, a.k.a. the most pressing issue of her generation.
Since this shift, Rothstein has released many projects that make the climate crisis feel emotional and concrete. She focuses on bringing the future to the now and giving visual voice to data, numbers, and abstract ideas. Rothstein’s National Parks 2050, which puts a future-climate spin on classic WPA parks posters, went viral, was covered widely in the press, and has been featured in academic journals. Her Protect Our Parks was commissioned by local and national non-profits to combat drilling near national parks and wilderness areas. Her vintage-postcard-inspired 50 States of Change series was created in collaboration with Greenpeace USA and featured on The Weather Channel. Rothstein’s most recent project Goodstock: Putting Climate Solutions Center Stage, was inspired by 60s and 70s rock posters and was featured by Newsweek, Fast Co. Design, and more.
Rothstein’s art is poignant and impactful yet easy to relate to. This has made it popular with a wide variety of organizations. Rothstein has worked with Earthjustice, Alaska Wild, and Brita®, and has been featured in numerous museums and galleries.
“I want people to remember that it is possible to do something and, hopefully, to feel inspired to either call their senators and representatives or think about how they personally can work toward change—and fast,”
5% of proceeds will be donated to
Protect Our Winters
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR FEATURED BODY OF WORK?
In the 1970s, the Lorax spoke for the trees. But he’s long been gathering dust on the shelves of our childhood memories. My work is stepping in to take over and turn up the intensity. It gives visual voice to all aspects of the climate crisis, from its impact to ideas for overcoming it.
Half of my work in this show aims to bring the future to the present, to make the impending effects of climate change feel visceral and urgent. The other half is designed to make climate solutions feel sexy. If we’re going to rally people behind positive change, we need to make that change feel exciting.
By approaching the issue of climate change from all angles, my work aims to inspire everyone to act now to protect future generations and help the trees and blooms, narwhals and nudibranchs, pikas and pine—all of the flora and fauna that can’t speak for themselves.
WHAT IS YOUR INSPIRATION?
String theory and its ten dimensions.
Ok, ok, fine. It’s vintage posters. And you probably knew that.
I love old posters for their attention-grabbing aesthetics and the nostalgia they invoke. Over time, an emotional association crystallizes upon a given style of posters. Leveraging a style, thereby allows me to draw viewers in with a familiar visual language and have an emotion immediately associated with my work. I can either subvert or amplify that emotion to deliver a message.
The classic 1930s WPA-style posters that inspired my national parks works evoke a sense of an America truly in its stride, a nation where possibility shone warm like the sun and nature was as unmarred and untouched as distant galaxies. My works pair this sense with a jarring potential future. They’re deliberately unsettling. They make viewers face the future we’re creating. They incite action.
The groovy rock-poster style used in my climate solutions pieces oozes with the sexiness and cachet of 60s and 70s rock. Attaching this cachet to climate solutions helps people get excited about otherwise tedious topics.
WHY ARE YOU EXCITED TO SHOW AT ASPEN COLLECTIVE?
Why am I excited? Let me count the ways:
Audience. I’m excited to broaden my audience and engage intelligent individuals and organizations with the power to make a major difference. I also love having my work shown in a place home to an ideas festival and so many prodigious, powerful minds.
Location. You don’t need me to tell you Aspen is beautiful. But it’s also fragile. Last year, during my residency with Kairos Futura, I saw this fragility up close and personal while visiting the Lake Christine burn zone. It’s vulnerable-yet-vibrant naturescapes like the ones in this area that I feel most passionate about protecting.
Collaboration. Does it get any better than working with DJ and his team? Doubtful.
AVAILABLE WORKS
ARTIST STATEMENT
What is wrong with our politicians? With California’s unnaturally rampant wildfires, Texas’ unprecedented February 2021 snowstorm, Florida’s increasingly damaging hurricanes, and plenty of additional, unshakably clear evidence that climate change is making the Earth vastly less habitable—how can they continue to drag their feet on combating climate change?
It’s time we told them enough, and 50 States of Change is here to help you do that. A series of postcards ready to be digitally or physically sent to your governors, representatives, and senators, 50 States of Change features effects of climate change in each state. Similar to the internet-viral National Parks 2050 project, it uses dark humor and a reinvented retro aesthetic to make a gut-punch statement about what America will become if climate change is left unchecked.
“It’s time to demand change. Be loud.
Be angry.”
We can lessen, reverse, and prevent many of the issues depicted in 50 States of Change, but we need to act now. It’s time to demand change. Be loud. Be angry. Don’t let elected officials sleep until they get their act together on this issue. Here’s how to easily do that with the 50 States of Change project:
Share an image of your state’s postcard on social media. Let’s take over Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. Tag President Biden and tell him to take executive action to combat climate change and demand he support significant climate action at the United Nations Climate Change Conference this November 6-18th. (Don’t forget to tag @GreenpeaceUSA and @HRothsteinArt).
The more voices we have speaking out, the harder we are to ignore, and the quicker we’ll see the impact needed to preserve this planet for ourselves, our children and grandchildren, and generations to come.