SEVEN MINUTES

in the belly of a

Carrara Marble Quarry

Click on a photo to enlarge

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While no one can deny that quarrying leaves a footprint on the land, the extent to which we impinge on the landscape whilst doing so is, and no doubt will remain, a hotly contentious issue.

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Over the course of this and the following post I aim to examine the extent, and implications, of the environmental ‘footprint’ resulting from my involvement with the marble industry.

This time around we take a close up and personal look at a quarrying operation as they appear in the vicinity of Carrara, Italy. And next time we’ll focus attention closer to my own neck of the woods when we take a quick look at our local Colorado Yule Marble quarry, and I attempt to explain the various stages, procedures, and environmental impact involved in the creation of my Curvilinear Reductionist Marble Sculpture.

Click on a photo to enlarge

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No less than fifty-times more marble  is now quarried per annum than just 50 years ago. And while I doubt there are too many people who ascribe to the idea that there should be no quarrying of marble whatsoever, a sustainable compromise between the wanton wholesale destruction of entire mountains, and the rather depressing solutions presented by the ‘Zero Tolerance’ stance, I think there has to be a happy medium.

Today we look at footage shot as physically close to the dead center of a Carrara marble quarry as I could place myself. Quite by chance my timing could not have worked out better. With the sun sinking into the Mediterranean the vast majority of quarrymen had already knocked off for the day. Enough of their compatriots however appeared to be logging in a little overtime so as to provide at least a hint of what the noise must have registered when all those drills, hammers and heavy lifting gear wear at it full tilt, just an hour or so previously.

Click a photo to enlarge

The still photography and footage featured in this film was shot on a single visit, during the month of April 2014, in just one of the three major quarries, or caves, that hang squarely above the town of Carrara in the extreme northwestern corner of Tuscany, Italy. These three caves represent but a sliver of the quarrying carried out throughout the region.

You can access an account of my day’s activities, and how I ended up staring up from the bowels of the pit, by clicking here.

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Click on a photo to enlarge

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Until next time, thanks for visiting martincooney.com

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