The Environmental Guide: Making ART
while tackling Environmental and Sustainability Issues
Living in a time when our relationship with nature is growing increasingly uneasy, environmental art and ecological art are more and more critical now than ever. In early history, artists such as Monet, John Constable, and Thomas Cole were captivated by the motivation to depict the beauty of nature, concentrating on images that exemplify human connection to nature. These landscapes were used either as a background for a narrative or to construct a type of wonder in the audience - to open a new conversation into the human-nature dichotomy. However, the definition of environmental art has significantly developed since then, now including artistic works that are intended to bring change upon environmental issues. The central objective is that the art created must celebrate the artist’s connection and contribution to the natural world.
The Emergence of Environmental Art
ECO-ART is a movement that is currently becoming increasingly popular around the world. In the developmental stages of the 60s and 70s, artists began to step away from depicting the environment and experimented with new ways of acknowledging nature. A new movement named Land Art became popular, and artists started working outdoors. German Artist Nils-Udo was one of those people. He used branches and leaves to create a dreamlike utopia and found profound beauty in the art of celebrating nature. In his artist statement, he states that “by installing plantings or by integrating them into more complex installations, the work is literally implanted into nature. As a part of nature, the work lives and passes away in the rhythm of the seasons.” (https://mymodernmet.com/environmental-art/#:~:text=The%20environmental%20art%20movement%20emerged,documenting%20his%20works%20with%20photography.). These conceptual artists were able to engage with the environment and create art that became one with the landscape. It engendered avant-garde shifts in the conception and abstraction, inaugurating a wide range of notions in the art industry.
Eco-Art: Creating Art Sustainably
As global health concerns continue to rise more and more artists are creating artworks that integrate aspects of the physical world, drawing attention, and contributing to these ecological issues. Thus, this gave rise to the term Eco-Art, a term that falls under the umbrella of environmental art. The word often revolves around using more environmentally friendly methodologies to create art, as well as socially engaging the public to raise awareness.
Often artists utilize waste as the main medium for the art piece. Artists Joshua Goh and Van worked alongside ocial strategist Laura Francois, and with the help of many volunteers, they collected a total of 18,000 plastic cups to create Plastikphobia, an immersive art installation in Singapore. The 18,000 plastic cups were collected locally at multiple hawker centers. Other examples include artist Beverly Naidus who creates art installations. Eden Reframed, a permaculture project, demonstrated the interconnectedness of nature and faith. Naidus writes in her artist statement that “So in this time of continual ecological disasters, I felt it would be important to call on the people who subscribe to this faith, whether or not they think of it as spiritual, and hear their stories. This is part of the remediation that needs to happen. It will give us the courage to keep organizing to resist corporate control of every aspect of our lives.” (http://faculty.washington.edu/bnaidus/Reframing%20Eden.html)
Simultaneously, many artists around the world are also becoming more “greener”; re-establishing themselves as an eco-friendly artist. Making art doesn’t mean you have to harm the environment in the process. There are many environmentally friendly options for sketchbooks to pencils to paints, which will minimize your environmental impact without sacrificing the quality of your artwork.
Recycled paper can instead substitute freshly made paper, which contributes to unnecessary deforestation.
Reduce/Find alternatives for the use of materials containing toxic ingredients. It ranges from aerosols to oil paints, which contain chemicals that release fumes that are polluting the environment. Furthermore, there are often skin irritants in various art materials, and those should be disposed of correctly. Remember, if they irritate your skin, they most likely will irritate the skins of animals as well.
Buy and utilize art materials moderately: make sure you plan for what you need to use. For example, paint wasted due to too much squeezed out on the palette initially, so make sure that just enough paint used for the art piece. Furthermore - fresh paint produces a better quality product than old paint!
It can be done by you too!
Many people are now recognizing using art is a powerful tool to raise awareness. As a lover of art myself, I believe that art is one of the most powerful mediums to bring upon change. I believe that art makes us feel, makes us more human. We have long taken nature for granted, and it is up to us now to make up for what is much damaged. Rather than living in ignorance, we must learn to take action. We must learn to coexist.
