tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6866329821725336882.post9071317308509682741..comments2010-03-08T12:32:50.337-08:00Comments on 21st Century Conservation Values: Parallels in Art and ConservationValueshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12333758338929950376noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6866329821725336882.post-5215352220732713712010-03-05T11:46:00.859-08:002010-03-05T11:46:00.859-08:00Remember that guy who I was talking to durng that ...Remember that guy who I was talking to durng that Green Bop? He studies poetry and doesn't give a damn about the environment. I questioned, "If the beauty in this world is not protected, what can art work with?" To this he replied, "Thing is, art is not about beauty anymore." Quite true.<br /><br />Environmental art may fuel some synergy between art and conservation, but modern art in general is revolving more and more around the distortedness, or even insanity, of the urban world. Would that prompt people to return to nature in disgust? Or would it invite people to sink deeper into the surrealistic high?<br /><br />p.s. In the piece above I touched on conservation's temporality and nature's resilience, too. Great minds think alike ;pUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11089802342042516892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6866329821725336882.post-32023355446799812772010-03-02T16:53:55.004-08:002010-03-02T16:53:55.004-08:00For transparencies sake, some of my comment comes ...For transparencies sake, some of my comment comes from ideas I heard in a lecture a few years ago about Environmental Art by Linda Weintraub- here is a link to an essay she wrote comparing Andy Goldsworthy and the ever popular Damien Hirst as forms of "eco-artists." <br /><br />http://avant-guardians.com/lindaweintraub-com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=63&Itemid=51<br /><br />I can't say I agree with much of what she said in the talk I heard her give (there were a whole lot of assumed universal truths about what people value, seemed to me) but she has some interesting ideas on how we think about what counts as environmental art.Jared M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09132797221943344666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6866329821725336882.post-3986757773272648502010-03-02T16:48:32.471-08:002010-03-02T16:48:32.471-08:00Well done, sir!
Interesting to Bring up Mr. Golds...Well done, sir!<br /><br />Interesting to Bring up Mr. Goldsworthy in this piece (and I'm riffing on Rob here as well). <br /><br />While on the one hand his work seems to belong in nature, nestled within the landscape- his sculptural pieces are in fact very regulated, controlled experiments, ephemeral for the very simple reason that entropy inevitably brings them back down to their lower chaotic state, bringing them back into 'wild' nature. <br /><br />There is quite a lot of environmental art that fits in this category, and I think it does parallel nicely with conservation values and management. Andy Goldsworthy tames nature, reigns it in, makes nature look the way we want it to- and isn't that so often the case in protected area management (everyone in Africa wants the Serengeti, right)? I think it is fascinating the way his work is so often described as environmental art, when in fact it seems to be something altogether different. <br /><br />JaredJared M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09132797221943344666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6866329821725336882.post-15566337180521880132010-03-01T14:20:38.454-08:002010-03-01T14:20:38.454-08:00A very interesting discussion indeed - and I very ...A very interesting discussion indeed - and I very much hope that the visual arts can lend their influence (intentionally or otherwise) to the movement towards a more sustainable future. <br /><br />Did you hear about or see pictures of the climate change art that was outside the Bella Centre in Copenhagen?<br /><br />It was certainly trying to inspire people to reduce carbon emissions through visual experiences - I think the most well known piece was the ice polar bear that melted to reveal a bronze polar bear skeleton inside. <br /><br />http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign<br />/2009/dec/11/copenhagen-climate-change-art<br /><br />ClaudClaudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12511241949450878331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6866329821725336882.post-88121357264026297502010-03-01T02:27:48.002-08:002010-03-01T02:27:48.002-08:00Great article Chris.
I think it's interesting...Great article Chris.<br /><br />I think it's interesting how looking at land art can tell us something about how we view and value nature.<br /><br />So, for example Michael Heizer's earthworks (e.g. http://tinyurl.com/dg9yrm) exert their dominance over the land and as such seem an extension of the frontier mentality.<br /><br />On the other hand, the way Andy Goldsworthy or Richard Long work in the landscape, emphasising the ephemeral nature of their low-impact work seems to evoke a Leopold-esque land ethic.<br /><br />Whether land art can move beyond the aesthetic to successfully engendering a sustainable environmental ethic in the public, I'm not sure. However, maybe the subtle, engaging message of Goldsworthy or Long's work is a welcome antidote to doom-and-gloom environmentalism, and so has some potential to foster this ethic?<br /><br />RobValueshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12333758338929950376noreply@blogger.com