Environmental Artist of the Day
Everyday I will highlight a different artist that either uses their art to convey an environmental message or uses recycled or reused materials in a creative way that lends itself to being a little more green. Most days there will more than one Artists of the Day because well... there are just so many great and inspiring artists that days cannot be limited to just one.
Before I begin I just want to give everyone a little background about Art & Ecology from one of the great educators and forerunners of the subject Don Krug. His articles on the Green Museum website are a great resource for anyone interested in environmental art and education. For any artist to be considered an ecological artist there are certain perspectives of the field that should be considered when creating art. For instance, I would not just be able to paint a tree and call it environmental art. Krug states that modern ecological art focuses on one of these four disciplines:
Ecology and Life-Centered Issues: This discipline has the artist striving to find ways to engage the viewer to action. Either with physical actions that benefit the environment or simply to think more critically about the environment and issues that arise. Life-centered refers the beginning any action at the home, school, or community on a local level directly impacting the lives of those involved.
Community Participation & Dialogue and Communication: Directly relating to the previous discipline getting the community involved in an art project or event that is about a specific environmental issue can be also be the focus. By getting the community involved, and there are several definitions of what community can mean, is a way to promote social and political ecological change.
Ecological Sustainability: This I have found is the main focus of contemporary environmental artists. they are looking for ways in which their art will promote or directly effect the natural landscape, animals or plants, or air and water quality. These artists are looking for creative solutions to get humans out of the ecological mess that we ourselves created. They are rethinking the current way of life to create a better more natural and sustainable tomorrow.. This discipline is the focus and goal of my first environmental artist of the day!
-LYNNE HULL-
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| Arroyo Stones, 2009 |
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| Singing Post, 2009 |
Hull is a Colorado native that has spear headed the "trans-species" movement. Trans-species art is art designed to act as wildlife habitat enhancements. Her works are designed to provide shelter, food, or water for the animals as reconciliation for human destruction. They are a means of raising awareness and encouraging a more harmonious way of living with the earth and its creatures.
Hull is a contemporary artist whose works directly effect the natural landscape and habitat of the location in which they are placed. She works scientists and engineers to learn about the wildlife, and natural issues that plague that specific landscape. The two images above were works in Jericho Comumbia were the river water was eroding the land around it. Hull's stone arrangements were designed to positively re-direct the water away from the bank and create new pools where wildlife can thrive. Her other know works are the singing posts, seen on the left, that are built to attract birds re-populating the land and creating harmony with the sound of the water.
Her works are beautiful and effective. They attract the viewer and relay the important environmental message about conservation.
