How Artists Help Us Help Water
The photogarpher, Victoria Sambunaris gave a talk and slide show last night at the Santa Fe Art Institute. She does big landscapes (and waterscapes) to show others what the land looks like, and how we've modified it. She is annoyingly (from an activist's perspective) non-judgmental. She wants to show us how it is, and then we can form our own opinions. One photo she showed us was of the Berkeley Pit, a toxic Superfund Site formed by water seeping into an abandoned copper mine in Butte Montana.
The tranquil looking water is laden with dissolved heavy metals and threatens to contaminate the surrounding aquifer. Viewing her photographs is a bit like watching the dogs in an animal shelter. Their endearing faces bear the scars of abuse, evoking a mix of emotions from pity to anger to compassion, and perhaps to action.
A slightly more activist intent is proposed by the painter, Clyde Aspevig, who wants to inspire us to conserve the natural beauty that he paints, ironically not far from the Berkeley Pit toxic reservoir. "By listening to the non-silence of the desert, we are able to hear it as a non-empty landscape, not a void but rather a profound presence" he writes in a 2010 article entitled, The Nature of Art, The Art of Conservation.
Some artists are explicitly proactive in trying to communicate with the viewer. Asked to address "water issues" through artistic expression, the Watershed Milwaukee project inspired images ranging from children to animals to bottled water to shots of the local beach, all trying to touch the emotions, and alter the behavior of the viewer. An interesting French blog, COAL, stands for Coalition for Art and Sustainable Development, and has a similar intention of promoting behavioral change. The current posting features the new program on Art and Ecology at the University of New Mexico.
Artists can become activists by learning to see their own art in new ways. In an interview with Subhankar Banerjee, the photographer of the Arctic admitted to not really focusing on the issues of climate change so evident in his photos. It was his viewers who saw the compelling environmental messages in the images he approached as pure art.
Perhaps water itself tries to communicate with us through its own forms. The role of the artist as objective reporter is then vindicated because the artists are allowing water to speak for itself, as in this image of houses reflected in an Amsterdam canal.
A conference organized by the Foundation for the Future in May 2010 tried to integrate art, science, and policy (usually three very separate domains!) in a discussion about water. The report entitled, The Crisis Ahead, comprises diverse perspectives, and includes some wonderful water (and water infrastructure) images. Among the participants was Basia Irland, a local New Mexico water-art activist who is mentioned in my May blogpost on art and water.
I am grateful to art activists who make an effort to communicate with us, the viewers and sometimes appreciators of their art. But I find myself coming back to the idea articulated by Victoria Sambunaris, that showcasing nature/water as it is, with no particular agenda other than seeing her beauty and implicit fragility, is enough, and perhaps is just what the doctor would order. Water's inherent value can be communicated through water's inherent beauty. That was the assumption of the 2008 Ackland exhibit on Flowing Like Water - The Art of Liquidity. Let water communicate her own beauty, The role of the artist then becomes simply one of facilitating the communication process. Ultimately, water's own voice needs to be heard, and we need to be listening...
Beach pebbles along the shore of Lake Michigan
The tranquil looking water is laden with dissolved heavy metals and threatens to contaminate the surrounding aquifer. Viewing her photographs is a bit like watching the dogs in an animal shelter. Their endearing faces bear the scars of abuse, evoking a mix of emotions from pity to anger to compassion, and perhaps to action.
A slightly more activist intent is proposed by the painter, Clyde Aspevig, who wants to inspire us to conserve the natural beauty that he paints, ironically not far from the Berkeley Pit toxic reservoir. "By listening to the non-silence of the desert, we are able to hear it as a non-empty landscape, not a void but rather a profound presence" he writes in a 2010 article entitled, The Nature of Art, The Art of Conservation.
Some artists are explicitly proactive in trying to communicate with the viewer. Asked to address "water issues" through artistic expression, the Watershed Milwaukee project inspired images ranging from children to animals to bottled water to shots of the local beach, all trying to touch the emotions, and alter the behavior of the viewer. An interesting French blog, COAL, stands for Coalition for Art and Sustainable Development, and has a similar intention of promoting behavioral change. The current posting features the new program on Art and Ecology at the University of New Mexico.
Artists can become activists by learning to see their own art in new ways. In an interview with Subhankar Banerjee, the photographer of the Arctic admitted to not really focusing on the issues of climate change so evident in his photos. It was his viewers who saw the compelling environmental messages in the images he approached as pure art.
Perhaps water itself tries to communicate with us through its own forms. The role of the artist as objective reporter is then vindicated because the artists are allowing water to speak for itself, as in this image of houses reflected in an Amsterdam canal.
A conference organized by the Foundation for the Future in May 2010 tried to integrate art, science, and policy (usually three very separate domains!) in a discussion about water. The report entitled, The Crisis Ahead, comprises diverse perspectives, and includes some wonderful water (and water infrastructure) images. Among the participants was Basia Irland, a local New Mexico water-art activist who is mentioned in my May blogpost on art and water.
I am grateful to art activists who make an effort to communicate with us, the viewers and sometimes appreciators of their art. But I find myself coming back to the idea articulated by Victoria Sambunaris, that showcasing nature/water as it is, with no particular agenda other than seeing her beauty and implicit fragility, is enough, and perhaps is just what the doctor would order. Water's inherent value can be communicated through water's inherent beauty. That was the assumption of the 2008 Ackland exhibit on Flowing Like Water - The Art of Liquidity. Let water communicate her own beauty, The role of the artist then becomes simply one of facilitating the communication process. Ultimately, water's own voice needs to be heard, and we need to be listening...
Beach pebbles along the shore of Lake Michigan
Posted by Dave Groenfeldt at 12 Nov 2010, 9:14 PM 
Categories: water aesthetics, art and water, River Art
Tags: Victoria Sambunaris Berkeley Pit Clyde Aspevig Watershed Milwaukee Subhankar Banerjee Basia Irland
Categories: water aesthetics, art and water, River Art
Tags: Victoria Sambunaris Berkeley Pit Clyde Aspevig Watershed Milwaukee Subhankar Banerjee Basia Irland
what I hold valuable in life is more often gathered through experience then through didactic methods.
Experiencing beauty or wonder is ill defined but once having that experience it is cherished.
I believe that having the experience of beauty, in situ or through art will engender the kind of respect it takes to take an active role in supporting more appreciation and ultimately conservation.
By the way, I love all the links you provided, very exciting
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