Browsing by Subject "Environmental art"

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Balance between humanity and ecology
(2009) Spears, Steven Joseph, 1974-; Catterall, Kate
Incorporating aspects of public and environmental art practices into my professional endeavors as a landscape architect and urban designer has provided me with opportunities to work at a human scale, consider human needs, and focus on environmental issues that are closely interwoven with those needs. The public and environmental art process has presented greater opportunities to balance the sublime with the pragmatic and allows for a more overt communication between designer and audience, viewer or user. Functioning in this interstitial space allows me to communicate ideas clearly and to initiate a broader discussion on how society might find a balance between the stewardship of the natural environment in the face of the exponential growth of communities and the desire to own and develop land. My aim is to strike a balance between economic development and environmental imperatives through work bridging the practice of landscape architecture and public art. My objective is to use art and design work in the environment to persuade people to utilize all of their senses and to realize the undiscovered in their own journey, to stop and notice the world around them, and to act to protect the delicate balance between contemporary civilization and precious ecosystems. Using a method to register and then to make overt ephemeral elements in the environment, I aim to both demonstrate the ever-changing quality of nature and, more importantly, abuses of the natural environment in our society. Although my interest in the natural environment is multifaceted, water quantity and quality is a focus for my work. It is fast becoming a global issue with dire environmental and social ramifications. In the southwest United States and Australia, water is scarce. In the northwest United States and Finland, water quality remains an issue. In parts of Africa and Asia, water is being privatized and villages are left without a source of life and livelihood that has been a constant for generations. The more poetic aspect of my work focuses on natural time and revealing the abstract beauty of the environment. Shadows, sun, water and wind are all environmental systems that we can learn from and are revealed to us through natural time. It is through natural time that we may learn, respect and come into balance with the environment. In order for my work to succeed on all levels and reach the broadest possible audience, it needs to exist in the public realm. In order for it to communicate effectively it needs to be both, persuasive and poetic; while revealing possibilities for harmony between humanity and ecology. This can be achieved by communicating natures’ equilibrium surrounding environmental issues in the face of human civilization and time.
Design : a tool for transformation
(2009) Ferguson, Beth Jean; Catterall, Kate
My graduate research has been focused on testing how visual communication in the form of three-dimensional polemic works can become a tool for effecting social change. The change I am interested in relates to the global energy crisis, and resolving imminent transportation and associated ecological problems by promoting the use of electric vehicles. The main focus of my work has been the use of a strategy that is best described as the transformation of old and iconic artifacts in order to communicate complex new ideas. The main project that I will use to discuss this strategy uses the form and implications of a 1950’s gas pump emblematic of the golden era of petroleum production and the heyday of the automobile as the lynchpin for a conversation with my audience. By tweaking the original meaning of the pump and by juxtaposing an image of gas guzzling vehicles with a proposal for sustainable electric powered vehicles I have created a public dialogue about the current energy crisis and a compelling argument to support the move towards alternate fuels. This 3-D design intervention in public space has proven to be an effective way to, convey a socio-political message, more effective than any poster because it is a functional element which is both warmly received because it hits home an idea in a positive, even humorous way and elicits an emotional response from the viewer. The station not only charges electric vehicles and encourages the public to test ride them, it allows people to re-envision mobility through experience, become involved and take action.
Inspired by nature : the positive impact of environmentally-based art education
(2012-05) Powley, Tara Noel; Bolin, Paul Erik, 1954-; Mayer, Melinda
In an age of increased environmental awareness, environmental education in schools has become progressively valued and supported. With this in mind, the purpose of this study was to investigate the significance of art education within the context of environmental schools and other sites of environmental education. Specifically, this research aimed to identify ways art education is being used as a means to strengthen outdoor learning. Through qualitative research involving multiple case studies of the art programs of three environmental charter schools and one nature center in Pennsylvania, data was gathered by means of on-site observations and interviews with staff and students of the aforementioned sites. Although the findings of this study indicated that each of the sites incorporated some degree of art in their environmental curricula, the results demonstrated a significant deficiency in the presence and support of art education in the environmental education programs within each site. Based on the findings of this study, suggestions were made concerning ways art may be used as a means through which students might more closely examine and experience the natural environment.