Art and how it is trying to save the world
Art is a powerful tool. It has the ability to call attention to important issues in a framework that can be more thought provoking than just talking. A key part of this is due to the fact that art is visual. It can take a problem and my it tangible in the real world.
Art can say, ‘Why is there one place in the world where this coral thrives? And what can we learn from that? How can we learn from this coral?’ We have to get the words out so that people have a visceral understanding of what we are losing. (Yale, 2021)
Following this realization, McMahon began to use her environmental knowledge to represent the significance of life on earth through her sculptures and drawings to show the importance of human life and how critical it is to ensure its continuation through environmentalism.
While Margot McMahon uses her art to inspire others to care and learn more about coral bleaching, there are also artists who focus on being environmentally conscious when it comes to the materials they use
Art is object-based learning, rather than language-based learning… I think art being object-based begins with learning as a place of observation, thinking, conversations, and questions, rather than the sense of knowledge with a capital K as the starting point.
In 2018, Fritchey curated an art show called Ball Snake Ball, which featured locally sourced clay that was hand dug from the earth... After the clay was used for the show, it was donated to a local school and reused, instead of being thrown away.
I didn’t want people to feel guilty,” Dellis said. “I wanted people to just realize that this is a problem, and I’ve had a lot of people reach out after and say that they never realized how much plastic they used.
Artwork is an important opportunity to make people consider and, hopefully, care about sustainability and the future of the places we call home. Due to the individually interpretative nature of artwork, it gives people the chance to think more critically about their own roles in climate change or learn about an issue facing the environment in a different way.
Art provided the means for people to imagine materials differently. While every piece is different, artists’ practices can foster reflection—not just about environment, but about consumption what we leave behind for future generations. It's a very forward thinking mindset that requires people to think about to future and not just what is happening in the present.
For my capstone I am very interested in getting people to thinking about the future not just for themselves but for people as a whole. While most people have a "me against the world" mentality and I think changing this mindset is a skill that designers are uniquely able to tackle.
References
Yale Sustainability. (May 20, 2021). How artists are incorporating sustainability into their work. Yale University. https://sustainability.yale.edu/news/how-artists-are-incorporating-sustainability-their-work
McMahon. M, (2021). Palau and Raja Ampat Coral Paintings. Margot McMahon Sculpture. https://margotmcmahon.com/coral.html
