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• A new trend of art embeds recycled materials and environmental themes

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By now, most people have heard of global warming, disappearing ice caps and rising sea levels. Graphs, charts and images of polar bears have bombarded us, yet they don’t seem to be enough to incite us to change. However, there’s another, albeit less well-known, way to get the word out — environmental art. And it may be just the didactic tool that the environmental movement needs to call attention to why we need to work harder to save our dying planet and how we can do so.

I was first introduced to environmental art by Rose Marshack, an ISU professor of music and arts technology, who gave a presentation on the topic during my History of Global Warming class. Marshack, who has worked at the Beckman Institute and Krannert Art Museum, said that when she began her research she was surprised to find so many projects in existence.

“I couldn’t believe how huge it is — I kept finding more and more things, tons and tons of blogs,” Marshack said. “When I found out that people create art that’s obviously purposeful and embeds teaching in it, it interested me. It’s also interesting because you don’t have to be a classically trained artist to do this type of art.”

Indeed, several of the pieces Marshack show-ed — DIY window farms, fleets of robotic dogs that can sense airborne chemicals, a rubber tree plant whose health directly parallels that of its source, Home Depot — may not be considered “art” by all. However, they all approach environmental issues from attention-grabbing, innovative angles.

“Understanding of our role within environment and ecology requires attention to multiple ways of knowing — social, linguistic, spiritual, bodily, sensory and economic modes of thought are all required,” said Kevin Hamilton, a UI professor of Art and Design who assisted Marshack in her research. “Art can include all these things.”

Many pieces of environmental art take everyday objects and practices and show them in a different light. For instance, lawyer-turned-photographic-artist Chris Jordan’s series Running the Numbers uses massive quantities of items like newspapers and cans to demonstrate American consumption (106,000 aluminum cans, the number used in the U.S. every 30 seconds, to recreate Seurat’s “Sunday Afternoon”; a forest of 1.14 million brown paper bags, the number used in the US every hour; etc.). Pieces of art like these can help people visualize our environmental situation in a way that, hopefully, might get them to rethink their lifestyle.

“What’s interesting to me is where the change occurs, when you reach somebody and they start thinking about future generations,” Marshack said. “Of course, I hope everyone pays more attention, but what’s interesting is seeing that change in individuals.”