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« The Artist as Activist | Main | Labor, Globalization and Art »
Eco-art: Art in Response to the Ecological Crisis
Instructor: Beverly Naidus, Associate Professor University of Washington Tacoma (Spring 2007) COURSE SUMMARY We live in a time when the environment that supports human life is in peril. Most of us find ways to ignore this reality on a day-to-day basis. To hold this information too close to our hearts would make it difficult to do the practical business of daily living. But as creative people we need to process and respond to this crisis in order not to become totally numb. We need to sort out how this ecological emergency is impacting our lives and those of our neighbors. We also need to imagine a future where our grandchildren can live in better harmony with each other and the natural world. There is a contemporary art practice that some people call “eco-art.” This multi-faceted movement addresses the environmental crisis in a number of imaginative ways. Some of these artists see themselves as activists; their work acting as a lobbying force while it reveals the hidden (and not so hidden) realities of a polluted world. Some of these artists see their work as an opportunity for the public to reconnect with nature in new (old) ways and to heal from the alienation caused by living in a consumerist society. In this course we will be exploring what it means to be a socially responsible artist and how an artist can both critique the dominant culture and create visions for the future. If we are aware of the environmental crisis, is it enough to recycle and live simply, or are there other ways we can use our artistic voices and imaginations to express our concerns about the world we live in? We will experiment with different perceptual and conceptual approaches to art making and develop some aesthetic strategies for engaging an audience in particular environmental concerns. We will examine more carefully our senses of place: in the natural world, our local communities, and in the society as a whole. Course Goals
Course Requirements
Classroom Behavior Food and drink are acceptable as long as you do not disrupt the class or bother your neighbors. Please turn off all electronic devices including cell phones and pagers when you come to class. Please be respectful and attentive when others are speaking in class. Arriving late or leaving early should never happen except on rare occasions; if you must arrive late or leave early, please do so in as unobtrusive a way as possible Grades and Self-evaluation Students will turn in a midterm portfolio documenting their work during the first 5 weeks of class (due April 30th). That portfolio will be graded. A self-evaluation statement is required as part of that portfolio. The self-evaluation should reflect on participation in class discussions, understanding of the art process in relation to collaborative and individual work, and the insights culled from writing, reading and research. Each student must schedule one ten-minute meeting with instructor during late October to discuss student’s progress. Students are required to share their studio projects during group feedback sessions and to participate in the discussions about their work. All assignments are assessed according to the following criteria:
Work created with little attention or care will be graded accordingly. Grades will be weighted in the following way: Elements Exercises: 20% Midterm Journal: 10%, Final Journal: 10%, Collaborative Work: 20%, Extended Elements Project:20%, Oral Presentation: 10%, Participation:10% Supplies Blank page, hard-cover journal (8x10 inches or larger), scavenged materials including old magazines, found objects, glue stick, cutting tool, and digital camera (they can be borrowed from media services) Miscellaneous If you choose to drop the course, you are responsible for reporting the change to the registrar's office. If you stop coming to class and do not contact the registrar, you will end up receiving a failing grade even if you attended only once. If you would like to request academic accommodations due to a temporary or permanent disability, contact Lisa Tice, Manager for Disability Support Services (DSS) in the Mattress Factory Bldg, Suite206. An appointment can be made through the front desk of Student Affairs, through Student Services, by phoning Lisa directly, or by e-mail. Appropriate accommodations are arranged after you've conferred with the DSS Manager and presented the required documentation of your disability to DSS. The Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology offers academic and technical support for students at all levels of expertise — review, upper division, graduate and TA. For your writing, reading, study skills and public speaking needs, please make an appointment online at http://www.tacoma.washington.edu/ctlt/ or visit KEY 202. For multimedia or video projects, please visit the Multimedia Lab located in MAT 251. For student software training, please register at www.tacoma.washington.edu/CTLT/training/student/index2.cfm March 26th – Introductions. Review course syllabus and course goals and readings. Discuss Journal requirements. Show slides. Walking meditation exercise.
March 28th – Guest artists. The Beehive Collective and the Rising Tide. Visit their sites beehivecollective.org and risingtide.org Introduction to Eco-theory: Conservationism, Environmental Activism, Social Ecology and Deep Ecology. How do we define “the environment”? What is the difference between ecology and environment? What does it mean to make art about the environment and sense of place? Broad definitions of eco-art.
April 2nd – Ecoart slide presentation. Site-specific exercise (depending on the weather) or Media Literacy exercise. Guest Speaker, Susan Platt, 12:50-1:50.
April 4th – Site-specific exercise (depending on the weather) or Media Literacy exercise.
April 9th – Bring in Air exercise for discussion. Discuss Ecology of Everyday Life.
April 11th – Look at more work of eco-artists. Discuss goals of oral presentations.
April 16th – Feedback on Fire/Energy exercise.
April 18th – Begin collaborative, community-based, site-specific projects using primarily scavenged materials. Share story about a current environmental issue that you have experienced rather than something you have just read about. Each student will take five minutes to share their story – each student listening with no cross talk. After the whole group has spoken, the group will discuss how the issues are related. Then students will make a skill inventory, listening the current creative skills of each student. Students will then brainstorm the form and content of an artwork, thinking about intention, audience and context.
April 23rd – Bring work on Water to class. Discussion of Lucy Lippard’s Lure of Local. – How does Lippard discuss sense of place? Who has it and who doesn’t? How does one enhance a sense of place?
April 25th – Presentations on eco-artists. Collaborative project brainstorming.
April 30th – Midterm meetings (one on one). Video screenings.
May 2nd – Bring work on Earth exercise to class. May 7th – Presentations on eco-artists. Discuss Earth for Sale. Collaborative project work session. May 9th – Presentations on eco-artists. Collaborative project work session. May 14th – Collaboration meeting (instructor away). May 16th – Install collaborative projects. May 21st – Important Due Date: feedback on individual final projects - Patricia Bullit – visiting artist during lunch hour May 23rd - work session – Magdalena Gomez – visiting artist lunch hour May 28th – Memorial Day Holiday – No class May 30th – Final projects due for group discussion as well as portfolio/journal/self-evaluation. June 4th - Class feast with ecological theme. Return journals and wrap up discussion. Writings about Ecology
Dystopic and Utopic Science Fiction (Recommended for inspiration)
Contemporary Eco-Art
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