In ancient times, before the Industrial Revolution, a balanced relationship prevailed between man and nature. Art reflected this profound harmony between them. This is embodied in the engravings and drawings we see today on the walls of museums and caves, which glorify the environment and its natural resources. Man derived his material needs and spiritual energy from nature, making art a tool for expressing his gratitude and appreciation for it. Nature was a source of spiritual inspiration worthy of contemplation and a motivation to strive to protect it from any harm.
However, the situation changed with the technological development and progress achieved by nations. Nature became threatened by human intervention to achieve profit and increase production, especially after the Industrial Revolution. With growing concerns about environmental degradation in the twentieth century, artistic movements emerged that expressed issues of climate change and environmental imbalance. Artists succeeded in embodying these issues through their artwork, which reflects the suffering of nature and the violations and serious damage it is exposed to.
Environmental art is a movement that elevates the relationship between man and nature.
Between the 1960s and 1970s, the environmental art movement, also known as climate change art, emerged. This movement encompassed a group of artistic practices that addressed environmental issues related to climate change and pollution, expressing environmental degradation through artwork, according to the website "THE ART STORY."
The roots of the environmental art movement can be traced back to a historical approach that highlights the artist's relationship with nature. It relied on the use of natural resources throughout its development to achieve harmony between natural and material elements in the artistic field. The movement's philosophy was inspired by Paleolithic cave paintings, which included depictions of animals, plants, and natural forms. These paintings were of great importance to prehistoric human lifestyles and expressed the evolution of human relationships with the surrounding environment.
Environmental art goals
Environmental art sought to change people's perceptions of nature and to reveal the level of environmental and emotional awareness that humans had for their surrounding environment. It also aimed to reshape people's view of the world around them and urge them to pay adequate attention to natural resources and living organisms. Artists attempted to demonstrate these concepts through:
-Artistic integration with the environment: Integrating creative practices within the human-environmental relationship, through direct interaction with nature to produce artworks that express environmental issues in a sophisticated manner.
Environmental responsibility: Aware of their direct impact on the environment, they strive to minimize the environmental footprint of their artwork, while being careful not to leave any harmful effects.
Adapting to the natural cycle: They accepted uncontrollable seasonal changes such as flowering, erosion, and decomposition, and worked in harmony with the landscape, adapting to its constant transformations.
-Use of natural materials: Relying on purely natural elements as the basis for their artwork, such as: Leaves, flowers, branches, ice, soil, sand, stone, water.
Prominent environmental artists
Diane Burko
Artist Diane Berko has created a series of artworks that combine artistic creativity with environmental awareness. She has excelled in depicting the repercussions of climate change through her paintings. Her works focus on critical environmental phenomena such as melting glaciers and the decline of coral reefs, artfully expressing the urgency of this environmental catastrophe.
These paintings serve as a visual warning of the magnitude of the threat facing our planet. They also serve as artistic documents aimed at raising public awareness of climate challenges, linking artistic creativity with environmental sensitivity, and conveying a powerful message that motivates change in environmental policies and decisions.
Olafur Eliasson
Artist Olafur Eliasson has focused his artwork on addressing the growing issue of global warming. He created his famous work, "The Weather Project," in 2003, aiming to encourage visitors to reflect and raise awareness of climate and nature. The project also revealed the profound relationship between humans and the universe, calling for reflection on the fate of planet Earth. This visual experience was designed to create a sense of direct physical contact with the artwork.
Andy Goldsworthy
Artist Andy Goldsworthy has mastered the use of natural elements as artistic materials to express his environmental vision, creating artworks from natural materials such as stones, leaves, and water.
Goldsworthy believed that his art represented a dialog and integration with the environment, as his works embodied the cycle of life and its fleeting transformations, blending magically with the place. He also drew inspiration for his creations from the changing seasons, the interactions of light, and the movement of nature, giving his works the ability to provoke contemplation of the beauty of the environment and convey it to the viewer's conscience.
Finally, it can be said that the main goals of environmental artists revolved around: To highlight the profound connection between humans and the environment, make natural components a central focus of artwork, highlight environmental violations, enhance community environmental awareness, and guide society toward sound environmental practices.
