Consumption and its effects on the environment - Essay Example

Section A Consumption and its effects on the environment The goal of this theme is to instill awareness on everyone so that the natural catastrophes that we are experiencing in many parts of the world can be prevented, or at least minimized. I want to convey an art for a cause, and the greatest goal that I can think of is environment preservation. The word consumption has some connotations. It means taking a part from our natural resources for existence and development. This is however misunderstood and abused. We have to be aware that freedom of use over our natural resources is not absolute. We have limitations, meaning we should have in mind love and care for the world around us. As members of a family under God, we have to be aware of the environmental decay that is going on because of so-called development. There are many adverse consequences we face because of our use, or abuse, of the environment, and one of these is global warming. Global warming is the biggest threat to our mother Earth and even to our own existence. Our world has gone to the extreme, or, we have excelled in everything. We have invented so many things, we have built wonders and huge structures and buildings never before imagined, and yet we have abandoned proper care for the resources to which we owed our inventions and creations. It is time everyone must be involved in fighting abuse of our environment. Students, artists, workers and everyone should encourage awareness of the environment through art or writing, in school and in our homes. Section B Eight Ideas 1. Existence/survival We use and take a portion of the environment for our existence, for food, clothing, shelter, and other necessities to make us comfortable or make our living here on earth fruitful. 2. The artist and his environment An artist can always find something in his/her environment to promote his medium. Art can be enhanced and meaningful if we always add a cause to everything we convey. 3. Natural catastrophes Floods, typhoons, the "el nio" and "la nia" phenomena, global warming, and many other natural calamities are caused by indiscriminate cutting of trees, disposal of garbage and waste, chemicals, factories, and many things. 4. Nature preservation We have to love our surrounding. The trees, the animals in the forest, especially those that are extinct, the flowers, the corroding earth, the rivers and the seas - they are our responsibility. 5. Awareness Through art, we can involve everyone, make them aware of the hazards of waste disposal and toxic chemicals that destroy our environment. 6. Oil and gas for our cars and factories We have rich natural resources that are more than enough for our consumption. The oil and gas for our cars, machines and factories, we take them from nature, not to destroy the earth. 7. Recycle We can produce art out of recycled old and reusable things. Plastics can be made into works of art. 8. Relationship of art and nature Art and nature are things of beauty, creations of God. If we truly appreciate it, we will never come to the point of ignoring and destroying it. Section C My 3-D Presentation The theme "Consumption and its effects on the environment" can have a broad meaning, but consumption and environment go together. We use our environment, our natural resources for our daily living. We can not survive if we don't make use of the things around us for food, shelter, clothing, and everything for our survival. There is one very interesting about the environment and that is if we know how to take care of it, it replaces itself. Our environment or natural resources do not just disappear from us without a cause, it has the means to multiply. We only have to help in replacing what we have consumed, and not be a tool for its extinction. "Consuming" means taking or possessing, but it doesn't mean throwing away after possessing, and in the process of throwing, we destroy. If we have to throw away because we don't want them anymore, we have to be responsible in disposing of the materials used. It also means we have to take from nature only what is enough for our consumption, not take everything out of greed. Then when we take from nature, be sure we make good things out of it. Art and nature go together. The materials that will be used in the 3-D presentation, such as sea shells, sand, leaves, coral reefs, are wonderful pieces of art. Artists have creative ideas in presenting a wood as a form of art. A piece of wood, something rich in color or texture, can represent a hungry or thirsty tree. Section D My studio work My aim is art and awareness. This piece of art, a 3-D collage, is to convey awareness of the environment. We have to show how pollution, chemicals, and factories have damaged our environment. It will be shown how beauty in art is distracted by human consumption. I have decided to take an active role in promoting love and preservation of nature through art. Difficulties will have to be overcome. A lot of thoughts and playful imagination are always a part of an artist's life before s/he starts on a piece of art. I have planned this out, virtually worked this out in my imagination, so I think this will be a challenging and interesting piece of art. Collecting stuff from the sea is a favorite past time, and now, doing this for art makes it a satisfying experience. A 3-D presentation with my theme about human consumption and nature is inspiring. I will gather seashells, sand, leaves, coral reefs and other small things from the sea, take pictures of sceneries, focusing on the many revelations of nature, so that these can be depicted on a miniature scale, a 3-D collage of nature. Waste or garbage materials like tin cans (or cut portions of it), plastics and other materials that may have come from factories, or those irresponsibly disposed of by people, will also be collected and added in the collage. A careful arrangement of the materials will be done on a one-and-a-half by two feet piece of wood, one-fourth inch thick. The wood will be applied with a transparent varnish to show its real texture. The center will initially capture one's attention so that the sea shells, stones and sand, and parts of a coral reef will be one of the main attractions. The sand will be the base and the different forms and sizes of stones will be arranged along with the sea shells. A few, small parts of tin cans and plastics (very small sizes, about one or two centimeters) will be scattered in the sand to show pollution. All these things will be glued into the wood. Not far from the sea shells and the sand, in the upper portion are the beautiful colored leaves, added with the barks of a tree in different sizes and forms, to represent the wooded side of nature. Some plastics, or even crumpled, pieces of paper will be scattered among the leaves. They will also be glued into the wood, and this portion will be painted green, to add more meaning to the scene. "Sign posts" will be "planted" on the different places in the collage. These are miniature sign posts which will bear handwritten (or typewritten) slogans, warnings, or "memos", some of which are: prevent oil spill, take care of me, be my friend, love nature, these will all be gone in a moment's time, prevent floods, prevent natural catastrophes, show your love for me, dispose of toxic chemicals properly, etc. These slogans will be written on small pieces of paper like placards, to show the activist's side, as if protesting the many acts done by man against nature. They will be planted on the different portions of the collage, but in a manner that will not distract the main theme. The materials from nature will show the beauty of nature but the plastics and the sign posts will reveal how these things will be gone if we do not do something drastic now. Another challenging aspect of my work is the process of arrangement. I think this will be the part that will show the real artist in me. Although I have planned it from the start that the sand and sea shells, or the sea part, will be on the center, and the wooded aspect on the top most part of the collage, I will have to do this on a trial-and-error method, which means my decision will depend on the actual situation. Some scenes will have to be moved to the left, others on the right, and so on. This also means that before gluing them all on the board, actual locations of the different scenes will have to be decided first. There will be instances where some barks of a tree or some leaves will be mixed with the sand and coral reefs. Some parts of a plant, not only leaves, can be useful in this instance. Roots of a plant can also be meaningful, and can be used to decorate the sides of a coral reef, like sea weeds. The barks of a tree are also important. They do not only represent a tree, but sizes and forms in art. A bark has some texture and history. It can represent the history of a tree and age. Therefore, putting a bark along with the leaves, and then some with the coral reefs and the roots will represent a broad meaning. In this way, my theme is expanded through art. Consumption will not only mean taking something for food or shelter, but the "using" of all in nature for our existence. An entire view of my work will be reviewed. I have to see and examine what message have I conveyed to my audience. I think my work will be judged by how I can present it in such a way that small things like leaves, sand, stones, coral reefs, or some barks of a tree, can represent the beauty of nature. Art involves manipulation, that is, the finishing touches are about arranging and re-arranging, editing, or cutting or adding some parts to make it a real work worthy of praise. So, seeing all those in my imagination and putting them in proper perspectives are exciting parts of my job. Thinking and doing what I have thought and planned are two different things. The actual scenes may not be the ones that I have thought of, but at least they have to be near the truth. And this is art. Putting the pieces together A piece of plywood, about 1 ft. x 2 ft., cut and smooth with sand paper. This is the base of your studio work, so it is the first step (assuming that you have gathered the sea shells, sand, stones, parts of coral reefs, leaves of different forms and sizes, barks of a tree, cut pieces of tin can, etc.). Varnish the wood with transparent varnish, and dry it out. The difficult part here is how to position the leaves, the stones, coral reef, but you have to divide those materials: the sea portion and the forest portion. The leaves and the barks of a tree (small sizes) represent the forest. The stones, coral reefs, with the sand are the "sea portion", they must be together. The roots of a tree can be made into sea weeds to decorate the coral reefs. The sea portion can be placed in the center of the collage while the forest portion in the top most part, but arrange the sand and stones, the coral reefs, the leaves and barks of a tree, in such a way that they occupy the whole collage. There should be no empty part in the collage. The difficult part here is the arrangement, how you are going to divide your materials to show the forest and sea portions of the collage. After you have placed the sand, stones, leaves, barks of the tree, coral reefs, now scatter the small pieces of tin cans or pieces of paper to represent pollution in the different parts of the forest and the sea. Then the placards with the signs or warnings against pollutants and love of nature will have to be "planted" in the different portions of the collage. Glue them all. Paint the forest portion with green. Section E The relevance of my art work One striking importance that I want to convey through this art work is awareness. If we are able to create awareness to at least the ordinary people, there can be enough opposition to the many businesses whose products, or the result of manufacturing of their products, produce pollution and toxic chemicals that threaten the living things, our atmosphere and our entire planet earth. The theme of this art is timely and a wake-up call. Global warming, the changing of temperature around our planet which results in abnormal weather disturbances, is a big threat to us. Man has not only consumed the environment, he has totally abused it, irresponsibly throwing and damping garbage and chemicals, destroying the natural habitat and animals in our forest. With my art work, I will be able to present a picture of beauty being destroyed by pollutants such as plastic and garbage materials. Moreover, I can present art as a medium for awareness and change. Change is a better word, which can be the result of awareness. So, this is a valuable combination of theme, art, and goal. Finally, I can relate this to the word love the opposite of selfishness. They have great relevance. Man can express his love to God and his fellowman by caring for his environment. Our use of the environment must be coupled with responsibility. If we can do this, our planet will last longer and be a beautiful place to live in. We have to do and act now before it's too late. Read More