The Rise of Eco-Art and Its Effects on Political and Social Issues - Essay Example

? The Rise of Eco-Art and Its Effects on Political and Social Issues of The Rise of Eco-Art and Its Effects on Political and Social Issues Art has always been a manner for societies to express their rituals and behavior. In other words, it can be said that art has allowed generations to send out the message of their lifestyle and rich history. With the passage of time, transition which has taken place in the history of mankind within the context of environment has relatively evolved as a newer sub-discipline in arts known as environment art or eco-art. This paper aims to evaluate the trend of environment art and the way in which it has impacted political and social spheres of international society. Also, the pros and cons of eco-art on the future of mankind would also be discussed within the context of this paper. A number of eco-art works would be assessed in the paper for better understanding of the subject matter. Trends of Eco-art: It will not be incorrect to mention that environment art has allowed people of contemporary societies to go back in time and understand the ways in which civilizations have been able to make use of the ecosystem. The trend of environment art has evolved during late 1960s. This was the era when ecosystem and the consequences of pollution were being noted by people at best (Kastner, 2010). People were more concerned about their environment which they were contributing to ever since. Better and newer understanding was being undertaken by different institutions of the societies allowing the ecological theory to evolve by large. Since the theoretical grounds of environment study were being made vast, it included field work as well challenging spaces. It was this era that created environment studies as a very vibrant set of theories. As a result, a movement also evolved which took every aspect of society in its fold (Weintraub, 2012). Understanding the role of environment art on social and political world is a two-way process. Let alone environment art has evolved through the transitions noted in political and social ways of people. Environment has been greatly incorporated by the discipline of art allowing people to understand the ways in which man has been contributing to the environment. In particular, the different forms of eco-art include land art, art in nature etc. With the transition in the field of eco-art, it has been noted that acoustics, ecology and bio-art has taken a greater stance in developing the theoretical implication of environment (Eco, 2012). The trend of eco-art has evolved to the extent where different universities have been involved in giving out finding for undertaking environment related projects. Students enrolled in this discipline have turned out to be effective artists and theorists. Great artists have come up with eco-art which has not just affected the lifestyle of people by the ways in which different natural objects have been consumed over the years. To count some, artists from southwest America has shown great potential over the years (Kastner, 2010). Desert landscapes have been used as one of the mediums by eco-art artists to understand sun and astronomical as tools of disseminating nature. Nancy Holt has been the vibrant among many American eco-art designers of all time (Carson, 2002). The trend of eco-art has not just included a newer section in the library with provocative theories but allowed civic forums where different people have come up with different concerns shown or expressed through modern way of eco-art. The artists involved in eco-art have enabled internet platform to diverge greater sense of awareness regarding eco-art among common people. This has made people to follow the movement of environment which was enhanced by the consumption and contribution made by eco-art (Barlow, et al., 1983). Impact on Social and Political World: It is of great significance to note that eco-art has enabled change in lifestyle for everyone. At one point where eco-art has contributed in overall change in design and consumptions of product, at the same time it has marked people behavior. In other words, it can be said that eco-art has made people liable of their supply of product. When manufacturing has been made limited due to the climate change policies, it was marked that there was going to be limited number of product being supplied to consumers. With limited supply, people have now found out alternatives ways in order to maintain their lifestyle. This is one of the strongest points maintaining the impact of eco-art of social lives (Carson, 1998). Socially, people are much aware regarding the spatial usage of different natural objects and resources. Many artists have made use of soil to understand the relationship between outdoor locations and indoor spaces. This has been done with the usage of digging processes used effectively by eco-art designers. The following image is quiet reflective of eco-art goals. It shows that a tree has ears which mean that nature is something real. Plants are living things that are needed to be taken care of. Humans make use of wood for their purpose of commercial usage. There needs to be a way where the decease of tree is overcome. The alternatives could be usage of more seeds plantation every time a tree is cut. The eco-art shows very intense expression that noise pollution can cause a lot of trouble to people as well as plants. There needs to be peace in terms of sounds for all. This may provide natural habitat for animals as well. Thus, it can be said that a single piece of eco-art is reflective of many ideas (Eco, 2012). Figure 1 Landscape eco-art (Gunzelmann, 2008) Politically, eco-art has made sure that governments come up with ways in which they are making limited contribution in waste damaging eco-system. Initially, governments were not held responsible for the procedures of environment safety since it was noted that they were more concerned about economic benefits and supply of excessive products. Consequently, people are now considerate of political parties and figures that are able to give them a safer environment. In a way, this has created hurdles for government to come up with developmental processes by large. Public forum has criticized political figures for not coming up with plans and process to cut down increasing environmental damages (Barlow, et al., 1983). Another feature of the eco-art is that it has made politics to turn back and look at their foreign policies with countries that are producing solar energy. China has now become one of the stronger manufactures of solar panels in the world. These solar panels are the new ways of making electricity which is a greener idea since most of the water of world as resources is considered to lessen down in coming years. Political world has now joint hands despite major chaos and disputes among countries. For employing newer and greener ways of manufacture and construction it has been noted that political world has relatively become flexible in terms of global relations (Weintraub, 2012). Figure 2 Solar Panels art work, Scotland. Mandate of political world have now another point of environment friendly policies. This is to make sure that the traditions of the previous generations are being preserved i.e. sustainability of objects and environment. Especially designed tools were marked for the usage of hunting, faming, harvesting, construction etc. are now being revitalized in the present age to make sure that there is limited damages being made to the world. The credit for such political policies goes to the artists and designers of eco-art (Gunzelmann, 2008). Pros and Cons of Eco-art: As a matter of fact, eco-art is not different from other forms of art as it beholds a significant way of looking at the society in which we live. Eco-art has enabled increased speculation in sense of urban food production which has allowed different companies to understand ways in which they can produce their products with reduced cost. With the help of eco-start industrial designing have improved by large. This means that the shapes and fittings of different machines have allowed the work done to be excessive with little resources being consumed in the process (Martha, 2012). This is the wonder of eco-art that transportation infrastructure have now various new options. Fast travelling equipments have allowed better ways in which people can save their time. Fuel efficient cars have also been developed as eco-art has widened the horizon through design and creativity. Some theorists claim that eco-art is not just another form of art but a science. The designs and concepts which have been long discussed and expressed with the help of eco-art have been made practical (Eco, 2012). In the wake of increasing options for business, many enterprises and institutions had long forgotten the need of creative design of making environment safer. The production processes have created a lot of pollution in the past. The effect is so severe that it would take many years to reverse the effects of these processes on landscapes. Also, there were no alternatives and solutions to reverse the reactions of these processes. With the help of eco-art, it was noted that artists, creators, painters, sculptures etc. increased the momentum of climate change policies. It is due to this arousal and contribution of eco-art that manufacturers are allowed to undergo limited productions. This gives out a message to the consumers as well as to the amount of product being consumed. Many critics claim that it had affected the economical demand of commodities but the fact remains that environment movement have its own specific imperativeness. Eco-art has been able to retract people to understand the need of environment safety programs, processes and designs. As far as cons of eco-art is concerned, it can be said that that critics claim that a number of theories have been passed within the field of environment art that have taken the subject too far. This merely means that the issue of environmental damages has become a serious one which in reality is not too critical. Considering the fact that a society needs to be in a balance can make it evident that one cannot simply make the lifestyle of people limited. Production of goods and supplies is necessary for people. By appointing a strict policy against such procedures will make a nation undergo a critical transition. The pros of eco-art may be of concern in terms of making climate change limiting but on a larger scale one cannot simply overlook the importance of technological advancement which is only possible by production and manufacture. It is rather suggested that eco-art should appoint a neutral approach and make people understand about their contribution on an individual level. Changes cannot be brought within a society with mere (Barlow, et al., 1983). Impact on Future: Despite resistance of eco-art by increased number of people, the fact remains that eco-art continues to transfer the notions and traditions of egalitarian societies to the contemporary transitional societies of the world. Environment is surely an essence of human life which cannot be ignored at all. There are already many movements which have been evoked with the help of eco-art. It is predicted that in the near future, there are more likely to be increased public awareness and civic forum where people will be aware of the contribution that they can made to their environment on individual basis (Carson, 2002). The concept of carbon footprint is basically a great example of computer software design which is friendly in terms of environment. A person is able to make sure of the software and find out the amount of carbon print which has allowed people to make use of products and resources in a limited manner. Eco-artists have made it evident in their written and performed pieces that environment is endangered by men who are spending life in the course of this environmental life cycle. The persuasion of concerns has made it evident to the people that the future generations might be at risk because there are many resources in our planet will run out. Eco-art tends to change our behavior towards our living standards which is most important at this time. Substantially, one needs to affirm the significance that the beautiful scenes and weather that we experience is only possible when the models of traditional ancestors are followed with consideration to modern design. It can be summed up that the ideals of the eco-artists is to five ecological benefits to people and make them aware about the environmental changes to which they are not effected in the short term but for the longer run, this may affect their lifestyles. Increase in natural disasters is a clear indication that the situation could go worse only if people do no joining the bandwagon of environmental movements. News on Eco-Art: Among popular news of environment friendly policies, one is that enterprises and major multinational corporations have made it evident in their interim reports that they have underlying projects for contributing to the eco-system. These projects are more likely to make use of fewer resources to help sustain the eco-system more. This has been made possible with the help of policies that were evoked after eco-art ventures such as usage of plastic bottles for making biggest sculptures within major cities of the world to show the excessive usage of plastic bottles which takes a lot of resources to re-cycle them again (Eco, 2012). Figure 3 Plastic bottles sculpture (Martha, 2012) In addition, western civilizations have come one step closer to the idea of carbon print effect. More and more people have made use of greener ways of making electricity. Solar panels are the new way of making electricity. People have now switched to solar energy for the purpose of transpiration to everyday chores. This is one of the effective ways through which eco-art have contributed in educating people as to which products and sources have been overly used and may affect coming generation. Conclusion: Through the above analysis, it can easily be stated that a number o critical claims have been forwarded to the eco-art. Some have considered that the subject of environmental safety has gone over the board but the fact remains that there are many resources in the world including water which would run out in next few years. This is the time to understand that there needs to be many alternatives for societies and political contribution in coming up with policies which would not just tell in making resources better in amount but also change the lifestyle of people as it was in the traditional societies. Despite the imperativeness of technological development in the world, the fact remains that one needs to have a safe and healthy environment. It is only possible when every individual is able to contribute to the environment on individual purpose. Together, every individual can make a lot of difference by understanding the messages being delivered through art and design of eco-art. Eco-artists would continue to contribute in the environmental sciences through creative designs. List of References Barlow, C., Jayasuriya, S. & Price, E., 1983. Evaluating Technology for New Farming Systems: Case Studies from Philippine Rice Farms. New York: Int. Rice Res. Inst.. Carson, R., 1998. The Edge of the Sea. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Carson, R., 2002. Silent Spring. San Francisco: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Eco, V., 2012. Art and Beauty in the Middle Ages. New York: Yale Nota Bene. Gunzelmann, D., 2008. Environmental Art: Using the Landscape as a Medium. [Online] Available at: http://greenupgrader.com/4473/environmental-art-using-the-landscape-as-a-medium/ Kastner, J., 2010. Land and Environmental Art. California: Phaidon Press. Martha, T., 2012. History of Green Art. [Online] Available at: http://www.publicartgreenart.com/green-art-history.html Weintraub, L., 2012. To Life!: Eco Art in Pursuit of a Sustainable Planet. California: University of California Press. Read More