The Good Earth - final doc ver 2

The Good Earth: Art and the Environment

By: Jaime K. An-Wong

April 22, 2010

BFA Thesis Visual Arts Department Mason Gross School of the Arts Rutgers University

The Good Earth: Art and the EnvironmentJaime K An-Wong

The Good Earth

Green living greenGreen thinking greenI promise I’ll giveMore than I receive

I am amazed each day,When we take time, to consider The beauty of our surroundings.It helps me when I’m low.

I lay down to rest And find peace in solitude.Perhaps forgotten, only to dream.When I awake, we were one.

I will lay down when I die.And, find peace with you.What remains, stays hereTake me to the spirit in the sky.

-1- (Jaime K An-Wong)

The Good Earth: Art and the Environment

Jaime K. An-Wong, “The Good Earth,” Thesis Project, Taken by Jaime K. An-Wong, March 31, 2010.

Introduction: Environmental Concerns

We are in the midst of a revolution in understanding the world around us. Our discoveries in genetic research may soon bear fruit intreating particular diseases or enable us to feed all the hungry mouths of the world, and research in nanotechnology may be able to help us solve some of the other problems we face. Our knowledge of the atmosphere and weather patterns helps us avoid costly damage from some natural disasters that have occurred in the past. But, sometimeswe are our own worst enemy. As humans with our “business as usual” attitude, no other life form has had an impact on climate as we have had. There is little doubt due to carbon emissions, that we are affecting the environment through global warming.

Science, technology, and art are interconnected. These are the practices or businesses of human activity. They are linked by the waywe understand the world we live in. In addition, they are

-2- (Jaime K An-Wong)linked when we find the solutions to the problems we face together. This becomes a critical matter when we talk about the environment. When looking at the environment, science and art help us understand the world, the habitat we live in, and our relationship to it. We can better understand how the environment works, how the problems we face arise, and how we might be able to find a solution to the problems through science. We are learning how fragile our environment is in real terms. But, art helps us to visualize the problem in human terms, and with the humanities, we realize the impact and responsibility we have to the ever-changing natural world.

The Natural World Museum, which is based in San Francisco has partnered with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in their Art for the Environment initiatives. UNEP with the Natural World Museum is trying to use the universal language of art as a meansto unify people in action and thought across social, economic, and political arenas of influence.(1) I believe as an artist that I am sharing my personal experiences. The hope is to initiate a dialog with the viewers. Collaboratively, through contemplation and criticalthinking, this could lead to thoughtful solutions to our environmentalproblems. I hope to gather the community together to create positive actions for its benefit. For every problem there is a solution. It is time for people to become a part of the solution, because in the big picture we all share the same future. There is a story to be told here.

Many of the problems we are encountering now and in the future will depend on us solving the problems of the environment. We hear about the problems, we can read about it, we can see or experience

some of its effects, but I want people to care about it. I have always loved nature and I have taken time to experience it. It is sadto see the rapid destruction of the environment because I care about it. It is always on my mind. I enjoy going as often as possible to the National Parks to experience the wilderness so abundant in this country or to the local botanical gardens and parks. Our encounters with nature can reveal “important truths about human nature…(and) a deep understanding of our place in the long scheme of things…(they) can give us direction and a basis for ethical human behavior….”(2) Toaddress the problem of waste, most of us are required to do recycling at home. But this has not inspired a strong enough movement to save our planet. Besides being a student, I have been working as a volunteer at a non-profit organization in Trenton to improve the poorest communities. This non-profit is a community development and environmental organization that helps families and neighborhoods achieve health and self-reliance. The organization has been in operation since 1981, and has spread out through the City of Trenton. I am directly involved in the renovation of an old textile mill achieving a LEEDS certification for sustainable design, and soon be the centralized headquarters for the organization. I have been involved with establishing community gardens in Trenton and rehabilitating homes. A YouthBuild group has offered training to individuals to assess homes to be renovated and to make them more energy efficient. But, the “deepest” feeling I get comes with my artwork. The slow methodical and repetitive processes of building sculptures gradually connect me to my soul and the reflective time spent fills the emptiness created by our consumer society. I have concentrated for this project on the notion of using recycled newspapers.


Human culture has quickly evolved to be the major agent in influencing the health of the environment. Through technology, such as the Industrial Revolution, we are quickly using up our limited resources, such as the trees, and

polluting the environment in such a way that it is causing climate change. For millions of years evolution favored the largest and the most powerful animals, such as the dinosaurs. Only in near history did evolution favor the more intelligent brain, when Homo sapiens (modern man) out competed his rival, the Neanderthal man. Along with this change in evolutionary force is how quickly the rate of evolutioncould alter the dominant species. Now, evolution is driven by human culture, which is bringing with it even more rapid changes that are threatening the survival of life on earth. So, we are at the point intime where we need to make an adjustment in our habits and behaviors toward a sustainable way of life for all living things. In the hierarchy of evolutionary forces, a sustainable culture holds the key to our survival as a species. I see art playing a central role in making this change.

With the rise of the Industrial Revolution and modernism, there was always a sense of concern about the destruction done to the environment. In the late 19th century and early 20th century the warnings sounded by John Muir and Aldo Leopold were to promote conservation. They wanted to preserve the “wilderness” for the peopleto enjoy and find nourishment of the soul.(3) They saw the benefits for people going into the wilderness to discover for their selves the “ideal” beauty in nature and to reflect on our existence, as nature holds a mirror to each one of us and asks if we are doing our part. They warned of the consequences of the destruction of the environment and the loss of the sustenance the wilderness provides for our souls. With the counter culture revolution of the 1960’s, there was a reawakening and rise of awareness of these issues for example, Rachel Carson’s book, “Silent Spring” and the first “Earth Day” in 1970.(4) Much of the energy centered with the students in college or those who had just graduated. It tapped into the self-reflective attitudes and the spiritual elements binding “man and nature” within the student body. Earth Day signifies something about who we are, and the value we place on being part of something larger. This is similar in sentiment, to the artists who emerged out of the studios at the same time to present their ideas and concepts in natural landscapes as LandArt. Earth Day was a protest cry on the need to address environmental

issues. Earth Day of the 1990’s was about environment audits, assessing the damage caused by human activity and to mobilize political action to remedy the situation.(5) The audits had the goal of showing how our daily activities could have a direct impact on our environment, whether positive or negative. Environmental sculpture would be a constant reminder of the ideals of “Earth Day.”

Environmental Art: Complexity and Contradiction

Of great influence to me has been an artwork of Steven Siegel. His sculpture “Scale” was assembled at the Abington Art Center in the fall of 2002 to represent a rock formation. This was a site-specific work placed in a wooded clearing surrounded by oak trees. 20,000 pounds of locally, recycled newspapers were incorporated into the structure. In calculating the scale of the structure, this


represents almost 35 years of newspapers read in my household. It took many volunteers eight days to assemble the structure. Once the frame was set up, methodic layering of the newspapers shaped the intended structure. The structure was expected to remain standing 15 years. Steven Siegel has an interest in “deep time.”(6) This is timein geological terms. These geologic and atmospheric processes have been continuously at work since the birth of the earth. Our time in human terms is only a miniscule fraction of geologic time. The layering of newspapers takes on the appearance of sedimentary rocks with bands of sediments from the erosion of mountains formed into stone under intense pressure and heat. In “Scale” we see the human hand quickly assemble this structure in eight days, where this would take natural forces millions of years to form rock structures.(7)

Steven Siegel, “Scale,” Abington Art Steven Siegel, “Scale,” Abington Art Center, recycled Center, recycled newspapers, 2002 (8) newspapers, 2002, taken 3/13/2010 by Jaime K. An-Wong

In environmental terms, Steven Siegel thought about symbolic gestures. In particular, the newspapers are a product of trees that were cut down. The trees clean the air by removing the carbon dioxidefrom it and they serve as a reservoir for carbon to be stored. Carbondioxide is the main gas in the atmosphere contributing to global warming and climate change. The paper produced is printed on for us to communicate with each other. The structure over time, due to erosion and decaying processes would collapse and become organic matter to incorporate itself into the soil. The organic matter is the

nutrient that would nourish the next generation of trees. There is animplied regenerative and sustainable cycle in which all trees would not be depleted for human consumption related to mass media.

In my own piece, “The Good Earth,” you see the same cycle of regeneration, except the artwork is placed in a gallery. Different from Steven Siegel’s “Scale,” the layering of newspapers is buried under


the ground cover. In the deeper layers, newspapers form rock-like structures, while in the superficial layers, decaying newspapers are mixing into the soil as organic matter. A regenerative biological cycle of carbon and organic matter and also a geologic cycle consisting of large rock-like structures are created in this piece. The two cycles do not have distinct boundaries.

Newspapers are still ubiquitous. They remain one of the main forms of how we communicate. This is how we stay current with events and happenings locally or in foreign places. It is also the source ofmuch marketing to the consumer, with the goal of getting the consumer to buy more than they really need. This is the state of our society. I would like to make the point that the world is constantly changing. Now, new patterns of communicating have evolved. With the internet, now we can do away with newspapers, Christmas cards, paper correspondences, utility bills, etc. Even marketing and advertising can be done through the internet. We can save energy costs in the production of paper and the delivery of it. It will take a major modification of behavior, but it would help put us on track towards a sustainable way of life. Solving the problem with newspapers is not going to fix all the ills of the world. But, we must begin the process, one issue at a time.

A sustainable way of living is a complex issue. No one person has all the answers. Some of the solutions can be quite contradictory

to other thoughts. Robert Smithson saw these contradictory concepts and he wanted to develop these ideas in the “Land Art” movement. The truth, which art was to represent, was plural, messy, impure, and always changing. In Land Art, the process of change was the geologic and atmospheric processes, and these forces became his presiding symbol. He wanted to find a way to present his thoughts outside the gallery or museums.(9) To observe the natural processes, he took his art out into the landscape, into the natural elements. His most famous structure was “Spiral Jetty.”

Robert Smithson, “Spiral Jetty,” Great Salt Lake , Utah, basalt rocks and earth, 1970(10)

Smithson created “Spiral Jetty” in 1970. It was a 1,500 foot long jetty extending in a spiral

-6- (Jaime K An-Wong)fashion into the Great Salt Lake in Utah. The jetty was made of basalt rocks and earth, that later acquired a salt crust. The salt water levels of the lake would rise and fall with the seasons. So, the appearance of the jetty would also reflect the differing water levels. With each cycle of submersion and reappearance, a layer of salt crust was acquired on the basaltic rocks. The contrasts have been remarkable. Pictures of it often have a romantic appeal. Many images of it make you feel close to it physically, and one is symbolically sympathetic to its form. So, you become attached to it.

On the other hand, it is in reality quite remote, being located in Utah and actually very difficult to reach once you are at the Great Salt Lake. A few years after the structure was completed, “Spiral Jetty” became completely submerged and not visible for almost 30 years. When you are able to visit it, “Spiral Jetty” has a contemporary feel, but it actually represents a history of changes. The basalt rocks formed millions of years ago, when they erupted from volcanoes. The lake is a remnant of a prehistoric seaway that split the West millions of years ago. So, the structure is viewed contemporaneously but it has an ancient history about it. “Spiral Jetty” is a massive structure and is resurfacing above the waters of the lake again, and makes it seem eternal. But, if you were able to visit the structure on different occasions, you would be able to experience the ever-changing qualities of the sculpture. With each season, the lake waters have a different color and clarity. The waterlevel of the lake will vary and the salt crust on the rocks will accumulate when exposed.(11)

In my piece, “The Good Earth” represents contrasting ideas and change over time. When we walk down the street or over an expanse of grass in the park, we assume there is soil and bedrock below. But, weare always finding remnants of past civilizations when we excavate an area for a park or a basement of a building. Now, we are beginning toconvert landfills into parks, where underground is the waste or refugediscarded by people. In some odd way, we are creating “human” geologyunder the grass we walk upon. In “The Good Earth,” the changes we seeon the surface with grass growing or being dormant may easily be apparent, but over a longer time the newspapers will decay and incorporate into the soil. Additionally, the decayed newspapers will become the nutrients for the vegetation growing on the surface. All these changing images may be subtle, but my hope is that the art pieceinspires self-reflection and initiates corresponding changes in people’s attitudes and behaviors. I hope it rocks the world.

Urban Environmental Art

As described, “Scale” by Steven Siegel and “Spiral Jetty” by Robert Smithson are site-specific structures placed outdoors. I wanted to produce a piece of artwork, addressing similar environmentalconcerns and to place it indoors. I believe that gathering people together in a gallery or museum brings the people together both physically and spiritually. This makes the art not only more accessible but also more compelling and effective. Hopefully, this stimulates greater interaction among viewers and forms a tighter community around issues important to them.

Land Art at its inception was primarily sited in barren places or in settings like “Scale” in the

-7- (Jaime K An-Wong)woods at an Art Center. But, issues needed to be addressed in the urban community. So, artists followed the initial impulse of Land Artby working in the urban setting. In addition, the artworks took on a participatory character to bring about social action. Participation in the assembly of the structures could foster a personal investment in the artwork and in the issues being addressed. This would be evident with “Scale” by Steven Siegel, where almost 50 volunteers helped in assembling the structure. The idea of critical practice in art has slowly gained momentum particularly in environmental issues.(12) Joseph Bueys established a precedent in 1982 with his artwork “7000 Oaks” and the following offsprings. Bueys wanted to not only finish this one art project but he hoped that this would inspire otherartists and people to replicate similar structures all over the planet. People were invited to participate in planting the trees withBeuys, he planted the first oak tree in Kassel, Germany.

Joseph Beuys planting the first oak tree.“7000 Oaks,” 1982, in Kassel, Germany(13)

Along with the planted tree, a basalt stone column was set next to it. The stone column is a more permanent natural structure and serves as a reference to the growing and changing tree. This 1982 artproject was done for the exhibition, 7th Documenta. This was an ecological gesture to redress the balance of nature in the urban landscape.(14) It was also a symbolic gesture to restore what man hascut down and inspire remedial changes from past practices. It addressed, to some extent, the loss of carbon reservoirs that the trees provided and took steps to replenish them in an environmentally healthy way. Here, the participants experience the impact of environmental art more immediately and are able to contemplate their visceral response rather than viewing passively a picture on a gallerywall. In 1988, the Dia Foundation planted five trees, each paired with its own basalt stone column at the

-8- (Jaime K An-Wong)curb at 548 West 22nd Street. Five different varieties of trees were planted at the curb: gingko, linden, Bradford pear, sycamore, and oak.Following this in 1996, the Dia Foundation extended the project by

planting 18 new trees, also paired with a stone column on 22nd Street between 10th and 11th Avenues.(15) Thus, “7000 Oaks” has transcended the art discourse and has become a social action. This may be the next step for me in my own pursuit of environmental art.

Dia Center, “7000 Oaks,” 1988, 548 W. 22nd St., NYC(16)

Dia Center, “7000 Oaks,” 1988, 548 W. 22nd St., NYC,Taken by Jaime K. An-Wong, January 16, 2010.

Many artists have participated in social processes through their artwork and made statements about social situations in ways that transcend the conventional forms of representation. The Land Art

-9- (Jaime K An-Wong)movement took art outside of galleries and museums, which were devisedto house the traditional symbols and thought processes.(17) I would like to bring the more progressive concepts back into the gallery to make them more accessible and in a place able to promote the exchange of ideas. Where would it be better than in a university, particularlyat the Mason Gross School of Arts. My hope is to promote progressive thinking that becomes the seeds for change towards a sustainable culture. Artworks can have more to do with other practices such as landscape architecture, design and even biology. We are working ourselves towards a unifying philosophy or truth. It may take a collaborative effort of all these practices to bring about the necessary commitment to live in a sustainable way. This gradual unification of practices including science, technology and art is called consilience.(18) It is gradually happening and the impetus may bethe need to solve our environmental problems in a collaborative and integrated way.

Although not necessarily political, art was in-step with the environmental movement, such as the project of Joseph Beuys and his followers. But, art can do so much more, particularly with the visions of other artistic practices. Very recently Philagrafika 2010 opened in Philadelphia. It is an international festival celebrating printmaking in contemporary art. The Arthur Ross Gallery at the University of Pennsylvania presented a site-specific installation by Miler Lagos.

Miler Lagos, “Silence Dogood,” recycled newspapers, 2010Taken by Jaime K. An-Wong, January 30, 2010.

Miler Lagos drew on the inherent characteristics of printmaking with the concepts and practices of imprinting, multiplicity, reproduction, and seriality. From the printed form, he took a ton of regional newspapers and rolled them, one page at a time, into what appears to be a large section of a tree. In

-10- (Jaime K An-Wong)the simple sense, Miler Lagos is turning newspaper back into a tree. Just as the rings of a tree trunk comprise an environmental record, the rings of this paper tree are made of thousands of daily stories, compressed into newsprint.(19) People can be moved and aroused by powerful artistic environments, such as this, innovative designs, and practical demonstrations of active engagements. Imagination is an artist’s greatest asset.

Conclusion

It is human nature to contemplate our existence in the natural world. Who are we? What is our role? What is our responsibility to future generations? A sustainable way of life suggests that we meet our

present needs without compromising the ecologic, societal, and economic needs of future generations. There is a growing fear about the state and health of our planet. Natural processes are in general,regenerative. Human processes very often are not regenerative but areconsumptive. Because of human activities, we are witnessing the deterioration of the environment. Perhaps, what we perceive as environmental ills are really two “landscapes.” The first is the physical perception and the second is the mental construct. Concerning climate change, many were put on notice by Al Gore’s book and movie, “An Inconvenient Truth” in 2006. This was a clear representation of the change from images of present circumstances compared to past images of better circumstances. Gore was using fear by showing the dramatic changes that warn us of impending disasters, and move us towards corrective action. Art is able to take a different tactic of hope and inspiration. In viewing the artwork, theartist addresses the issues through its mental construct. The ultimate goal through self-reflection, is a transformative experience for the individual. Hopefully, a connection is established to create a greater understanding of the issues. A dialog is established with the viewer or participant, which may extend into collaborative thinking where individuals interact within the community. Artists tell stories that shape our perceptions through their imagination. Art inspires us to celebrate, not just the beauty of the “wilderness” or designed parks and gardens rather, whatever is presented in the artwork. Creativity is rooted in our struggle to survive, to protect our environment. The survival of humankind depends on our actions to preserve and protect the world that keeps us alive. Art naturally leads us to act.


Thesis Project in Progress:

Jaime K. An-Wong, “The Good Earth,” Thesis Project,Taken by Jaime K. An-Wong, March 31, 2010.

Jaime K. An-Wong, “The Good Earth,” Thesis Project,Taken by Jaime K. An-Wong, March 31, 2010.


Jaime K. An-Wong, “The Good Earth,” Thesis Project,Taken by Jaime K. An-Wong, April 24, 2010 at the Mason Gross School ofArts.

-13- (Jaime K An-Wong)Notes:

(1) Rosenberg, Randy. Art in Action: nature, creativity and our collective future, San Rafael, CA, Earth Aware Editions, 2007, p. 8-9.

(2) Leopold, Aldo. A Sand County Almanac, New York, Oxford University Press, 1987, Introduction by Robert Finch, p. xxiii.

(3) Knight, Richard and Riedel, Suzanne. Aldo Leopold and the Ecological Conscience, New York, Oxford University Press, 2002, p. 48-52.

(4) Kastner, Jeffrey. Land and Environmental Art, New York, Phaidon Press, 1998, p.16-17.

(5) Sarkis, Anthony. “Earth Day as a Catalyst for Campus Environmental Leadership.” Green Theory & Praxis, 2009.

(6) Bolender, Karin. “Into the Holocene: The Art of Steven Siegel,” Dutchess Magazine, February 2000.

(7) An-Wong, Jaime. “Scale,” March 14, 2010, http://jaimean-wong.blogspot.com.

(8) Abington Art Center website, http://abingtonartcenter.org/on-view/archive/scale/

(9) Smithson, Robert. “Spiral Jetty,” in Jack Flam, Robert Smithson: The Collected Writings, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1996, p.154-156.

(10) Robert Smithson website, http://www.robertsmithson.com/earthworks/spiral_jetty.htm

(11) Smithson, Robert. “Spiral Jetty,” in Jack Flam, Robert Smithson: The Collected Writings, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1996, p. 143-152.

(12) Smith, Stephanie. Beyond Green: Toward a Sustainable Art, New York,Independent Curators International, 2005, p. 15.

(13) Smith, Ibid., p. 25.(14) Smith, Ibid., p. 25.(15) Dia Art Center on Joseph Bueys: 7000 Oaks,

Http://www.diacenter.org/sites/main/7000oaks.

http://www.diacenter.org/sites/main/7000oaks

http://jaimean-wong.blogspot.com/


(16) Dia Art Center on Joseph Bueys: 7000 Oaks, Http://www.diacenter.org/sites/main/7000oaks.

(17) Smithson, Robert.” Cultural Confinement,” In: Art in Theory, 1900-2000, Malden, MA, Blackwell Publishing, 2003, p. 970-971.

(18) Wilson, Edward O. Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1998, p. 210-237.

(19) Greco, Joann. “Philagrafika Rules: A celebration of printmaking crosses all kinds of boundaries,” The Pennsylvania Gazette, Philadelphia, Penn Alumni, March/April 2010.


Bibliography: The Good Earth

Abington Art Center website, http://abingtonartcenter.org/on-view/archive/scale/

An-Wong, Jaime. “Scale,” March 13, 2010,http://jaimean-wong.blogspot.com

Bolender, Karin. “Into the Holocene: The Art of Steven Siegel,” Dutchess Magazine, February 2000

Dia Art Center website on Joseph Bueys: 7000 Oaks, http://www.diacenter.org/sites/main/7000oaks

Greco, Joann. “Philagrafika Rules: A celebration of printmaking crosses all kinds of boundaries,” The Pennsylvania Gazette, Philadelphia,Penn Alumni, March/April 2010.



Kastner, Jeffrey. Land and Environmental Art, New York, Phaidon Press, 1998.

Knight, Richard and Riedel, Suzanne. Aldo Leopold and the Ecological Conscience, New York, Oxford University Press, 2002.

Leopold, Aldo. A Sand County Almanac, New York, Oxford University Press,1949.

Robert Smithson website, http://www.robertsmithson.com/earthworks/spiral_jetty.htm.

Rosenberg, Randy. Art In Action: nature, creativity and our collective future, San Rafael, CA, Earth Aware Editions, 2007.

Sarkis, Anthony. “Earth Day as a Catalyst for Campus Environmental Leadership.” Green Theory & Praxis, 2009.

Smith, Stephanie. Beyond Green: Toward a Sustainable Art, New York, Independent Curators International, 2005.

Smithson, Robert. “Spiral Jetty,” In Jack Flam, Robert Smithson: The Collected Writings, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1996.

Smithson, Robert. “Cultural Confinement,” In: Art in Theory, 1900 – 2000, Malden, MA, Blackwell Publishing, 2003.

Wilson, Edward O. Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1998.


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