Aristotle wrote, “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.”
Behind every physical piece of artwork comes a deeper significance. Whether it may be an unearthed, individual perspective or a political discussion, art has no boundaries in which expression is limited. Artists often manipulate media and technology to express their own relationships with their environments as a result of their individual context, where in the final product not only exhibits an external appearance, but discusses an embedded significance too. With art being a fundamental outlet for the expression of emotions and perspectives, the deep-seated significance is vital to creating an effective and …show more content…
This is particularly true for Gormley, Hall and the Claude’s. Each having followed their curiosities and built on their connections to environment, they are some of the world’s best environmental artist, discussing their own embedded meaning, through profound, physical artworks. Gormley investigates the relationship of the human body and space through installations and sculptures, constantly re-inventing new ways to explore environment in abstract ways. Gormley himself stated “Art is the means by which we communicate what it feels like to be alive” (2000) showing his perspective for his own creations. One of Gormley’s most well-known and influential works, Angel of the North (1998) (Appendix 1) celebrates deep environment and historical significance through an outward symbol of an angel atop of a coal mining site. The sites intrinsic and historic significance inspired Gormley’s sculpture, telling a story of the transition from the industrial age to the informative age. Similar to Gormley, in the sense that the artworks site tells a story or explores an unearthed perspective, Christo and Jeanne Claude temporarily manipulate environments, rural or urban, opposing the “abundance of triviality and repetition in the