Artistic depictions of nature have, historically, positioned the natural world as a site of romanticism, idealised as an unchanging realm. It is noted that the famed paintings by the romantic landscape painter J. M. W. Turner ‘approached nearer to the representation of the infinity of Nature than all that have gone before him.’ However, nature is no longer seen as infinite; it is ephemeral, finite, a depleting resource. The BP Statistical Review of World Energy measured only enough oil to last for the next 46.2 years, and enough gas in reserves to meet 58.6 years of global production. The World Health Organisation predicts that by 2025, ‘absolute water scarcity’ will effect 1 800 million people. Land artists orientate their work to address
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Similar works include those by Helen Mayer Harrison and Newton Harrison, such as their 1994 project Endangered Meadows of Europe. The Harrison’s supplanted a 400 year-old meadow, that was being due to be replaced by an urban development, onto the rooftop garden of the The Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland museum, and in doing so told the story of the meadows and the ways that they support human life. These artists are activists as much as they are artists, protecting destroyed habitats, encouraging new growth, planting forests, and re-introducing declining eco-systems. Sue Spaid describes these works as ‘ecovention,’ a term that combines ecology and invention. In recent years a shift has occurred in land art, with the focus moving from artist to community. Movements such as guerilla gardening and community gardening, the key subjects that I will discuss in this essay, have led to a turn from individual to collective, a greening of the city by its citizens. In this essay, I will investigate the intersections between environmental activism, art criticism and politico-ecological theory in the city of Brighton. I will look at three case studies of activities that …show more content…
However, this view limits the act of gardening, ignoring its overwhelming relationship to space. Plants grow in the cracks between pavements, in car-park potholes, along the gutters of public buildings, occupying, altering and, sometimes, destroying space. In urban areas, ‘where space has a high financial and political value,’ occupation of space is of immense importance. Henry Lefebvre discussed droit à la ville or ‘right to the city,’ suggesting the high importance of space in citizens enjoyment of urban life. But in a world were population density is increasing and space in cities is lacking, certain inequalities are rendered highly visible. Small apartments, lack of gardens and green spaces, and ‘little operational space for the inhabitants to influence their environment according to their needs and desires,’ can lead to tensions within cities and communities. As artistic commentary, guerilla and community gardens can draw attention to the conditions within declining neighbourhoods. Gardening works as an effective form of activism because it combines the action of resistance with the concept of ‘communication action’; it communicates, co-operates and improves its local surroundings peacefully, without need for provocation. Cities are space that are usually shaped by the powerful and the rich, but gardens can be planted at a
Similar works include those by Helen Mayer Harrison and Newton Harrison, such as their 1994 project Endangered Meadows of Europe. The Harrison’s supplanted a 400 year-old meadow, that was being due to be replaced by an urban development, onto the rooftop garden of the The Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland museum, and in doing so told the story of the meadows and the ways that they support human life. These artists are activists as much as they are artists, protecting destroyed habitats, encouraging new growth, planting forests, and re-introducing declining eco-systems. Sue Spaid describes these works as ‘ecovention,’ a term that combines ecology and invention. In recent years a shift has occurred in land art, with the focus moving from artist to community. Movements such as guerilla gardening and community gardening, the key subjects that I will discuss in this essay, have led to a turn from individual to collective, a greening of the city by its citizens. In this essay, I will investigate the intersections between environmental activism, art criticism and politico-ecological theory in the city of Brighton. I will look at three case studies of activities that …show more content…
However, this view limits the act of gardening, ignoring its overwhelming relationship to space. Plants grow in the cracks between pavements, in car-park potholes, along the gutters of public buildings, occupying, altering and, sometimes, destroying space. In urban areas, ‘where space has a high financial and political value,’ occupation of space is of immense importance. Henry Lefebvre discussed droit à la ville or ‘right to the city,’ suggesting the high importance of space in citizens enjoyment of urban life. But in a world were population density is increasing and space in cities is lacking, certain inequalities are rendered highly visible. Small apartments, lack of gardens and green spaces, and ‘little operational space for the inhabitants to influence their environment according to their needs and desires,’ can lead to tensions within cities and communities. As artistic commentary, guerilla and community gardens can draw attention to the conditions within declining neighbourhoods. Gardening works as an effective form of activism because it combines the action of resistance with the concept of ‘communication action’; it communicates, co-operates and improves its local surroundings peacefully, without need for provocation. Cities are space that are usually shaped by the powerful and the rich, but gardens can be planted at a