Teacher preparation:

Overarching learning goal: Students will understand that art can be seen as a form of social commentary and that it can be used to tell us how people are thinking about our environment. Students will also recognise the different ways artists have explored nature and the environment at different points in history.

Teacher content information: Art can be seen as a form of social commentary: it tells as story about what is happening in the world at that time. If we look back at art throughout history we can see it represents the major thoughts, ideas and events of the time.

This applies to how humans have felt and thought about our environment throughout history. Up until the 18th Century you will find little reference to the relationship between humans and the environment in art. It certainly features in the background of many images, but this probably reflects the broader understanding of the environment; it was in the background.

Then in the 18th Century came the romantic period. Suddenly people were entranced by nature in a very romantic way; they were interested in its beauty, in all the beautiful things it could provide. This ideal continued until the 1970’s, when suddenly there is a great interest in the health of our environment and how humans interact with our environment. A group of artists start to explore this new sentiment by working with the earth in their art: this is a movement known as land art or earth art.

From this, environmental art has grown into three main components:

Art that describes the natural world;
Art that celebrates personal engagement in the natural world; and
Art that directly addresses environmental issues (sometimes known as ‘ecological art’ or eco-art’).

More recently, there has been a rise in artists exploring environmental themes such as global warming and climate change. Some environmental artists are asking questions like: what role do artists have in raising environmental awareness in society? Do environmental artists have a responsibility to communicate positive environmental messages?

In this activity, students will be asked to think about what sorts of art will the environmental artists of the future be creating: What environmental and social issues will artists in the future be responding to?

Select a number of examples of art from the periods/movements looked at in this activity. These include:

The Victorian era;
The Renaissance; and
Earth art or Land art.

Student and classroom organisation:

Step 1.

Begin this activity by reminding students that we can learn a lot about society through its art. Art can often tell us what the big ideas at that time were and what was important to people at that time.

For example, look at these two works of art. What do they tell us about the society at that time? Working as a class, look at the following images and discuss with students what these images tell us about the eras they come from.

Image 1.

The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci (1503-1506) - from the Renaissance period.

Questions for discussion:

What do you see in this picture?
What do you think this picture says about the society at this time? Suggested answers: In addition to its expression of classical Greco-Roman traditions, Renaissance art sought to capture the experience of the individual: what are people's needs, abilities, interests and thoughts?

Image 2.

Hush! by James Tissot (1875) - from the Victorian era.

Questions for discussion:

What do you see in this picture?
What do you think this picture says about the society at this time? Suggested answers: This was an era of luxury, fashion and excess. People showed great interest in music, art and clothes. They were also very concerned about how they looked and who was looking at them.

Step 2.

Art can also tell us a lot about how society thinks about our environment. This has changed over time too. For example, look at these two works of art. What do they tell us about the society at that time? Working as a class, look at the following images and discuss with students what these images tell us about how people were thinking about the environment at that time.

Image 1.

The Empress Eugenie Surrounded by her Ladies in Waiting by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1855).

Questions for discussion:

What do you see in this picture?
What do you think this picture says about society at this time thought about our environment? Suggested answers: Nature is seen as very beautiful, but is considered a background to the human interest of the art work (perhaps the environment existed in the background of peoples thoughts). This painting comes from the Victorian era, a time of fashion, luxury and comfort.

Image 2.

Rowan leaves and hole by Andy Goldsworthy 1987.

Questions for discussion:

What do you see in this picture?
What do you think this picture says about society at this time thought about our environment? Suggested answer: Nature is seen as beautiful but fleeting. These leaves won't last - they will fade, blow away and degrade - and nor will nature if we continue to harm it.

Step 3.

Working from the student worksheet, ask students to:

Find a piece of art from over 10 years ago that includes features of nature or our environment;
Find a piece of art from the last 10 years that includes features of nature or our environment; and
Create a piece of art featuring nature or our environment they think will express thinking about our environment in 50 years time.

Students can use Google Images to find the works of art - just remind them to record as much detail about the webpage they get the image from, including the URL. Some suggested links are:

Students should create a Prezi presentation with the images they found and with a photo of the artwork they created. They should include the answers the questions on the student worksheet in their presentation.

Assessment/Reflection

Ask students to share their futuristic artworks with the class. Engage students in a discussion around their three works of art. Questions for discussion could include:

What were the most common environmental themes addressed?
What did you enjoy about creating artwork for the future?
What didn’t you enjoy?
Does your own work have a message? What is the visual intention of your work?
Do you think artists have a responsibility to share positive environmental messages (such as caring for our environment or celebrating nature)?

Homework/Extension

Ask students to write a short artist's statement for the work of art they create.

Environmental art in the past, present and future

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