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Toward an Ecological Urbanism: Public Engagement in Contemporary Art Practice

  • Chapter
Media Art and the Urban Environment

Part of the book series: Future City ((FUCI,volume 5))

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Abstract

This survey essay presents the artworks of ecologically engaged artists working within the context of the urban environment and its relationship to broader bioregions. The author reflects on the interdependency of urban infrastructure on living systems and their services, focusing on artworks that align with this ethic and weaving them within three areas considered imperatives toward an ecological urbanism. The projects vary in their approaches to engage communities toward awareness and stewardship of the natural world through an understanding of ecological systems.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Victor Margolin, “Reflections on Art and Sustainability,” 28.

  2. 2.

    Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Working Group II, Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, report number 5, Spring, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2014. http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg2/

  3. 3.

    Ibid. Working Group I, Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. September, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2014. https://www.ipcc-wg1.unibe.ch/

  4. 4.

    Jeffrey Hou, “Hybrid Landscapes,” 1.

  5. 5.

    Ibid., 6.

  6. 6.

    Not all artists presented in this essay consider themselves as “eco-artists” or that their practice is exclusively “eco-art.” I use the words “ecologically directed” rather than “eco-art” but borrow nuances of an evolving definition of the term, which falls under the umbrella of “environmental art.” See the environmental art page on Wikipedia.org.

  7. 7.

    Gary Snyder quoted in “Between Social Ecology and Deep Ecology: Gary Snyder’s Ecological Philosophy” by Paul Messersmith-Glavin, 20.

  8. 8.

    Paul Messersmith-Glavin, “Between Social Ecology and Deep Ecology: Gary Snyder’s Ecological Philosophy,” 20.

  9. 9.

    Edward O. Wilson, “Biophilia and the Conservation Ethic,” quoted by David Stairs in “Biophilia and Technophilia,” 40.

  10. 10.

    David Stairs, “Biophilia and Technophilia,” 37.

  11. 11.

    Cagan H. Sekercioglu, “Ecosystem functions and services,” 45.

  12. 12.

    The relatively new subfield of environmental economics attempts to include the costs and benefits of alternative environmental policies to deal with air pollution, water quality, toxic substances, solid waste, and global warming. It differs from ecological economics, which emphasizes the economy as a subsystem of the ecosystem with its focus upon preserving natural capital (Wikipedia.org).

  13. 13.

    http://www.who.int/gho/urban_health/situation_trends/urban_population_growth_text/en/

  14. 14.

    Mohsen Mostafavi, “Why Ecological Urbanism? Why now?” 26.

  15. 15.

    To track trends see USGS site http://water.usgs.gov/edu/wateruse-trends.html. Although this shows consumption from 1950 to 2005, it does not indicate supply levels. For this see http://tinyurl.com/mowtfbt. For water data both current and past and surface and ground, see USGS Water Data Discovery, http://water.usgs.gov/data/. For climate change impact on water resources, http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/impacts-adaptation/water.html

  16. 16.

    The artists’ website is comprehensive with a well-produced video documentation of each project this collective does with the community, http://www.desertartlab.com/

  17. 17.

    Sue Spaid, “Ecovention: Current Art to Transform Ecologies,” 89.

  18. 18.

    Jude Schwendenwien, Alan Sonfist quoted in “Breaking Ground: Alan Sonfist, et al.” 41.

  19. 19.

    Oliver Kellhammer quoted from his website: http://www.oliverk.org/art-projects/land-art/cottonwood-community-gardens

  20. 20.

    Ibid.

  21. 21.

    Patricia Johanson, http://patriciajohanson.com/endangered-garden/

  22. 22.

    http://www.flap.org/toronto-lights-out.php. Also see NYT article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/world/americas/casualties-of-torontos-urban-skies.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

  23. 23.

    http://www.clemson.edu/extension/natural_resources/wildlife/publications/fs32_wetland_ecology.html

  24. 24.

    Susan Platt, “The Planet According to Maya Lin: What is Missing? and Confluence Project,” 144.

  25. 25.

    Maya Lin interview, http://www.cornell.edu/video/artist-maya-lin

  26. 26.

    Parenthesis added to indicate the artist’s passing in December, 2012.

  27. 27.

    The project was a commissioned by the Arts Catalyst in the UK. Both the exhibition and the mobile applications were developed to focus on species in the UK. http://www.artscatalyst.org/projects/detail/a_memorial_for_the_still_living/

  28. 28.

    Several western US states make it illegal for residents to collect rainwater. Colorado reversed its laws in 2009 after a study found that it would not “rob water owners of their rights.” See NY Times.

  29. 29.

    David Wicks, “Record of Creative Work,” 29–30.

  30. 30.

    Tim Collins quoted in Glenn Harper’s “Tim Collins and Reiko Goto: Art Has Everything to Do With It,” 119.

  31. 31.

    Glenn Harper, Ibid.

  32. 32.

    Reiko Goto quoted in Ibid.

  33. 33.

    Mohsen Mostafavi, Ibid., 17.

  34. 34.

    James P. Collins, Ann Kinzig, et al., “A New Urban Ecology,” 416.

  35. 35.

    Stephan Barthel and Christian Isendahl, “Urban gardens, agriculture, and water management,” 224.

  36. 36.

    Mohsen Mostafavi, Ibid., 17.

  37. 37.

    György Kepes, “Art and Ecological Conscience,” 6.

  38. 38.

    Patrick Clancy (Pulsa Group), “The City as an Artwork,” 210. This essay presents Pulsa’s aspirations to transform the information systems which support man-made environments exemplified in the city into life-enhancing experiences comparable to those primordially enjoyed by humankind in nature.

  39. 39.

    Ibid.

  40. 40.

    Brief course outline available at The Buckminster Fuller Institute website, see link: http://bfi.org/design-science/primer/eight-strategies-comprehensive-anticipatory-design-science

  41. 41.

    Jack Burnham, “Real Time Systems”.

  42. 42.

    TJ Demos, “The Politics of Sustainability: Art and Ecology,” 27.

  43. 43.

    In a work shown concurrently, Krefeld Sewage Triptych (1972), Haacke presents conclusive data on the volume and types of industrial and household pollution levels found in the untreated sewage, tracing these back to the polluters, including that of the city of Krefeld, of which the Museum belongs to. Demos gives some credit to this institutional critique.

  44. 44.

    Tega Brain, “The Politics and Poetics of Coexistence,” 68.

  45. 45.

    “A side effect or consequence of an industrial or commercial activity that affects other parties without this being reflected in the cost of the goods or services involved, such as the pollination of surrounding crops by bees kept for honey,” Google definition.

  46. 46.

    http://www.environmentalhealthclinic.net/nopark

  47. 47.

    Stats are as of 2011. Consult EIA website for various informative data sets. NYS data consulted May 21, 2014. http://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=ny\#tabs-1

  48. 48.

    Tiffany Holmes, “7000 Oaks and Counting (2007),” 20.

  49. 49.

    Ibid.

  50. 50.

    Ibid.

  51. 51.

    Andrea Polli and Chuck Varga interview about the project, http://vimeo.com/16336508

  52. 52.

    Judith Messina, “Green tech powers up NYC companies,” no pagination.

  53. 53.

    Edward A. Shanken, “Investigatory Art: Institutional Critique, Real-Time Systems, and Network Culture” (lecture).

  54. 54.

    See video interview of Allcorn at: https://dublin.sciencegallery.com/humanplus/human-pollination-project/

  55. 55.

    Artists’ website, consulted on May 22, 2014. http://www.dunneandraby.co.uk/content/projects/510/0

  56. 56.

    John Thackara, “Into The Open,” online: http://opendesignnow.org

  57. 57.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_it_yourself

  58. 58.

    Caren Cooper interview with Diane Toomey, “How Rise of Citizen Science is Democratizing Research,” online at: http://e360.yale.edu/content/print.msp?id=2733

  59. 59.

    Pete Johnson, quoted in “Breaking the Growth Habit” by Bill McKibben (63).

  60. 60.

    http://toronto.mediacoop.ca/newsrelease/13169

  61. 61.

    http://www.greenmuseum.org/content/artist_index/artist_id-63.html

  62. 62.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_Denes

  63. 63.

    A bushel of wheat weighs 60 lbs. Gene Logsdon in Small-Scale Grain Raising conservatively estimates 40 bu/acre which converts to 42 lbs of white flour and 60 lbs of whole wheat flour per bushel.

  64. 64.

    Paul Schmelzer, “Practical propaganda,” Art21 blog, March 1, 2009.

  65. 65.

    http://gardenregistry.org/

  66. 66.

    Stephanie Smith, “Marjetica Potrč,” Beyond Green, 108.

  67. 67.

    “Tests were conducted near Pretoria, South Africa, using Hippo Water Rollers to establish what the impact might be on a person should the roller trigger an anti-personnel land mine. A hippo Water Roller filled with 90 liters (20 gallons) of water was pulled over a land mine that had been planted in front of a soft cardboard model mounted on a steel frame. The shock wave and incredible heat (3,000°C) generated by the blast were absorbed so effectively by the water that not even a yellow flame was noticeable. Very little damage was evident on the cardboard model. In all three tests, indications were that no hospitalization would be required. Some bruising and lacerations may occur caused by bits of plastic from the roller.” Source: http://www.rexresearch.com/hippo/hippo.htm. Also, “The Roller has been used in test cases as an anti-personnel demining device, whereby it is rolled along the ground to absorb the blast of landmines when filled with water.” See: http://www.consultancyafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=997:the-hippo-water-roller-technology-for-improved-access-to-water-&catid=90:optimistic-africa&Itemid=295

  68. 68.

    Interviewed by Stephanie Smith, Beyond Green, exhibition catalogue, 26.

  69. 69.

    Nils Norman quoted in “Utopia Now: The Art of Nils Norman” by Jennifer Allen.

  70. 70.

    Nils Norman quoted in “The Politics of Sustainability: Art and Ecology” by TJ Demos, 28.

  71. 71.

    www.cesarharada.com

  72. 72.

    http://turbulence.org/Works/superfund/about.html

  73. 73.

    Jason Corburn, “Street Science,” 1.

  74. 74.

    Diane Toomey, “How Rise of Citizen Science Is Democratizing Research,” online interview with Caren Cooper.

  75. 75.

    Ibid.

  76. 76.

    http://www.pm-air.net/events.php

  77. 77.

    Michael Dieter, “Processes, Issues, AIR: Toward Reticular Politics,” 1.

  78. 78.

    Ibid., 2.

  79. 79.

    http://ecoarttech.org/

  80. 80.

    Amy Lipton and Patricia Watts, “Public Art Ecology: From Restoration to Social Intervention,” 52.

  81. 81.

    http://ecoarttech.org/

  82. 82.

    Ibid.

  83. 83.

    Ibid.

  84. 84.

    TJ Demos, “The Politics of Sustainability,” 18.

  85. 85.

    TJ Demos, “The Politics of Sustainability,” 20.

  86. 86.

    Timothy Morton, “Ecology without Nature: Rethinking Environmental Aesthetics”.

  87. 87.

    I realize I am being unfair as I do not give full treatment of Timothy Morton’s text, Ecology Without Nature, but rather interpret the overarching view he presents.

  88. 88.

    Mohsen Mostafavi, “Why Ecological Urbanism? Why now?” Discussing Felix Guattari’s ethico-aesthetic paradigm, in which Guattari argues that for there to be a radical change to the ecological crisis we face, “a relational and holistic approach to our understanding of ecological issues” must be achieved, and that emphasis is placed on the “interrelations between individual responsibility and group actions,” 22.

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    Maria Michails

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    Francis T. Marchese

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Michails, M. (2015). Toward an Ecological Urbanism: Public Engagement in Contemporary Art Practice. In: Marchese, F.T. (eds) Media Art and the Urban Environment. Future City, vol 5. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15153-3_1

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