In the following over 200 pages of contributions by more than 100 artists / ecoartspace members, there are also manifestos, essays, and simple how-to acts of love and kindness to consider. We invite our readers to find inspiration from this handbook, which presents the creative care of our members. This compilation is an ecoartspace manifesto with knowledge sharing at its core to help contribute to making the world a better place.
The Garrison Institute held an art exhibition, public open house on Saturday, April 29, 2023
The exhibit featured the work of Paz Perlman and artists from the Think About Water collective – all critically acclaimed artists known for their powerful bodies of work that grapple with today’s most profound societal and environmental challenges. The exhibition promised to be a thought-provoking and visually stunning experience.
Perlman and Foster’s projects harness the intersection of art, ecology, and meditation to deepen the viewers’ sense of connection, awareness, and responsibility towards the environment – and to hopefully ignite action. Their art recently provided the impactful visual element to the Garrison Institute’s 2023 Pathways to Planetary Health Symposium, which united scientists, economists, ethicists, communicators, and leaders from across fields to share ideas that lead to tangible altruistic and environmental action.
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Delighted to share the wonderful review of my current solo exhibition, “In the Beginning There Was Only Water,” by Joan Sullivan in the international blog, Artists and Climate Change. The exhibition is up until Dec. 19 at the Five Points Gallery in Torrington, CT. Three more weeks to see it!
I will be giving a Zoom Artist’s Talk on Friday, December 3 at 6:00 pm. Go to the gallery website at https://fivepointsarts.org to register.
https://artistsandclimatechange.com/2021/11/22/in-the-beginning-there-was-only-water/
Think About Water (TAW) is a collective of 28 international eco-artists and activists whose work addresses global water issues. The organization scheduled its first exhibition, also called “Think About Water,” to open on March 22, in commemoration of World Water Day. Originating in 1993, World Water Day celebrates water, calls attention to the 2.2 billion people around the world without access to clean water, and urges individuals to become engaged in efforts to combat the global water crisis. Similarly, the goal of TAW and its member artists is to “interpret, celebrate, and defend water.”
This exhibition, also titled Think About Water (TAW), is the first group show of the collective, presented in virtual space through an interactive VR gallery and curated by TAW member Doug Fogelson. It took place from March 21st—June 21st, 2021
Thinkaboutwater.com is a collective of ecological artists and activists who join together to interpret, celebrate, and defend water. Created by Fredericka Foster in early 2020, the website features a talented selection of artists, writers, and activists, as well as pertinent news and actions on various water issues.
The Written Image: Ice Receding/Books Reseeding
POETS & WRITERS MAGAZINE
by Emma Komlos-Hrobsky, Associate Editor, Poets & Writers, Inc.
Artist Basia Irland’s ongoing project Ice Receding/Books Reseeding gives new meaning to the phrase “living text.” Since 2007, Irland, who lives in Albuquerque and founded the Art and Ecology Program at the University of New Mexico, has created more than two hundred “Ice Books” from the frozen waters of rivers all over the world, each embedded with seeds. The sculpted books are intentionally ephemeral; their melting represents an act of renewal as the books disperse their seeds—and a reminder of the ice being lost daily in the arctic.
To make an Ice Book, Irland collects river water, then freezes and carves it. She embeds each book with seeds of native species, such as mountain maple and wild fennel, the “ecological language” that make up the book’s text. Collaboration with local communities is integral to Irland’s process; area botanists and other scientists lend expertise, but important too are the chefs who offer walk-in freezers for the creation and storage of the largest tomes, as some weigh upwards of 250 pounds. Together with these and other collaborators, Irland launches a book by returning it to its riverbank, often with a toast to the river’s health: “May you flow, and may you always flow clean.” As the book melts, the river’s current carries the seeds downstream to repopulate its banks with plants that will in turn curb erosion, support pollination, and sequester carbon. Irland hopes the books allow people to “understand on a deeper level the necessity of working together cooperatively to come to the assistance of bodies of water around the world.” As she says, “The rivers of the world need all the reverence and protection we can provide.”
(Photo by: Eduardo Fandiño)