Art 156 Intro to Studio Art: Art & the Environment
TR 1:30 - 3:20 Doane Hall

Professor Amara Geffen
A205 Doane Hall of Art 332-3379
ageffen@allegheny.edu
ageffen@alltel.net
Office Hours: Tuesday 11:00 - 1:00 and Thursday 3:30 - 4:30 others by appointment
Please use email to schedule appointments! If you have made an appointment and do not need it, please email me to cancel it!

Check your email regularly as I do communicate with my classes via email. This will be especially true later in the semester as our work heats up!

Erica Fielder, Bird Feeder Hat seeding the watershed

"The new role of the artist is to create an art that is more than decoration, commodity, or political tool." Agnes Denes, 1982

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Tentative Schedule
Course Objectives
Books/Readings
Links
Course Policies
Evaluation Process
Supplies
Honor Code

Tentative Schedule
Expect changes as this will be developed as the semester progresses...don't print yet! Check regularly as materials will be added!

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Course Objectives
The class is intended to serve the needs of the liberal arts student taking studio art as an elective, as well as Art majors/minors and Arts & Environment minors seeking a strong basis from which to advance to further studies. It is designed to introduce some of the methods, concepts and practices of studio artists, wtih special attention given to land artists, public art, community engaged art,and site specific art.. Our emphasis will be on both the how and the why of artmaking. We will pay special attention to understanding and generating works of art that respond to the interconnections between art and the environment, public art and community engaged practices, as well as art that attempts to respond to, address, or solve environmental problems. Environmental themes will focus on Natural Resources, Waste, Land Reclamation, and Sustainable Development. We will also explore questions of nature and/or the environment as social / political / religious / economic construct.

We will explore the following questions:
1) What do we mean by art? (Traditional and contemporary forms; some emphasis on Ecoart, environmental art, and/or Ecoventions).
2) How does art "work"?
3) How do artists "work"?
4) What do artists need to know?
5) What relationship(s) exist between art & the environment? Between artists and culture? Between the creative act and interpretive practices?
6) What do we mean by environment?
7) What do we mean by nature? How do we know what we know about "nature" and the environment.
8) How are our experiences of nature mediated? Who are the mediators? Politicians, "BIG Business", scientists, the media? Who is served? Who is in control?
9) How has what we can empirically measure about the environment changed over the year?.
10) What are the causes and effects from humans - forms of pollution, etc.
11) Can artist's help save the planet? (does it need saving?)
12) What can artists do to minimize their ecological footprint?

Our first task will be to build a foundation for visual literacy and develop general awareness of contemporary practices and issues.

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Books/Readings
Cycle-Logical Art: Recycling Matters for Eco-Art, by Linda Weintraub (the links here will not provide the whole book. You must purchase both!)
ECOentric Topics: Pioneering Themes for Eco-Art, By Linda Weintraub (the links here will not provide the whole book. You must purchase both!)
A variety of articles will be provided as well, some via electronic reserve, some via xerox where unavoidable, others via internet links in the class schedule.

Links
Eco-arts:
Greenmuseum - a virtual museum dedicated to environmental and eco-art
Ecoartspace - a nonprofit organization working internationally with individuals and organizations interested in creating radical approaches to restoring the earth. Using art as a tool, they aim to inspire communities into action when addressing environmental issues. Check out their links too!
Women Environmental Artists Directory
Community Arts Network - is a virtual portal into the field of community arts that provides news, documentation, theoretical writing, communications, research and educational information. CAN is a program of Art in the Public Interest (API), a nonprofit organization based in North Carolina.
Green Arts Web - provides resources for those who want to be more informed about the practices and theories of environmental art.
Austin Green Arts - "an entire artistic community that produces programming with sustainable practice on par with artistic integrity."
Healing Arts
Society for Ecological Restoration International - a non-profit organization infused with the energy of 2300 members actively engaged in ecologically-sensitive repair and management of ecosystems. Members include scientists, planners, administrators, ecological consultants, first peoples, landscape architects, philosophers, teachers, engineers, natural areas managers, writers, artists, growers, community activists, and volunteers, among others.
Village of Arts & Humanities - Since its inception in 1986, the Village has transformed a 260 square block area of North Philadelphia, one block at a time through a neighborhood revitalization program that has evolved into a major provider of arts-inspired programs including education, land transformation, construction, and economic development.
Social Sculpture Research Unit - based at Oxford Brookes University, SSRU aims to facilitate the practices of, and critical reflection on social sculpture and related fields of art and social process.
Forecast - Minneapolis based public art group
The Getty Museum good info if you search for art & ecology...etc
The International Sculpture Center
Open Democracy - link to article featuring ten leading photographers from the world-famous Magnum agency travel to twelve locations around the world, capturing both the impacts of global warming and the solutions – the best ways to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
Bill McKibben Article author of “The End of Nature”, calls on poets, dramatists, and novelists to open our eyes.

Artists:/art groups:
Erica Fielder - an eco-artist whose work includes ritual, performance, mapping and object making, highlighting empathy, connection and belonging.
Buster Simpson - early on did bioremediation projects for the Hudson River (River Rolaids) and more recently is engaged in public sculpture around issues of water.
Aviva Rahmani - eco-based artist engaged in land remediation projects and other collaborative works. Multifaceted artist who uses eco-art principles as well as traditional forms of visual and other art. Hosts virtual concerts with relevant and important themes. Worth a visit.
Lynne Hull - creates trans-species art and sculptures for wildlife
Susan Steinman - a community based artist who salvages materials directly from community waste streams to construct public art installations that connect common daily experiences to broader social issues.
Patricia Johanson - look at her project for Fair Park Lagoon among many others!
Mel Chin - learn about Revival Field, which uses plants to pull toxins from soil.
Ann Rosenthal - has a wonderful section on ecoart/teaching
Platform - works across disciplines for social and ecological justice. It combines the transformatory power of art with the tangible goals of campaigning, the rigour of in-depth research with the vision to promote alternative futures.
Joseph Beuys - this links to Beuys 7000 Oaks project, but Beuys is one of the most important 20th century artists you can learn about. Among other things, he is responsible for the idea of social sculpture upon which alot of contemporary art is based.
Keepers of the Water - Betsy Damon's work in China...focus is on water
Beth Galston - sculptor
Flight 93 Memorial - national competition for a memorial for Flight 93 - 9/11/01
First Pulse Projects - founded in 1998 as an art + science experimental collaborative and think tank combining elements of fine art + media production. reat images of strange weather...
Tree Hugger Project - artist collaborative team focused on site specific works using twigs and branches.
PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG SAPLING: TREES AS ARTISTS AND MOBILE ENTITIES. Nalini M. Nadkarni put brushes and pens on the ends of branches setting the trees up to 'draw' their movements, etc.

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Course Policies
See attached policy document. I will review salient points on the first day of class, but it is your responsibility to be familiar with my policies, so be sure to read this paper carefully. It outlines my approach/rules for attendance, grades, participation, assignments, critiques, etc.

Evaluation process:
Evaluation will occur informally and formally as follows:
· Individual critiques on a daily basis as work develops.
· Scheduled critiques of both in- and out-of-class projects.
· Impromptu critiques (individual or group) as needed.

Supplies/Materials
As your work evolves you will need to purchase supplies that may not be listed below. However, you will need the following, which should be kept in your locker and available for your use during each class. This is a basic list of things artists need…feel free to add to it as you see fit. Materials are available in the department's art store. Charges are not allowed. Hours are posted on the door.

Sketchbook
Drawing pencils or ebony pencils
Eraser(s)
Black, white and grey conte
Compressed charcoal
Drawing paper (you will need one 26" x 40" sheet right away. Others to be assigned.)
Rubber cement
Straightedges (rulers, angles, compasses)
Scissors - decent quality
Utility knife and extra blades
Variety of acrylic paints (red, yellow, blue, black and white) and brushes
Colored charcoal
2 - 3 Bull Dog Clips
Other tools and materials you already know you need to do creative work!

Generally speaking materials for the course will cost between $75 - $150. One of the reasons I do not require a textbook is to help you keep the cost of the course down so you will have enough funds with which to purchase supplies. You can cut some costs by using recycled materials - in fact one of the challenges of this class is to continually consider the lifecycle analysis of the materials you use to make your art. Are there materials with which we can work that will have the smallest impact on our environment? Is this something that artists should be held accountable for or be concerned with? If you answer yes, how will you enact this belief in your work this semester?

If material costs present a serious problem for you please see me; do not just decide to drop the course! Financial limitations are real constraints but must not be used as excuses. As artists we must learn to design ideas within a budget and figure out what sorts of sacrifices we are willing to make for our work. When all else fails, scavenging helps! Pay attention to things you see on trash day that call out to you. If something seems interesting, pick it up...it may come in handy at some point!

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Honor Code: The honor code is strictly enforced in this class. If you have questions regarding honor code policies, please see me. Anyone suspected of plagiarism, the most common form of academic dishonesty, will be reported to the Honor Code Committee. A clear statement of what constitutes plagiarism is provided at: http://webpub.allegheny.edu/dept/writingcenter/Links/plagiarism.htm

Assignment Policy
Assignments that are not submitted on the due date WILL NOT be accepted without formal documentation such as a medical note from a doctor. Arrangements for any make-up assignment have to be made by the student concerned within a week of the original assignment due date. Please do not approach me at the end of the semester with requests for make-ups for exams and/or assignments that are already delinquent.

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