WWF and Museo del Prado Reinterpret Art In The Name of The Environment
Ciao and welcome back to the weekly blog. Today we’re discussing a incredibly important topic. Artists have taken to their respective mediums to express discontent with with the state of a number of things in the world, and today we look at instances where art was used to send a message that what’s being done to the environment is irreversible.
From the 2nd until the 13th of December Madrid is hosting the 25th UN climate change conference, an event that is closely followed by media. This year seems to be the culmination of the efforts of the years prior, the younger generation seeks changes in CO2 emission and pollution-waste policies and has made sure its voice is heard. Greta Thunberg, the Social-media environmentalist that started the movement Friday’s for future, has established a platform for the younger generation to take part in these discussions. Her efforts in casting light on the current climate change and environmental situation are commendable to say the least. She reached out to the a crowd ignored by the archaic members of these organisations; children and teenagers, people that will be affected by these environmental problems way after current policy makers have passed. Their needs are simple yet no one has seemingly any answer for them. We want sustainability, - actual - sustainability. We want to have a future. Which I think is self-explanatory.
I believe that art has the power to communicate a sense of urgency that is lacking in our policy makers . This type of art, environmental art “re-envisions humans’ relations with nature and remediates damaged environments” and is part of a new breed of art. Many artists became part of this movement, which originated in the 1960s, in an attempt to convey their own perceptions of society and the ecological crisis at hand in their own language. Any type of media can be used to do this, anything from cloth to plastic. Artists such as Chris Jordan demonstrate how destructive humans can be, especially to our environment and its ecological systems. He is known for his photographs depicting garbage and other “products” of consumerist culture.
The connection between environmental art and the UN conference in Madrid came to mind when i saw the project from the WWF and the Museo del Prado in Madrid. They joined forces to create a project around showing the potential damage that has been done and where it could lead. Well-known art pieces were altered into chaotic dystopias. These before-and-after pieces managed to combine art with a cause, enabling us to visualize the worst-case scenarios that our future might hold. Furthermore, it demonstrates how the art world is used as a serious modern channel to confront topics of social concern. Below in the gallery you can see some of the transformed paintings.
