greenliving
gr
een
art
Eco-Artists
Inspire by
Giving Back
to Nature
by Janina Birtolo
A
rt and nature have always been animals—and I created a niche. The art
the closest of companions. Since world became a lot more interested.”
the earliest cave paintings, artists In 1983, Hull carved her first
have looked to the world around them water-collecting hydroglyph in Al-
for inspiration, subject matter and the bany County, Wyoming. These works
tools of their craft—pigments, brushes, resemble ancient petroglyphs (stone
shapers and stories. With the growth of drawings) laid horizontal, but also serve
the green art movement in the last sev- as artistic catch basins for rain, pro-
eral decades, the relationship between viding precious water for wildlife. By
art and nature has become even more the 1990s, the artist was constructing
symbiotic. Today’s eco-artists go beyond raptor roosts, to provide nesting sites for
taking inspiration from their surround- eagles and hawks. She has also created
ings; they give back substance that floating islands, owl houses, canoe
helps nature thrive. trails and “Migration Mileposts” to link
“Eco-art is currently getting more communities that share migratory birds.
attention,” observes Lynne Hull, a At this point, she has crafted works in
Colorado-based artist who has been 14 states and eight countries (more at
crafting sculptures that also create Eco-art.org).
wildlife habitat. “A number of people “Mostly, I create structures that can
are working in different ways, interact- replace damaged nature,” she explains.
ing with environmental systems on “The best time to put them in is when
behalf of conservation.” restoration is going on, so that nature
She notes that the eco-art move- can take over as the art disintegrates.”
ment began in the late 1960s, as Her work, Hull says, represents
awareness of the environment was eco-atonement, a phrase she conceived
just starting to break the surface of our to convey the importance of art—and
collective consciousness and the first humanity—working in conjunction
Earth Day was being conceived. Hull, with nature. “It’s the idea of trying to
who now creates what she calls trans- make up, to make amends for what
species art, turned “green” beginning in humans have done. It should be the
the 1980s, while living in Wyoming. responsibility of our whole society.”
“There was not much audience in Hull is far from alone in her belief
Wyoming for contemporary art then,” she that art can not only raise environ-
recalls. “I was making art about our rela- mental awareness, but also lead to
tionship with other species and I found resolutions. On Vinalhaven Island,
I had to ship it out to find an audience. I Maine, eco-artist Aviva Rahmani has
thought I might as well make art for the painted rocks along the causeway blue
36 Phoenix
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