Art as a Tool For Environmentalism

Catalog description

We live in a critical moment of human caused climate change. Those who care about the Earth need new tools to communicate knowledge; one way to do that is at the intersection of art and science. This course explores artists who are successfully drawing attention to their environments, and the science inspiring them. Through written assignments and discussion we will dissect the tools artists are using to creatively communicate ideas about our changing planet in order to use these tools in our own work. Students will learn the aesthetics of design, create research driven projects, and make a series of visual explorations of Sweden. Using the immediacy of polaroids, students will explore and photograph the city of Stockholm as a learning tool for design principles. Diving into research on a species in Sweden, each student will write a paper and produce a linoleum print about their species. As a group, the class will learn book arts to turn the paper and lino into an exchange portfolio as an accordion book, ensuring that each student leaves with a beautiful collection of all the research done throughout the course. Each project will be evaluated equally on its aesthetics and its ability to communicate a message through visuals and text based compositions. This one month course is designed as an interdisciplinary approach to the arts and sciences. A background in either of these majors is not required.