People bring awareness about environmental issues in different ways. Many artists explore such themes in their work and say much more through visual media than you can put into words. Their contributions deserve recognition.
Here are nine sustainable artists and how they support conscious living.
1. Agnes Denes
Agnes Denes is a Hungarian-American artist perhaps best known for her work “Rice/Tree/Burial,” which art historian Peter Selz has called the first large-scale site-specific piece with ecological concerns.
Denes is known for his inspiration from various disciplines, including psychology, linguistics, poetry, history, music and socio-political movements. She has numerous honorary doctorates from several institutions, gives lectures and participates in conferences at home and abroad.
2. John Akomfrah
John Akomfrah was born in Ghana and today lives in London. He is a groundbreaking filmmaker who explores the legacy of colonialismenvironmental degradation and the black experience. He is the founder of the Black Audio Film Collective, a group dedicated to celebrating black identity in the middle of British culture. His epic films like ‘Four Nocturnes’ explore the intertwined fate of Ghana’s declining elephant populations and political history.
3. Justine Almaraz
Tattoos are a valuable way for the average person to express their values in permanent ink. Justine Almaraz of Earth Altar Studio uses her unique insight into human psychology and her spiritual background to create unique designs that tune into the God/consciousness frequency. Her unusual take starts with an interview where she freehand draws the design based on what you’re talking about. Or you prefer bright colorscomplicated designs or optical illusions, she can finish your cover in style.
4. July Bolanos-Durman
Juli Bolanos-Durman attended several international art schools before settling in Edinburgh to pursue her life’s work. What sets her apart is her working method finding discarded glass artifacts and repurposing them to give them new life. By arranging them in stunning new, eye-catching ways, she shows how graceful it can be to turn trash into treasure.
5.Maya Lin
Maya Lin is best known for her large-scale ecological architecture, such as the Neilson Library in Northampton, Massachusetts. This building is also a beautiful work of art, with a… central oculus to take advantage of natural daylightrecycled materials everywhere and double glazing with special glazing to prevent bird strikes. An arrangement of walkways and plantings provides a graceful, scenic way to navigate the campus.
6. KT Tunstall
KT Tunstall is perhaps best known for her hit song ‘Black Horse and the Cherry Tree’. However, she has always had a strong environmental consciousness. She built an eco-friendly house, runs its tour bus on biodiesel and remains aware of the contradictions inherent in the system. She balances boarding planes and playing at venues with plastic cups by controlling the factors she can and using her voice to advocate for cleaner practices.
7. Allison Janae Hamilton
Allison Janae Hamilton works in sculpture, installation, photography and film. Born in Kentucky and raised in Florida, she now lives in the rural plains of Tennessee. Her works explore how the American landscape contributes to ideas about the nation how a changing climate affects social relationships about the American South.
8. Benjamin von Wong
Benjamin Von Wong is a Canadian artist, activist and photographer. His work combines everyday objects with shocking statistics and has generated more than 100 million views for causes such as ocean plastic pollution and electronics pollution. Projects include a 3.5 meter tall skull covered in electronic waste to make the impact of Bitcoin visible about climate change.
9. Ana Mendieta
Ana Mendieta is a Cuban interdisciplinary artist who focuses on sculpture. She is best known for her earth/body works, such as her ‘Silueta Series’, in which her body, and later its absence, is set against the landscape in a way that connects to the natural world. Her works continue to influence today, drawing awareness to the mother side of life and integrating organic materials such as earth, water and fire.
Sustainable artists and their contributions
Sustainable artists use media that go beyond words to convey important messages and reveal deep truths about the human experience. Celebrating their creations raises awareness while touching the human spirit and bringing more beauty into the world.
Author biography
Oscar Collins is editor-in-chief of Modded, where he writes about health and fitness. Follow him on Twitter @TModded for regular updates on his work, and subscribe to Modded Minute for more!
