Climate Change and environmental destruction are huge problems that cannot easily be conceptualized. The themes are epic: self-destruction, man versus nature, human greed and sacrifice. Environmental scientist can present mountains of data to the public to persuade them to change their errant ways, but these facts rarely portray the emotion and urgency of the situation. Art, however, can bridge the gap between science and emotional understanding. Art helps us grasp large concepts, teaches us about unfamiliar aspects of the world, and sometimes even presents a solution to a common problem.
By utilizing visual artistic mediums, The Canary Project works to educate the public about the effects of climate change by stirring emotion. Edward Morris and his photographer wife Susannah Sayler created this non-profit group to fill the gap between mass media and scientific communication.
Their work is visceral and sometimes shocking. A prime example is a series of Canary Project pictures displayed on the side of 45 Denver buses. The first picture is a dead horse that has been caught in a tree during a flood, the second image is a dead coral reef, and the third is brown land holding the remains of a melted glacier - the text reads, "This is what global warming looks like." Morris and Sayler are attempting to place their visual messages in as many different venues as possible including: museums, city sidewalks, and buses. Their goal is to use, "artwork that builds public understanding of human-induced climate change and energize[s] commitment to solutions."
Art can also answer questions scientists have about the effects of climate change on our landscapes. Scientists in England are studying nineteenth century artwork to see how the English coastline has changed over the last 150 years. Dr. Robin McInnes was viewing an 1858 painting by William Dyce in London's Tate Gallery when he realized that the detailed depiction of Pegwell Bay, Kent might be of use in his work as a coastal engineer.
Dr. McInnes notes, "...traditional Victorian coastal painting was the most accurate as the idea was to provide an exact image to take home." In effect, Victorian painters are helping modern day scientist measure the amount of erosion, degradation, and sea level rise in present day Britain. But the study of historic artwork isn't isolated to the British Isles - in Italy the paintings of Caravaggio are helping scientists assess water levels in Venice, which is steadily sinking.
Art can sometimes inspire a solution. Artists Matias Viegener, David Burns and Austin Young responded to a call for art projects in the Journal of Aesthetics and Protest to address pressing social, political, and urban issues. What emerged from the project was the collective Fallen Fruit. It began as an idea to map all the public fruit trees in Los Angeles and other American cities.
According to the artists, "Fallen Fruit is a mapping and manifesto for all the free fruit we can find. Every day there is food somewhere going to waste." They wanted to showcase the problem of hunger and the disparaging gap between those who have resources and those who do not. Now the group leads evening tours called Nocturnal Fruit Forages around Los Angeles neighborhoods to pick public fruit.
They say it is rare for a Los Angeles resident to use all of the fruit grown on their property so most people are more than willing to share. The artists are helping to inspire a growing number of groups who wish to plant Los Angeles parks (and parks around the world) with food bearing trees instead of simply ornamental trees in an attempt to fight hunger and climate change. Why have frivolous landscaping when you can have food?
Although artists like the founders of the Fallen Fruit collective do not strive for scientific discovery they assist science by educating and inspiring the public to change their relationship with the Earth.
Related Reading:
Oceans: Key to Understanding Our Climate
Severn Suzuki: From Scathing UN Speaker to Hopeful Grassroots Activist
