The Art of Sustainability

For centuries, nature has been a subject and source of inspiration for artists. In recent decades, however, this interest has taken on more consequential implications, as artists and viewers have become more aware of climate change and related environmental catastrophes. The artists featured in this module address sustainability and environmental issues in their artwork, some through the materials they used in creating their artwork or the way they have depicted their subjects, and others through the subject matter they have chosen to depict. Some—like Ikeda Manabu and Nancy Mladenoff—draw the viewer in through their minute, detailed drawing style or the colorful abstraction of objects, respectively. Others, like Fabrice Monteiro, create a narrative to try to impart to the viewer current threats to the environment. Ikeda’s work was inspired by the Fukushima Daiichi power plant nuclear accident caused by a tsunami and Monteiro’s references flooding. El Anatsui uses found objects (in his case, bottle caps and wrappings) to create his artworks. While often directly referencing the environment, these artists also speak to different meanings of sustainability, including the continuation of cultural traditions and artforms, the continued repercussions of colonial exploitation, trade and the economy, invasive species, and environmental racism. Two of the artworks featured here directly reference Madison or Wisconsin; others confront environmental disasters and conditions in faraway places such as Japan and Africa. In this way, as a group, the artworks speak to the hyper-local and the global, the way the two intersect, and the impact of unsustainable practices on both.