Lesson 4 Painting Our World Greener
Art & Our Environment
While art can stir up a sense of beauty in us, ____ can also draw a spirited reaction from the public.
An excellent artistic piece can communicate a message ____ us and even change our ways of looking at our surroundings.
That is why art has played an essential role in ____ social and global issues throughout history.
Let us take a ____ at a few modern artworks that address environmental issues.
The first art piece is a photograph by Benjamin Von ____
____ artworks rally people around environmental actions.
In the photo on the left, titled Turn Off the Plastic ____ he tries to highlight the fact that a huge amount of plastic enters the ocean every minute.
He says, “You can’t order a product online without having it ____ in plastic packaging.
Also, the clothes you ____ wearing must be, at least in part, made of plastic.
Dependence on plastic is built into the supply chain, so ____ individual consumer finds it harder and harder to opt out.
Of course, you can choose not to purchase products containing plastic, but that only goes ____ far.
I think it is important for you to inform your friends and family of the issue because at ____ end of the day, you know, companies and governments can’t ignore the interest of the consumers.
At the same time, ____ also need to pressure governments and corporations to do the right thing.”
Forget Me Not
The next piece, ____ Forget Me Not, is Jenny Kendler’s personal love letter to the sea.
She covered ____ old boom box with various shells, which took her a year to collect.
The boom box plays something you ____ regard as calming ocean sounds.
They are actually what she recorded as she had one of her baby teeth dissolve in ____
She wanted us to think ____ what sea creatures might go through one day if we continue burning fossil fuels carelessly.
As the ocean absorbs more and more carbon ____ it becomes more and more acidic.
Under this condition, ____ hard shells of many marine species will dissolve.
Kendler says, “I wanted to inspire people ____ raise their own awareness about what they can actually do as individuals, but at the same time, I hoped to encourage collective action and collective responsibility.
One thing that art can do really well is to help ____ imagine how the world might be otherwise.
Certainly, we can’t get to a different place if we can’t imagine ____
Homestead
____ piece below, titled Homestead, is a painting by Jon Ching.
Most ____ his work, including this painting, is a celebration of nature and a quiet appeal to humans to appreciate the world around them.
“I believe we’ve separated ourselves from nature and ____ longer see how we fit in.
Instead of helping nature thrive, ____ are simply consuming it,” says Ching.
One cannot help but smile ____ his paintings, which are rich in color and tenderness.
One of the fun aspects of his work is how he blends the features ____ one life form with those of another.
____ been using my work as a means of commenting on issues and problems I’m heavily interested in.
I find it necessary to express a silver lining ____ than just reflect on what’s wrong.
I want to show that everything is connected and that ____ nature is actually protecting us.
My call to action is to remember the magic and wonder of ____ planet.”
Art can strike up conversations about the environment, but more importantly, it can also make a great difference by inspiring us to ____ action.
The following words from Andy Warhol, an American pop artist, ring especially true in ____ context.
“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to ____ them yourself.”