Lesson 4 Painting Our World Greener
Art & Our Environment
While art ____ stir up a sense of beauty in us, it can also draw a spirited reaction from the public.
An excellent artistic piece can communicate ____ message to us and even change our ways of looking at our surroundings.
That is why art has played an essential role in addressing social and global ____ throughout history.
Let us ____ a look at a few modern artworks that address environmental issues.
The first art piece is a photograph by Benjamin Von ____
His artworks rally ____ around environmental actions.
In the photo on the ____ titled Turn Off the Plastic Tap, 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 ____ delivered in plastic packaging.
Also, the clothes you are wearing must be, at least ____ part, made of plastic.
Dependence on plastic is built into the supply chain, so the individual consumer finds it harder ____ harder to opt out.
Of course, you can choose not to ____ products containing plastic, but that only goes so far.
I think it is important for you to inform your friends and family of the issue because at the end of the day, you know, companies and governments can’t ignore the ____ of the consumers.
At the same time, we also need to pressure governments and ____ to do the right thing.”
Forget Me Not
The next piece, titled Forget Me Not, is Jenny Kendler’s ____ love letter to the sea.
She ____ an old boom box with various shells, which took her a year to collect.
The boom box plays something you may regard as ____ ocean sounds.
____ are actually what she recorded as she had one of her baby teeth dissolve in acid.
She wanted us to think of what sea creatures might go through one day if ____ continue burning fossil fuels carelessly.
As the ocean absorbs more and more carbon ____ it becomes more and more acidic.
Under this condition, the hard shells of many marine species ____ dissolve.
Kendler says, “I wanted to inspire people to raise their own awareness about what they can actually do as individuals, but at the same ____ I hoped to encourage collective action and collective responsibility.
One thing that art can do really well is to ____ us imagine how the world might be otherwise.
Certainly, we can’t get to a different place if ____ can’t imagine it.”
Homestead
The ____ below, titled Homestead, is a painting by Jon Ching.
____ of 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 no longer see how we ____ in.
Instead of helping nature thrive, we are ____ consuming it,” says Ching.
One cannot help but smile at his paintings, which are rich in color ____ tenderness.
One of the fun aspects of his work is how he ____ the features of one life form with those of another.
“I’ve been using my work as a means of commenting on issues and ____ I’m heavily interested in.
I find it necessary to express a silver lining rather than just reflect on ____ wrong.
I want to show that everything is connected ____ that protecting nature is actually protecting us.
My call to action is to remember the magic and wonder ____ this planet.”
Art can strike up conversations about the environment, but more importantly, it can also make a great difference ____ inspiring us to take action.
The following words from Andy Warhol, an American ____ artist, ring especially true in this context.
“They always say time changes things, ____ you actually have to change them yourself.”