ART + THE ENVIRONMENT
Humans’ relationship with nature has been a central subject for artists for many years. For many modern and contemporary artists, the environment has been at the forefront. The works included in this selection attest to their engagement with multiple approaches—from paintings and prints to photography and video—to examine and question how we relate to nature. These artworks represent multiple perspectives that encompass activism, personal stories, public health events, global practices, and local issues. From traditional representations of nature as sublime— beautiful and threatening simultaneously—to more timely and urgent expressions of concern for the state of our natural resources, these images contend with the legacy of dominant narratives about land ownership and embrace a contemporary, critical lens through which one can examine the impact of these issues today.
Hellen van Meene (Dutch, b. 1972)
TIME magazine commissioned Helen van Meene to photograph Greta Thunberg, the climate change activist, during one of Thunberg’s school strikes in 2019. Now named in TIME’s “100: The World’s Most Influential People,” Thunberg’s influence resonates with old and young audiences worldwide. Depicted in a green dress selected by the photographer to symbolize life, the figure contrasts with her bleak surroundings that represent the possible future of her generation if the world does not act.
Accession Number: 2019.2.21
Title: Greta Thunberg, Stockholm
Date: 2019
Medium: Chromogenic print
Rights: © “Hellen van Meene”. Image courtesy of the artist and Yancey Richardson, New York
KEYWORDS
environment; activism; climate change; leadership; carbon footprint; environmentalism. VIEW
OBJECT FILE
Frances Gallardo (Puerto Rican, b. 1984)
Frances Gallardo studies scientific and meteorological data to create works that explore natural phenomena and its relation to culture and history. This work is part of her Hurricane Series, a body of work Gallardo has been developing since 2009 that explores hurricanes as natural, cultural, and historical events. The piece is informed by satellite imagery, the tradition of bobbing lace weaving in Puerto Rico, and the artist’s relationship with family members.
Accession Number: 2021.90
Title: Javier
Date: 2021
Medium: Collage, embroidery, color pencil and graphite on cut paper
Rights: Image courtesy of the artist
KEYWORDS hurricanes; environment; meteorology; nature; technology; Caribbean; data; research; environmentalism.
VIEW OBJECT FILE
James Buttersworth (American, b. England, 1817-1894)
Born and trained in England, James Edward Buttersworth emigrated to the United States around 1845. Marine painting was popular among the American mercantile elite, who desired portraits of their vessels and dramatic representations of successful survival of storms. Accuracy in the representations of ships and weather conditions was important. Following this convention, Buttersworth shows the Rock of Gibraltar looming over a ship, its sails furled as it heads into the forbidding blackness of the storm.
Accession Number: 2019.10
Title: Black Squall at Gibraltar
Date: ca. 1855
Medium: Oil on artist’s board
Rights: Public domain
KEYWORDS
environment; marine painting; storms; dramatic; emotion; powerful; nature; threat; sublime; environmentalism.
VIEW OBJECT FILE
James McNeil Whistler (American, 1834-1903)
American artist James McNeil Whistler moved to London in 1859. That summer was the second in the ongoing public health disaster known as The Great Stink. Approximately 250 tons of raw sewage and chemicals were dumped into the river—London’s main source of water, causing several cholera epidemics. By 1875 the city built a new sewer system allowing for clear waters as part of modernization efforts. Here, Whistler captures the river as the focal point.
Accession Number: 2016.50
Title: Little Putney Bridge
Date: 1879
Medium: Etching on paper
Rights: Public domain
KEYWORDS environment; public health; sewage; London; chemicals; epidemic; modernization; man-made disaster; environmentalism.
VIEW OBJECT FILE
Elias Sime (Ethiopian, b. 1968)
Ethiopian artist Elias Sime creates abstract works from discarded electronic waste he buys in recycling markets in Ethiopia. His work is labor intensive; he disassembles computer parts and other electronics to reconfigure them to create elaborate patterns. This work is part of a series that addresses the balance between technology and its environmental impact. Sime’s compositions suggest aerial views, topographical formations, and organic shapes, emphasizing our interconnectedness to each other and the earth.
Accession Number: 2021.1.7
Title: Tightrope: Under the Stars
Date: 2020
Medium: Reclaimed electronic components and wires on panel
Rights: © Elias Sime. Courtesy the artist and James Cohan, New York
KEYWORDS
environmentalism; electronics; technology; recycling; labor; environment; interconnectedness.
VIEW OBJECT FILE
Mel Chin (American, b. 1951)
Mel Chin addresses issues of social concern. In this video, Chin follows the Inuit Hunter Jens Danielsen as he is pulled through Paris by a team of poodles. Danielsen traveled to Paris from Greenland during the 2015 Paris CO21 Climate Conference to advocate for increased awareness on climate change. His community witnessed the rising temperatures and sea levels, and this film considers how changes in the Arctic impact the environment in Paris and beyond.
Accession Number: 2019.2.15
Title: The Arctic is Paris (L’arctique es Paris)
Date: 2015
Medium: Digital video
Rights: © Mel Chin
KEYWORDS environment; climate change; activism; advocacy; awareness; global warming; inequity; environmentalism.
VIEW OBJECT FILE
ADDITIONAL WORKS
Nathan Budoff, Cosmic Love, 2017
Gerolamo Bassano, Noah’s Ark, 1606-1607
Robert Havell after John Hames Audubon, Red-Breasted Mergansers, 1838
Amer Kobaslija, Red Tide, 2019
Firelei Báez, An Open Horizon (or the stillness of a wound), 2019
Antonio Martorell, ¿Quéslaque? Es que la…, 2018
Hiroshi Sugimoto, Manatee, 1994
Juan Travieso, Lonesome George, 2013
