We have all experienced, in our lifetimes, a seismic shift that has transformed human behavior and human consciousness, business and religion, entertainment and statesmanship, morality and functionality, romance and parenting, and – what is most significant in the present context – art and education. I am, of course, referring to the encroachment of electronics into every facet to human existence.  It is difficult to refer to this shift in the past tense since its reverberations continue undiminished. Indeed, they receive new impetus during each market cycle when speedier, mightier, more applicationed, and more networked devices are regularly introduced. Despite the anticipation and media attention that surround these events, our culture expects electronic innovation. It constitutes the current norm.

Humanity stands on a precarious brink as a new seismic wave surges across the globe. We will either tumble down the precipice of our own environmental indiscretions, or we will rise to the challenges posed by sustainable mandates. As has frequently been observed, it may be as difficult for us to imagine a sustainable society as it was for our ancestors to envision the petroleum-based, industrial society we currently occupy. Indeed, sustainable values and behaviors are so unlike recent experience that mapping humanity’s future through the 21^st century and beyond demands explorers, survey teams, researchers, visionaries, pioneers, and settlers. Most importantly, it needs educators and artists to help design and establish an enduring model for humanity.

The greatest barriers to erecting a sustainable society are habits and expectations that currently prevail. I am seeking strategies for college art instruction to contribute to the severing that precedes restructuring, and the introduction of new foundational values and practices that precede sustainability. These proposals must attempt to apply humanity’s privileges and responsibilities to be practice of art-making. What does this entail? They strive to go beyond ‘less harmful’. They even go beyond ‘not harmful’.  They aspire to include ‘benefit’. But even benefiting humanity may not suffice. It might include ‘restoration’ to undo past disturbances and ‘regeneration’ to compensate for past depletions.

Be first to comment this article | Add as favourites (34) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 137

Eco-consciousness is often referred to in terms of empathy, reverence, and morality. I believe it may have a less metaphysical source within the physiology of our bodies. Likewise, I do not believe eco-consciousness can be gained exclusively through education or statistical evidence. A much more elemental experience serves this purpose – the alignment of our thighs, pelvis, chest, and shoulders. Let me explain.

Plumb line posture is unique to humans. We, alone, stand secured to the earth and immersed in the clouds. If our bodies are perfectly aligned, as if hanging straight from the top most tip of our skulls, we gain strength through relaxation. Cooperating with gravity grants us security.  We are not weakened by yielding to this almighty force, we are strengthened by it. Earth energies rise freely, entering our bodies, making us vital, and we are bonded to our planet.

The stoop, the slump, the overextension are postures of weakness. This weakness must be overcome if we are to stand erect. Compensation takes the form of tensioned muscularity which barricades us from the dynamic systems in our midst.  Such resistance isolates us. We sacrifice the empowering reciprocity with our planet that lies at the core of eco-consciousness.

Be first to comment this article | Add as favourites (34) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 159

Among my acquaintances, a communal groan of disapproval can be heard regarding processed food (unnatural), chemically-based vitamins (unnatural), commercial pesticides and fertilizers (unnatural), red or turquoise toothpaste (unnatural).

At the same time, they extol the virtues of going ‘natural’, communal groans are also induced by cockroaches in the pantry (natural), foxes digging their teeth into baby bunnies (natural), ticks lurking in the tall grasses (natural), well water (natural), slaughtering chickens for dinner (natural), and exposure to sunlight (natural).

Yesterday, at a gathering of women, I collided with additional evidence that approval/disapproval ratings are not derived from natural/unnatural criteria.  I exalted natural menopause, summoning all the life-affirming, soul-fulfilling, healthful benefits typically associated with natural childbirth. Why, I asked, would anyone want to medicate away the experience of such an elemental life transition, the sign of health, confirmation of the grace of simply being alive, and passage to a new status with its unique privileges and responsibilities.

I was  greeted by yet another consensus – shock and disbelief.

Be first to comment this article | Add as favourites (38) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 185

There is no uncertainty; this is really me, last week, in Werner Heisenberg’s  bathtub at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen. This is where he retreated when he confronted mind-numbing bafflements while evolving his renowned Uncertainty Principle. A hot water soak and some bubbles seems to be all he needed to instigate another brilliant insight that would forever change the way humans perceive and interact with their planet. It makes brilliance seem possible fore anyone who has access to a bathtub and some running water.

Be first to comment this article | Add as favourites (41) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 163

The following is a lament for the disappearnce of wildness which, even more than the disappearance of wilderness, may be bankrupting the Earth and its populations with a source of resourcefulness, strength, and vitality. Even bears are growing lazy, as well as obese, on foods scavanged from dumpsters.

Here is a tale of lost wildness:

In 1797, a boy about the age of twelve was found naked and alone in the woods around Aveyron, France. He apparently had never before been in the company of humans. He was captured twice because he managed to escape the kindly ministrations of Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre, a local abbot and biology professor who took him in as a case study. Later, Jean Marc Itard, a medical student, devoted himself to civilizing the wild boy. The story inspired a remarkable film by Francois Truffault called Wild Child, 1976. 

The terror that gripped the lad suffuses the film with heart-stopping drama. Comparable terror engulfs civilized people when they venture into the wilderness. However, the wild boy’s terror was caused by all their comforts and delights - interior spaces, mandolin music, language, etc. The wild boy’s pleasures originated in their aversions - such as romping naked in the snow. His joyful abandonment contrasts with Itard’s persistent attempts to help this child claim his humanness. 

The first sign of the boy’s entry into civilization is, significantly, also the first sign of the boy’s weakness and discomfort. This triumphant transformation took the form of a shiver. For the first time the wild boy felt cold. He reached for a cloth and wrapped it around his body. He sought clothing and shelter! 

Are we humans made weak by our own cleverness? Are we inflicting weakness on Earth's other creatures?

Be first to comment this article | Add as favourites (47) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 187

Be first to comment this article | Add as favourites (37) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 167