Camilio

BLOG 009

ECO ART, OR WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO GIVE BACK, AS ARTISTS
Subtitle:
Reflection on art that is truly green (or as green as possible) and giving back to the community.

In a respond to the question they asked me before coming to Sevan, Armenia, in the beginning of 2022, on what is ‘Eco Art’, I reflected on this question then and now, after being back from planting 404 trees in Sevan, Armenia in the word APAGA (future). My reflection started with realising I don’t necessary identify with a group of artists calling themselves Eco Artists, if they exist at all, being a group at all.

The google definition of what Eco Art could be, is more or less:  Ecological art is an art genre and artistic practice that seeks to preserve, remediate and/or vitalize the life forms, resources and ecology of Earth. Ecological art practitioners do this by applying the principles of ecosystems to living species and their habitats throughout the lithosphere, atmosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere, including wilderness, rural, suburban and urban locations.[1][2] Ecological art is a distinct genre from Environmental art in that it involves functional ecological systems-restoration, as well as socially engaged, activist, community-based interventions.[3] Ecological art also addresses politics, culture, economics, ethics and aesthetics as they impact the conditions of ecosystems.[4] Ecological art practitioners include artists, scientists, philosophers and activists who often collaborate on restoration, remediation and public awareness projects.

In which I miss: the artist himself tries to work as “green” as possible, thinks about the ethics and morals of the project itself and the ethics/morals of the country and/or people, organisations it works for. In which in my thinking Richard Serra working for Qatar (East-West/West-East, 2014) is not a green way of making art. And also, Damien Hirst letting a Tiger shark being killed in Australia, shipped to England and put in formaldehyde solution in a glass thank to create ‘The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living’ (1991) is even moralistic repelling in the since of animal rights ethics and shipping it all around the world to having him the personal pleasure getting famous and rich (if you didn’t know, he did this with sheep, lamb, another tiger shark, etc.). That Museum Louvre worked together with Abu Dhabi creating a sister museum Louvre in the capital Abu Dhabi is also not a very ‘green’ way of helping another country knowing it is all dirty oil money. Of course, there are worse and far more bigger polluters in the world, but the art world is supposing being critical, and I don’t see that for the last 30 years. Like the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam is getting sponsored by TaTa steel, ABN Amro (one of the biggest banks in holland giving loans to intensive farmers to expand their businesses (intensive cows, pigs and chicken farmers) even more, polluting even more) and Audi, which I think is something to reject immediately.   

With all this in mind, I got the extra motivation to start the idea of planting FUTURE forests world wide, which means going to all (officially stated) 195 countries and execute these plans. In the course of the project, I know I will find a way to travel around in a less polluting way than flying. For now, I stopped eating meat, after already buying more ecoclinal sustainable clothing for years now, resent fast fashion, fast food, having no kids, don’t use single used plastics, Pay Pall, Amazon, etc. buying more local and not stupid unnecessary stuff, voting green, never had a car before I was 40, etc. I also compensate generously my flying behaviour through TreesForAll.nl. Besides all this, I only can be honest abut the fact that I am a polluter as well, but not the biggest one.  In this mind I went to Sevan Armenia, going to plant far less tress than I initial wanted (5000), because I found out that the time was to short, but also the local water supply way to insufficient to do this. And if I don’t start with this project, I also will not learn how to move on in the future and how to improve my plans.

So, the APAGA FOREST was planted April 23, 2022 in Sevan, Armenia with 150 kids. It was an art work I designed in response to an open call (International Art residence), launched by EU4Culture further implemented by: Regional Development and Research Centre, Sevan Community Municipality, ''Sevan Youth Club‘’ and New Art Stage (NAS).

APAGA forest was sketched by Hayk Babayan and plotted with the help of his father (both architects), in an old soviet park near Sevan city, Armenia. APAGA forest was planted with 404 (196 trees growing on the side in case some trees die) pine tree yearlings (Pinus Sylvestris) and need growing, after 10 years, it will be more visible from above, after 10 to 20 years the expectation is that also the round around will be changing and without grooming the forest will expand and the letters will more and more disappear in the future process of growing (in the picture you see 6 stages of the planting and growing over time, approximately 15 to 25 years).

With the high deforestation in the world, the massive bush fires in California, Australia and the Tundra of Russia for example, exhausting Co2 is going even faster. For me as an artist to give back, is to make these super large installations, world wide, in every official country of the world we call earth, planting FUTURE forests, in the local language as a mean to keep on communicating, showing this is possible and seeding seeds in the heads of who is helping me. The real FUTURE, by the way, is not the word planted, stating FUTURE, but the forest that will grow out of it. And I believe that because it is art, the protection will be sufficient. Also, the way the forest will be planted is very important, as it will be done together with the community, preferable youth, with artists talks and all, making them fulling super involved, because they have the future, hopefully a greener future. This all sounds super positive and great, but it is also how to deal with my own fear losing the green world, and what to do about global warming with falling, greedy world leaders.

The forest I planted looks like a mono culture, with 404 Pine trees, but will be left growing on their own pace and no trimming, and are indigenous to the location. And I am in good communication with the team there, so, after 2 or 3 years, I will ask them to plant some bushes, flowers and other trees, that will go well together with the trees as well, to maximise biodiversity.

With biodiversity is meant, all species together (trees, plants, birds, insects, etc.) that, voluntarily live, on a piece of land. For instance, in holland we now have very green grasslands for cows, that are treated in a way they have less than 40 species, which we now can call green desserts. Then we have cultural forests with 300 species and food forests with more than 600 species. A food forest is a permaculture forest that also delivery crops like apple, pear, nuts, grana, fruits, etc.

For my future FUTURE forests project, I would like to get this permaculture knowledge more involved in my forest projects. As Co2 storage for the future is one thing, creating a bigger biodiversity is a must too. But this first FUTURE / APAGA forest was a big success in being inclusive with the youth, youth centre Sevan and the community of Sevan. Though a greater success could have been succeeded if I would have got more time, and could have more talks with the permaculture specialist. But besides that, I think 200 people in Sevan where very enthusiastic and my message reached them. Also, my sponsors, 56 of them, followed the process closely and hopefully some of them will stick with me and this project. Let’s see what grows out of this more.