Personal StudyHuman affects on Nature

In my personal study and project I want to show though my art work the human

affects on Nature. In this personal study I will look at nature inspired artists and

environmental artist. Within this I will analyse different techniques, mediums and

dimensions of compositions. I want to look at different affect we have on nature, for

example: global warming, deforestation, extinctions, poaching and captivity. Looking

at these affects I will establish which issues works best in a composition and see

which techniques work best to explore them.

I will look at three artist who I believe shows nature within there work show the

human affects within their work. I want to look an artist that have influenced me in

my art work as-well as linking to this personal study.

I think Nils Udo's work is a good place to start because he works alongside nature

and creates amazing sculptures and art. I believe I could gain ideas for my practical

work looking at Nils Udo's work because his work has in-depth meaning and I would

like to create this within my work.

Anselm Kiefer is the second artist I want to look at because from the beginning of

this project his name and work keeps coming into my mind when I think of the art I

like and nature. When painting I mainly just use paint but Anselm Kiefer adds

materials into his work to add texture and this I think would be a good technique I

could experiment with.

Alan Sonfist well be the third artist I will look at in more detail because I feel that

Land/earth Art is tan art movement which I feel strongly about, which best

accompanies my project, “Human Effects on Nature”. I believe that Alan Sonfist

shows this well so I will look at his work in more detail.

Nils UdoNils Udo was born in 1937 and is a Bavarian artist. He has

created environmental art since the 1960s. He originally was a

painter and worked in a studio but began to work in, around

and with nature. He went from painting nature to creating site

specific pieces using nature. His response to the surroundings

of where he is and makes it fit in with the environment. Nature

is his source and inspiration. n this project I am looking at how humans have affected nature

and this links to Nils Udo's work because he is creating art that

isn't harming nature and he shows this message in his work.

Nils Udo stated“Even if I work parallel to nature and only

intervene with the greatest possible care, a basic internal

contradiction remains.”

Nils Udo may have been influenced by the art movement Land

Art. This art movement is where landscape and the work of art

are inextricably linked. Land Art is an art form which is created

in nature using natural materials.

This image created by Nils Udo showing a person in the fetal

position, naked inside a nest. The nest is made up of long straight

sticks which frame the person inside it.

This image says to me that when we are born, we are pure and

part of nature. I get this from the fact that the person is naked and

there surrounding nature. The nest represents, to me, being born. I

really like the idea of this piece and I like that he doesn’t pollute his

sites of his art pieces but he edits from what he finds around the

site.

The fact that he doesn’t pollute his sites but re-arranges them to

create his site specific art work.

This image was created by Nile Udo and it is shows the base

of the tree with its roots prominently raised from the ground.

Nils Udo has dug away a square of the ground to reveal more

roots. This could show that the roots are delicate or vulnerable

in the ground.

This image says to me that nature is everywhere and not just

where you see it but underground in hidden place. I believe

Nils Udo wanted to show the vulnerability of the roots in the

ground of a tree.

I think the reasoning behind this image is to show the viewer

an extraordinary structure which is created in nature.

This image by Nils Udo shows a tree trunk with a split on the

surface. The split has a red substance inside it which contrasts

with the natural colours of the tree and the surrounding.

Plants and trees are not human but it does not mean that we

should vandalise nature and affect nature in a negative way.

The red substance represents, to me, that the tree is wounded

and dying. This could represent the human affects on nature. I

think the reason behind this image is that Nils Udo wants to

demonstrate that nature is important and without it we wouldn’t

be here. The most important part of this image is the red

substance because without without it, it would have no

message.

Alan SonfistAlan Sonfist was born in 1946 in New York and is an artist

which is associated with the art movement Land/earth Art. He

is based in New York and his first famous sculpture is known

as “Time Landscape” in 1965. “Time Landscape” took 10 years

of planning.

The link is the respect of nature, I believe that there work

shows this.

“My art presents nature. I isolate certain aspects of nature to

gain emphasis, to make clear its power to affect us, to give the

viewer an awareness that can be translated into a total

unravelling of the cosmos.” This is a quote by Alan Sonfist.

Name: Disappearing Forest of Germany

Location: Kiln Sculpture Park, Germany

Material: Aluminum/stainless Steel, encapsulated seeds

Size:4 x 8 x 2 ft (each)

This image was created by Alan Sonfist and shows three leaf sculptures

on the ground under trees. The name of the piece I believe explains the

meaning of this image. I believe the meaning behind Alan Sonfist piece

if art is that the forests in Germany are “disappearing” and he wanted to

get his message across in other ways other than words. I believe that

this image shows this message.

Leaves fall in autumn for when the trees look bare and this makes them

look dead in the winter.

The leaves on the floor represent the destruction of the forest and this

comes across in the sculptures. Also the leaves are not coloured which

suggest to me that this means that the leaves, once fallen, are lifeless

and the lack of colour shows this.

I think the sculptures are bigger and, almost, abstract than the size of

normal leaves to make a statement and I believe it has.

Name: Pool of Earth

Location: Lewistown, New York

Material: indigenous stone and earth

Size: 50 ft. Diameter x 1 meter high

This piece of art was created by Alan Sonfist which shows lifeless

ground with a circle of “indigenous stone” and inside wild flowers. This

image represents to me that nature can exist anywhere, even in a place

which you would not think of (Chemical waste dump).

I think the main subject in this image is the life inside the circle because

it provides the meaning behind the image. The contrast between the

stone, flowers and the ground highlights this.

The title “Pool of Earth” really contributes to this image because it helps

the viewer to think about the earth as nature. The circular shape of the

leave I believe was create to represent the earth.

Name: Endangered Forest of the East, Fall

Materials: Mixed Media

Date: 1990

Size: 42 x 60 in.

This image was created by Alan Sonfist and is of a forest and the colour

seems to be an important part in this piece of art. The name of this piece

suggests that this image was created to shows the beauty of an

“Endangered Forest”. The name has the strongest link to my theme

because it shows the negativeeffects on nature were properly man

made.

The colours in this image I think show the beauty in this image because

the colours are bright and vibrant and make the image more interesting.

There is a photo-joiner affect to the image and I think this represents the

forest needs putting back together like a puzzle. (David Hockney is well

known for photo-joiners. It’s where you use two or more images to

create another).

Anselm KieferAnselm Kiefer was born in 1945 and is a German painter and

sculptor. His work has been exhibited in museums around the

world. The work he produced is usually made up of straw, ash,

clay, lead and shellac (shellac is a resin melted into thin flakes,

used for varnish). Paul Celan poem has influenced Anselm

Kiefer in his work by introducing and developing the theme of

German history and the horror of the Holocaust.

Some of his work has involved nature in it but the main reason

I wanted to look at Anselm Kiefer is the technique he maily

uses in his paintings. The texture he creates in his paintings is

really interesting I wanted to look at it in more detail and to see

how he creates this texture.

“Buying art is not understanding art” This is a quote by Anselm

Kiefer and I think this says a lot about the meaning of art. I

believe art should have a meaning and creating art is a

personal way to express your thoughts and feelings.

This image was created by Anselm Kiefer and it shows an old

railway which looks deserted. Anselm Kiefer has created this image

making the image look old and broken which correlates with the

railway. The image seems to have a 3D look to it because of the

raised and textured surface of the image. The railway creates a

sense of depth in the image because in the background the railway

narrows towards the back of the image.

This image represents to me death and destruction because of the

dull colours, the rough looking texture of the image and also the

content of the image being an old railway that doesn’t look in use.

This image links to my theme because it shows destruction and this

image looks like it was probably destroyed by humans.

Bohemia Lies by the Sea, 1996

Oil, emulsion, shellac, charcoal, and powdered paint on burlap; Overall: 75 1/4 x 221 in.

(191.1 x 561.3 cm); 2 panels, each: H. 75 1/4 x 110 1/2 in. (191.x 280.7 cm)

This image was also created by Anselm Kiefer and it shows a

path though a field of flowers. The path is in the centre of the

foreground creating depth in the image because it decreases in

size as it gets further from the foreground.

The piece has a texture to it which makes the image look more

realistic and this seems to be a technique which Anselm Kiefer

is most known for. I think the main focus in this image is the

path because it’s the first thing which I see. I think the path has

some meaning behind the image because it’s the main focus.

This image links to my theme because the it shows a field of

flowers and the path could represent the destruction of nature

because the path is probably man made.

The range of different mediums that he used to create this

image is really interesting because there not things that you

would usually use to create a painting.

2012

Oil, emulsion, acrylic, on photograph on canvas

110 1/4 x 149 5/8 inches (280 x 380 cm )

This image by Anselm Kiefer depicts a meadow of flowers. In the

foreground there are flowers close up and in the background the flower

become smaller to create depth. The colours in the image are very dull

apart from a couple of bright colours from the flowers. This image has

texture and this makes the close up part of the image more realistic.

The image has some small writing on it and this is something Anselm

Kiefer does often. The writing could be explaining the image or

describing the image.(quotes in German)

I think the little parts of the image that have bright colours represents

nature and the dull represent what humans are doing to nature and the

destruction the war has.

Bibliography

http://artquotes.robert genn.com/auth_search.php?authid=4306#.UsRvTazuPbI

http://ecologicalart.org/nilsudo.html

http://www.sculpture.org/documents/scmag99/sept99/nils/nils.shtml

http://www.alansonfist.com/biography/index.html