Evolving from Empty

“Recycling your water bottles is all fine and good, but your trash is nothing compared with industries’ mountain of garbage.” ~Joel Makower

When I first viewed this image, the color, alignment, and emptiness of the metal rusty barrels lured me to pause, discover, and reflect on the artist’s message in varying associative contexts. I contemplated water bottle production, distribution, and its isolated impact. My thoughts gravitated toward small recycled water bottles as small efforts with minimal global effect, even though derived from positive intent. I viewed these large empty industrial containers as organized symbols of the ignorance and detached greed they cumulatively represent. Individual efforts toward environmental sustainability, in all their authenticity, seem meaningless unless an industrial transformation is embraced. We must evolve from empty corporate propaganda, false efforts, and inaction; we must propel toward responsible, preemptive, and collaborative change at broader levels. I chose to fill these corroded barrels with diverse people, water, and landscapes, as well as recycle the letters/message, as a reminder of the immediate need to move beyond "empty" toward true sustainability and appreciation.

Original image: Chris Jordan, Mother Jones, May/June 2009, p. 60

-Midge

Waiting for Prince Charming

Changing your environment to a natural environment can create a fairy tale. The story in the original seems dismal and hopeless. The interior is dull, dirty and depressing, setting the scene for a tragic dialogue. By placing the figures outside in a natural, clean and beautiful environment, one wants to tell a different, more enchanting story. The sorrowful bride can dream of a happy ending. Simply being in nature can inspire a different type of story, engage your imagination, and create an escape from the ordinary.

Original image: James Stanfield, A Day in the Life of America, Smithsonian, June 2006, Pg. 20-21

Sunny

Absence Of Nature- Presence Of Greed

The image I chose is of a construction site. It is stark and lacks anything natural. As I look at this image I imagine what might have been there years ago or what could have been there in place of man made materials. The transformation of my image consists of making aware the consequences of construction on the environment. I collaged images of trees cut down, destroyed and torn up plant life. In the back ground the towers shine, dollar signs flicker in the window. Through the dollar signs I placed silhouette images of tree branches to represent the memory of what might once have existed there. A billboard looms in the background. The statement is disconcerting but if forest and land is continually viewed as opportunity for building and earning money, what will our children’s children have left to call a natural environment?

Original image: New York Magazine, July 2009, pg 27. Image: aptsandlofts.com

Jordan Lund

Wild Ideas

The original image was an advertisement for a new reality show about Jockeys. The heading at the top of the page states, "Win or Die Trying." The advertisement startled me because it advocates competition to the point of death. It also advocates keeping horses from their wild natural habitat and way of life. I am not against horse riding, but I do think there is a limit to how much we use animals for our own enjoyment - including hunting, for food, and for money. For these reasons I decided to transform this image into one that was in support of nature untouched, providing a voice of advocacy for keeping the wild wild and not controlling it for our personal, often greedy, wishes.

Original image: Entertainment Weekly. January 30/February 6, 2009 - #1032/1033. Page 15.

Kelsey

Rescue the Reef

When I first saw this image in a magazine I was drawn to the picture because of all the colorful fish and reefs. I then read the description that was with the image. I read about how pollution, overfishing and climate change are destroying the coral reefs. I was very surprised when I read that 70% of the world’s reefs may disappear within 50 years. I decided that I wanted to change this image from what it looks likes now to what it will look like if we keep ignoring the problem. I covered up all the reefs and fish with blue paper and added black to emphasize the emptiness of the water. I also added a red arrow pointing toward the word disappear. Marine life and humans will suffer if we don’t protect our reefs. I love the ocean and I don’t want to see this happen.

Original image: Nature Conservancy Photo, Rescue the Reef, AARP, 2009, pg. 57

Liz Swienton

Real Food Comes from Nature not a Can: Buy Fresh, Buy Local !

I transformed this Chef Boyardee Beef ravioli ad adverting that a bowl has an entire serving of vegetables in it. This might be true but this product also has a lot additives and preservatives such as corn starch, MSG, and high fructose corn syrup that I wrote below the original message. Therefore I crossed out the can of ravioli and added many brightly colored fruits, vegetables, and nuts all around. The ad also suggests folding the dotted lines together for a more kid-friendly message which says “no veggies.” The line “obviously delicious, secretly nutritious” gives further emphasis to the concept of hiding veggies from kids. Why hide the veggies? I think eating veggies is a habit that needs to be learned at a very young age. Kids can be exited about eating fruits and veggies by participating in the grocery shopping process. I added a picture of a mother and her children in nature to point out that true food comes from nature not a can and motivate families to spend time in the natural environment. I encourage parents to buy fresh and buy local.

Original image: Disney Family Fun magazine, August 2009, p. 23

Laurene

Free Bird

It was liberating to change the image to my own liking and satisfaction. I chose a still life with nature-inspired man-made objects, including: a yellow orb, a flowered chandelier, a studded red bracelet and a painted black bird.

I wanted to place these objects back into a natural environment with greenness, growth, plants, fruits, insects and other animals. I did this by finding images that fit my goal.

The bird became so happy in his new environment that he started singing. I feel like I set him free. Changing the image helped me feel powerful and constructive—and activist and artist.

Original image: Ditte Isager, Domino Magazine, March 2008, p. 107

Sarah B.

baby steps

My original image was an advertisement for signing up for free e-statements from my bank. I have always received my statements in the mail. I never really thought about changing over to conserve on paper use. Having a shredder I am constantly shredding junk mailers. Not only did I find the woman with the grass shirt appealing, I also liked the text at the top left of the card which read, “You don’t have to go to the extreme to make a difference.” I appreciate the notion of living to the cliché that one person can make a difference even if they make changes in baby steps. With this concept, I altered the image to illustrate that we are running out of time so I decided to use imagery of re-usable bags and water bottles. I also used the text “Let there be more Green Earth” to convey our responsibilities to Mother Nature.

Original image: Clinton Savings Bank, postcard advertisement, July 2009

Alison

A New City

When I first found this image in the National Geographic Magazine from July 2009, I was astonished at the environment of the city and cemetery in Bosnia. After the war in Bosnia, the city looks depressed and dark. There is little green space and residents are lacking fresh oxygen from the trees, and the city has no rivers or streams. I have transformed the cemetery into a beautiful, peaceful place with green spaces, flowers, and water. The city residents can now enjoy a changed place where the terrible memories of war are slowly disappearing. I want to tell my audience how important green spaces are in revitalizing a war torn city.

Original image: National Geographic Magazine, July 2009, Volume 216, No. 1 from "Serbs Face the Future", Photographer, Christopher Anderson, pg. 117.

Simone Kivett

get back to nature

The original name of this image was, “What the living do” by Marie Howe. I choose this image as one I wanted to change because this woman needed to be taken out of the 50’s and into present day culture. The subject looks as though her life passion is walking down Park street shopping for material items with her prize winning dog. Since modern day culture has become beyond obsessed with obtaining material items I decided to send out a different message. GET BACK TO NATURE! In the created image I placed the woman outside in nature. I took her out of her restricted clothing and let her hair down. She is now a free woman that does not need to spend money on material items to be truly happy. She is sending a message to look around and enjoy your surrondings.

Original Image: The Oprah Magazine, Marie Howe, "What The Living Do", 2006. Pg 45

Sarah

Media Remiss

Seeing a photo of Sarah Palin quickly reminded me of just how little our media actually holds our political leaders feet to the fire. Sadly, at this point, I expect most elected leaders to be devoid of ideas or solutions to our nation’s problems. This might not be a reality however if the media did its job of watch dogging rather then providing coverage that legitimizes these so called leaders. People is tacitly saying (or perhaps not so tacitly saying) that the figures create legislation that impacts every American are basically entertainers. The piece does not bring the reader new information; moreover it does not question Palin’s motives or decisions. I transformed this message by replacing the original text with text that brings to light just how poorly the U.S. media does it job.

Original image: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty, "Life is About Choices", People, July 20, 2009, pg. 60

Pete

Be My Mommy

This advertisement is for perfume. The image is of a happy family with a baby. I am sure perfume is their priority. Because babies are a hot topic in hollywood right now. The remix images are from a magazine layout of all that baby bliss. The remix focus is on the dysfunction around some of these unions. The halo around the child's head represents the innocence of the child. Featured are Bridget, Tom and Giselle, Michael Jackson, Angelia Jolie toting the tots, Britney Spears, Madonna and so on. You get the picture?

Original image: "First class seat", Macy's advertisement, Oprah Magazine, 2006, p. 57

Sheila

Natural Materials, Healthy Environment

I wanted to celebrate the wonders of nature and outdoors; walking, planting, enjoying the landscape of trees and gardens. I wanted to take out the watch from the previous picture and replace it with someone exercising and being in touch with nature. Also, you notice the woman who is walking has a smile on her face; the other one does not. I replaced her clothing with clothing made out of nature. It is important in saving our environment to use natural materials. Clothing, of natural materials, and walking outside creates a healthy individual and is better for the environment.

Original image: Oprah Magazine, May 2006, p. back cover

Karen Thompson

Welcome!

Dear Class of 2009 EA & Ed!

Welcome to our Environmental Arts & Ed. Class Blog.
I am very excited to view your Remix projects.

Good Luck!
Young

Home, Sweet Forest

Image #1 Original: Strip Mining. The original image sighs...please help me. The pulse of the earth is weak and one can see clearly from the photo that vitality and life is non-existent. It hurts to look at this image---a huge gaping hole in the earth, barren and depleted.

Image #2: Remix. Home, Sweet Forest. The remixed image appears to sing a song of harmony with a vital, vibrant and life-sustaining forest and lake. Without strip-mining, we can preserve our natural resources for the enjoyment of future generations.

Source: National Geographics, December, 1970, Volume 138, P.777

Meg

The Greater Good

My family used to invite military personnel home for the holidays or would ask a person from a homeless shelter to dinner on the holidays. My dad was an epicurean chef who worked at various large restaurants in New York and Boston and his idea was to share what we had, that he was grateful he could provide for six children and his wife. The original image came from the National Geographic Magazine of the 1990's and shows the World Food Day Anniversary which was October 16th. The Food and Agriculture Organization was created in 1945 as part of the United Nations.

My remix shows how we can make a difference in the world, not by just offering people food, but by being part of the community and sharing your good fortune with others not quite so fortunate. My idea was to make a day (or days) throughout the year to provide food to others in your own community. By sharing what you have, the ties to the community grow stronger and you develop a greater sense of what is around you and connect to that energy.

Meg

Plan-t

Here I have remixed a beautifully photographed plant. The original looks life like. I was drawn to this picture in a magazine "give and take box" at the library. The pictures were so authentic and timeless that I did not realize it was from 1985!
In my remix, I have surrounded the plant with the remaining colors of the Earth. These three colors represent: water, dirt, and rock. The green is simply all the living things. The remixed version leaf veins are 3-D, I hope they pop! The bottom leaf was hard to give an equally remarkable effect. I thought recycled aluminum foil would create a real presence. Sadly, I was wrong.
Overall, the plant has a new sense of life. The veins produce color and the background encompasses our life necessities. Life keeps keeping on here.

Source: Unknown

Stephanie

The Marriage of Art & the Environment

I find it disturbing that the media is focused on depicting the marriages and romances of celebrities. This picture perpetuates the “fairy tale” notion of marriage and, in so doing, repeats and re-instills in our minds all of the gender, racial, class, and cultural stereotypes and inequalities learned through reading traditional Western fairytales like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. There needs to be more journalism and photography in the media that engages the public’s critical thinking skills so images like these are not taken for granted, and so these kinds of injustices do not continue to be seen as “normal” or “okay”. I have chosen to remix this image to show the “marriage” between the Arts and the Environment! If I had my way, I would have also remixed their outfits to be less mainstream Western cultural as well and/or I might have even depicted a same-sex marriage. For now, I have chosen to provide this image as a suggested alternative to be included in Women’s Day Magazine so that women who buy such magazines can fill their brains with alternative things so that our social and cultural “environment” will be much healthier

Source: Australian Women's Day Magazine, 2004.

Diem Dangers

House Well Worn

There is nothing wrong with this picture, nor the man in the picture. It took me a while, actually, to figure out what bothered me about this add so much. I assumed at first that my money-poor student heart was aching after an apartment of my own with swanky windows and shiny hardwood. I finally realized, however, that instead of being attracted to what this man had, I actually wanted nothing to do with him or his bright, spotless apartment. What was so off-putting was the complete absence of this man's life in his apartment. Where were the stories, the relationships, the history, evidence of interactions with and connections to the world? Where was the inevitable dirt that rides in on the shoes and under the fingernails of a house's vibrant characters?

Tired of waiting for our hero to venture out into the world, I brought the world in to him. I filled his sanitary, sterile, static hideout with songs, conversations, voices, smiles, earth, growth, and life. Now seated at a table full of food and companions, he may hate me for my invasive impertinence, but at least he will have to encounter the world to kick it out.

Source: Martha Stewart Living, [Advertisement for Anderson Windows and Doors], October 2007.

Grace

Peace not Pieces

I did a double take as I looked at this picture - Kids having fun swimming, and splashing in brown murky water... uh and a bombed out building for a backdrop?! "That's wrong" my brother commented as he picked up the picture, I nodded in complete agreement. This is what peace looks like in the Karrada district in Baghdad- using these horrible memory-ridden empty bomb holes for fun? What message is this giving to kids? Where is the hope when your playground is a graveyard for fallen victims and dangerous structures?

Using images from outside, scenic backdrops and natural materials. I constructed a more idyllic swimming hole for these kids to play. The crumbling building gave way to a rocky mountain range, and concrete ground to a sandy beach. Now they can be kids, without the pressure to face adult responsibilities too soon, or the negative images and memories from the past seeping into their subconscious. Give them room to be free! fly a kite, to be entertained by native birds and animals, to use their imagination for life, not dwelling on death. The alternative energy windmills in the back are signs of progression and awareness of conservation for the natural world- things that these children will lack as they reach adulthood without the appreciation for nature. The one thing that does show hope is their energy and smiles, by fostering these
children's needs their future and the worlds future may start progressing towards peace.

Source: Newsweek, [This is 'Peace.' Kids Swim in Bomb Crater], 28 July 2008. Photo by Wathiq Khuzaie, Getty Images.

-Kyle

For the birds!

The original image is a Hitchcockesque experience for the modern seagull. Tis true, seagulls are not the loveliest of fowl but this is no life for any living being. Swarming a landfill and digging for edible treasure these birds are packed in like humans in a highrise. In my altered version, I wanted to offer these birds the cuisine and lifestyle they deserve. Fish and crabs in a saltwater sauce with a side of seaweed, all with a lovely view to dine by. Now that is a respectable meal for a fellow scavenger. Welcome back....Jonathan Livingston Seagull!

Source: Artificial Nature, ed. Jeffrey Deitch and Dan Friedman, [Image of seagulls and landfill], Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, New York, 1990.

Raye

John's 2nd re-mix

This is a commentary on the old "eat or be eaten" dilemma. We are both creatures great and small surrounded (in both the human-made and natural world) by other creatures great and small. We have endless drive to push, conquer, get faster, get richer and Get Smart. There is a price to pay for doing this. There is a price to pay for not doing it. The answer of course is more cowbell.

Source: Unknown

John

Hello Photosynthesis

This advertisement showing components of a meth lab is repulsive. Although it is for an art show, the message is still the same. There is a huge problem with meth labs around the country. Most are in neighborhoods with families and children playing right out front. The fumes are terrible and deadly, but you can't see them. It my remix, the meth lab components have been turned into flowers and water. They are outlined in yellow to represent the sun. The "fumes" you cannot see is the process of photosynthesis, which all things need to survive. In the background, are many things growing showing how wonderful the world would be if we would create gardens instead of meth labs.

Source: Modern Painters [Hello Meth Lab in the Sun], July-August 2008, p. 19.

Erin

Holding The Future In Our Hands

Original image from October 2007 dwell magazine

As human beings, our stewardship of the planet is shameful. We have reached a critical juncture and are literally holding the future in our hands. Our decisions have changed the environment, and even though Mother Nature will continue in some altered fashion, we will not survive ourselves. This remix is a reminder of life's beauty and our responsibility to care for what we have while living here. After all, we are only guests.

Source: Dwell Magazine, October 2007.

Kerri Schmidt

A Solution to the Pollution

The first time I saw the image of the polluted air and stream, my first reaction was complete and utter disgust. All of the life has been choked out of this stream due to the runoff from the local factory in rural China. I wanted to transform it completely, in hopes of restoring it to the time before the factory. In my new image the sky is a pleasant blue, the water is cleaned up and the smoggy factory has been transformed into grassy hills with a tree in the distance.

Source: National Geographic Magazine, [Polluted River in China], 2008. Washington DC: National Geographic Society. Vol 213 (5): 146.

Amy