Art & Ecology

My husband says that I tend to follow the same old ant trails in my travels. (Of course, he is usually right there with me.) One place I seem to return to is the intersection of art and ecology. The photos you see here were taken at a site I have visited a number of times: the Earthship World Headquarters outside Taos, New Mexico.

The Taos earthships, self-described as "biotecture," are sustainable, green buildings made with immediately available natural and recycled materials, such as dirt, mud, straw, used tires, glass bottles, aluminum cans, and the like. According to their website, "Earthships can be built in any part of the world and still provide electricity, potable water, contained sewage treatment, and sustainable food production." They use natural and recycled materials, greywater/blackwater systems, solar and wind energy, and water catchment and conservation.

What could be a better example of art and ecology? As you can see, the biotecture designs are fanciful and engaging, and the structures seem to grow out of the landscape.

You can visit the Earthship World Headquarters, rent an earthship by the week, take a seminar or workshop, volunteer, or apply for an internship. You don't have to go in person, though, as the website offers great resources that can be used for teaching, including demonstration videos, books, construction drawings, and lots of interior and exterior images you can share with your students.

Art & Ecology: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Curriculum is another rich online resource developed by Don H. Krug and originally published in 1997 on the Getty Education Institute for the Arts' ArtsEdNet, available now online. It includes an online exhibition of contemporary ecological art and curriculum resources for teachers with sections on environmental design, ecological design, social ecology, and ecological restoration.

I also highly recommend Art Education & Eco Awareness: A Teacher's Guide to Art & the Natural Environment by Heather Anderson. It has lesson plans and resources that are helpful for teaching art and ecology, and is organized by the topics of land, water, sky, plants, and wildlife.

SchoolArts' Looking & Learning pull-out resource this month also includes more images and information about the earthships and the people who create them.

Where else do art and ecology meet? Art teachers often seem to be encouraged or expected to have their students make objects from recycled and found materials, but I know we can inspire students to go beyond the obvious, widely known environmental concerns and issues to make ecological art that is also worth looking at and thinking about deeply. I'll be looking for you at that intersection.