Radical Nature Exhibition - Art and architecture for a changing planet 1969 - 2009
BARBICAN GALLERY 3rd October 2009
"The beauty and wonder of nature have provided inspiration for artists and architects for centuries. Since the 1960s, the increasingly evident degradation of the natural world and the effects of climate change have brought a new urgency to their responses. Radical Nature is the first exhibition to bring together key figures across different generations who have created utopian works and inspiring solutions for our ever-changing planet."
http://www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery/event-detail.asp?ID=8908
Tomas Saraceno, Air-Port-City. Henrik Hakansson, Fallen Forest, 2006.
The exhibition was a fascinating insight into the way artists and architects percieve nature and the effects of global warming, climate change and other environmental issues. What I found especially interesting was the amount of work on display by artists in the 60's and 70's, it struck me that although possibly artists were aware of the impacts and consequences of the way we live and the impacts our lifestyle has on the environment, it is only now that it is deemed suitable for public viewing. One environmental artist which especially interested me was Agnes Denes, her projects are a large scale and so stand out and really make a statement, the two examples in the exhibition were: Wheatfeild- A Confrontation, 1982, in which two acres of landfill in new york were planted and harvested as a wheatfeild. And, Tree Mountain -A Living Time Capsule- 11,000 Trees, 11,000 People, 400 Years, 1992- 1996 in which a conical mountain in Finland was planted with Fir trees.
I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition and it made me think twice about environmental issues and look at them in a different way. I found it very inspiring to see artists and architects taking notice of such vital issues.
