A MANIFESTO for ART in an AGE of ENVIRONMENTAL CRISES
‘Manifestos assert a call to action to overthrow the status quo and install a radical alternative. For this reason, I have written the following text in the form of a manifesto.
Artists’ commit to examining all by-products of their material manipulations:
GOOD: Reduce energy consumption and waste production during art production
BETTER: Reduce energy consumption and waste production during transportation, packaging, and display of art, as well as art production.
BEST: Eliminate energy consumption and waste production during transportation, packaging, and display of art, as well as art production.
Artists accept responsibility for the environmental costs of maintaining their works of art after they leave the studio:
GOOD: The art work minimizes environmentally costly investments in climate control, archival papers, and storage.
BETTER: The art work eliminates environmentally costly investments in climate control, archival papers, and storage.
BEST: The artwork is either biodegradable or it is non-biodegradable but recyclable
Artists pledge to curtail the environmental impact of their studio waste:
GOOD: Temporarily divert discarded materials from landfills (e.g. create sculpture with used plastic bags)
BETTER: Permanently divert discarded materials from landfills (e.g. disassemble objects made from multiple materials so that all the components can be recycled)
BEST: All wastes are retained and used as resources for future art or non-art activities.
Artists will, hereafter, factor transportation of art ingredients into their material decisions
GOOD: Ingredients are sourced from within a 100 mile radius
BETTER: Ingredients are sourced from within a 50 mile radius
BEST: Ingredients are sourced locally
Artists will honor the needs of future generations when they select material resources:
GOOD: Halt practices that decrease finite resources
BETTER: Adopt practices that use renewable resources
BEST: Invent practices that increase resources (e.g. cultivate a medium)
Artists will henceforth apply environmental mandates to their tools:
GOOD: Purchase a used tool or repair a broken tool
BETTER: Purchase a used tool or repair a broken tool and share it
BEST: Use scraps and discards to create your own tools. Share them.
Artists will diminish the importance of self-expression and self-fulfillment in order to monitor the consequences of art production.
GOOD: Consideration is given to the current impact of artwork on the immediate environment.
BETTER: Consideration is given to the long-term impact of artwork on the immediate environment.
BEST: Consideration is given to the long-term impact of artwork on the extended environment.
Artists will attend to the impact of the artwork on the site where it is created and presented.
GOOD: Interference is temporary
BETTER: Interference is avoided
BEST: The artwork’s presence improves the vitality of the environment (e.g. it removes toxins from the air)