Flannel Ethics in Practice

I made a collage of pictures I took when planting trees on Arbor day. Planting trees shows flannel ethics in practice. I added one of the actual pictures so everyone can see what the pictures kind of look like. The pictures illustrate how flannel ethics offer a rational and fun way to help the enviroment!

For my project to conclude this class, I have drawn two pictures that compliment each other. The first image is of a human face with tiger eyes. The second is of human eyes in a tiger’s face. The point of these pieces is to convey the idea that there are ways to communicate that do not involve words. I believe that the eyes are one of the most expressive parts of the body, and the kind of emotions and ideas that can be articulated through the eyes can be more meaningful than any words or sounds uttered from the mouth. I think that looking into someone’s eyes can reveal the heart and soul of that person and bond two people together. The reason I chose to show each face with the other creature’s eyes is to pose the question, “What if we could see the world through another’s eyes?” A common argument against recognizing the interest and worth of an animal is the fact that they do not have the capacity for speech. However, in emphasizing the eyes, I make the point that speech is a very limited form of communication and this nonverbal form can be much more effective. If humans could see the world through the eyes of a tiger and communicate with them, perhaps they would recognize the sentient being within, not the source of fur coats on the surface. Because of this longing for knowledge and understanding, the human’s tiger eyes are large and hungry. They are wanting and searching for that connection.
The tiger is draw with human eyes because, even though it may appear anthropomorphic, I think the only way humans can understand animals is in relating what they see to their own lives and experiences. Because of this, my tiger uses human eyes to convey his message. The right eye on the tiger’s face is open, expressing a willingness to communicate wisdom and insight into its life as well as an honesty of response. The left eye is closed and has a single tear falling from it. This eye illustrates the sadness and heartbreak involved in being treated as less than worthy of respect and compassion. If creatures could share eyes and find a common form of communication, imagine what we could learn from each other.

My work of art represents the class. The four larger corners represent the philosophers that we read as well as modern thinking. The inner four colors represent the four elements and the inner sphere represents the Earth. The black lines between the corners and the elements make them remain separate, however, the only thing that is not separated is the Earth which is an amalgamation of the 4 colors I used to represents the four elements. The upper right corner represents Ezarim Kohak. The blue and the green are mildly reminiscent of the colors on the cover os his book The Green Halo. However, the colors are interwoven in with the green and are intended, in their style, to somewhat represent his flannel ecological perspective. The lack f any solid pattern in this quadrant was intended to represent Kohak’s broad views as well as how many points of view he put forth in his book. The bottom right corner represents Bill McKibben’s book The End of Nature. Once again the colors chosen are reminiscent of the cover art on his book. The orange form in the middle represents the dead nature, like the canary did on his book cover. However, the red that shoots out around it represents its rising like a phoenix. This was to represent McKibben’s book because although he is grave about the end of nature, he is not despairing or melancholic. The bottom left corner represents Mary Midgley and her work Animals and why they Matter. The yellow base represents her encompassing philosophy of nature, as well as her covering of all the possible angles of a situation. The red flames wicking up represent her firebrand nature.
The upper left corner represents the modern world. The red, white, and blue do not necessarily represent America, but all the countries that have since adopted liberalism. This is also to represent the Enlightenment, because that was when man first stopped looking at nature as ‘mother nature’, as in the middle ages and the ancient eras. The rigidity of the colors is supposed to appear manufactured when compared to the flowing colors of the rest of the painting.
In conclusion, the Earth is represented by the orb in the center. This orb contains all of the colors used to represent the four elements. Also none of the corners touch the center, purely the elements. This was done to show how elemental the Earth was, and how far apart we are removed from it. The black lines that edge each section shows hoe some of the corners use the same colors, but they never full touch. This represents how each writer we have looked at has had their own very unique perspective on the question of ecological ethics.

The Human Change of Nature

This project shows how different aspects of nature have changed. The first picture in each series shows how the earth used to be before humans made their impact on it. This is what I consider the real nature. This shows how nature used to be so magical, gorgeous, and pure. In almost all of the series there is a middle picture. This picture shows what nature looks like with a small human impact. In these pictures, the real nature can still be seen, but there is obviously an artificial human influence that has altered nature. In some cases, these artificial and somewhat small impacts resemble aspects of the real nature. The last pictures in the series show how big of change humans have made on nature. In many of these pictures, it is very difficult to see where the real nature exists anymore. In these pictures, the real nature does not even exist or is a very minute spots in our artificial structures. Many of these pictures also show how we have tried to resemble parts of nature with our constructions. For example, there is a two picture series that shows how the highway roads we have created that look like tangled messes resemble the rivers that nature has created itself.

The main purpose of this project was to show how big of an impact human progress has made. Such progress has slowly been causing nature to disappear as more and more artificial structures take over. I found it very interesting how I could find similar pictures with different levels of human impact in them. What I hope people can take from this is to realize that we need a drastic change if we still want to have the real nature as a part of this world.

Artistic Piece

This piece draws from a number of sources from the semester. On a whole, it evokes a general feel of the dichotomy between the natural world and desolation and pollution by man. It draws from Koyaanisqatsi and the books regarding the pollution and death of the natural world.
On the upper half, the waterfall on the left flows with clear, pure water, implying an undisturbed and precious resource. The green forest to either side of the water is full of life and rebirth. The trees and bird in the upper right again show the nature that is endangered by the actions of man. The reflecting lake below the trees shows the lack of pollution, as does the clear blue sky with a single white cloud. The bird stands contentedly on a branch untouched by destruction.
On the lower half, a garbage truck empties its load onto a giant trash heap. The splashes of color on the dull gray of the plastics and other debris show the unnecessary waste of useful items and recyclable materials carelessly thrown away. Streaks of paint in the sky imply the scavenging birds whose only source of food now is the refuse of man, for all normal sources of food are dead or driven away. The smokestack to the right releases billowing grayish-brown smog into the air, across the clean, pure nature in the top half of the piece. Its polluting clouds rain down into the waters, smothering and dirtying them. The smokestack rises from the barely contained trash heap to spread the pollution everywhere.

The project that never was...

I decided to post a picture of one of my ideas for a project that never came to be, because if it had, I think it would have been really cool :) This is a Keith Harring-inspired social commentary on the way humans are impacting the environment. If you can't see (because it is really tiny in the picture), at the top of the hourglass is a picture of a pretty valley at the base of a mountain, with lots of flowers and happy nature stuff. This scene is falling into the bottom of the hourglass where a polluted, exhaust-strewn scene of factories is growing. The hourglass could be turned over and this horrible trend reversed, were it not for the electrical cords that humans are indirectly pulling on through the factories, where money spews out of the smokestacks. It kind of looks funny, because my black marker ran out of ink, but you get the picture.

Here is my project. I decided to do a collage of some animals in captivity and some of their art work since my artistic ability is about equal to Koko's. Some of the more famous animals on here include Christian the Lion and Jessica the Hippo. I also added some of the artwork that animals do. Some are from Koko and Micheal and some are from animals who are trained to do it like elephants and seals. In my paper I looked at some of the moral issues that go along with having wild animals in captivity or domesticated. I also talked about how animals in captivity are put there because they can make money for their owners, whether it be doing artwork like above or being "show" animals.