Life, the universe and everything: The artist's book as a means of theoretical, political and social consideration of the natural world

Bodman, Sarah L.

Abstract

Peer reviewed conference paper given at the IMPACT 7 Multi-disciplinary Print Conference, Monash University, Australia, September 2011.

Nature and the landscape surround us and we depend upon them. Many artists explore our relationship with the natural world and society at large, and those discussed in this paper work predominantly in the format of the artist's book. Their work also utilises the Internet, performance, video and music to explore the wider questions of how we live in, observe, treat and understand our wider natural surroundings. The Canadian artist Bill Burns begs us to respect humanity, nature and wildlife through books such as 'Safety Gear for Small Animals'. His political works around Guantanamo Bay detention camp, and the accidental bombing of National Farm Seed Bank at Abu Ghraib, demonstrate the far-reaching implications on our current and future landscape. Angie Waller (USA) wonders why people assume they are in the most boring place in the world, and artists Julie Johnstone (UK) and Eric Watier (France) each use minimalist texts to ask us to stop and reflect for a moment on the small but significant changes that take place in nature. The Norwegian artist Kurt Johannessen has performed and published many artworks since 1984, that seem incredibly simple yet ask searching questions about the universe and exactly how we might fit into it. From requesting that artists, poets and writers telephone at a certain time and recite a story about the moon, to his use of humour in the book and performance lecture 'Am I a frog?' where he discusses scientific and philosophical theories of sense and consciousness to find out whether he is indeed a frog.

• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2013
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 70-74
• Book Title: Proceedings of Impact 7, an International Multi-Disciplinary Printmaking Conference
• ISBN: 9781921867569
• Keywords: landscape, nature, art, natural world
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/935975
• Publisher URL: http://www.publishing.monash.edu/books/ic-9781921867569.html
• Related Public URLs: http://www.uwe.ac.uk/sca/research/cfpr/dissemination/conferences/impact.html