Reverse Graffiti
Graffiti is one of the most controversial art forms out there since it defaces public property. Well a group of students from Durban, South Africa have a different outlook on the popular art form. What if graffiti artists actually cleaned up the walls by etching their sketches into the grime that already exists on them. They named this process, reverse .
I think that this is an amazing innovation to street art. It’s so dramatic and although graffiti has real attitude and personality i think this is a real strong competitor. Everyone notices street art what a great form of advertising this would be with no harm to the enviroment at all. This definitely has appeal. Is it the role of the designer to challenge traditional methods art for new contemporary ways.
some more sustainable art…
Just a few more things I came across on a website that i really like.
Some old vinyl records and combined them with wheat paste graffiti to create a new kind of urban fossil.
Paul Vilinski has rescued crushed beer cans from the streets of New York and turned them into a montage of flying butterflies. He took advantage of the nice arc that a beer can has and carefully cuts each to create each butterfly. I love the shadow the butterflies create on the clean white wall.
These colourful toys are actually being used as real life building blocks. Artist Jan Vormann took a team of volunteers across Brooklyn and Manhattan as part of the VOLTA art show to fill in the blanks with the building blocks of our childhood.
I love all of these eco-friendly sustainable sculptures. It’s really got me interested in sculpture i think i would like to pursue this idea further. I think that if you are trying to communicate an important message big is better, get recognised, get heard!
source: http://inhabitat.com/art/
Richard Long
Richard Long makes nature the subject of his work, but in new different way. He works outside using natural materials like grass and water which then evolved into the idea of making a sculpture by walking. Walking itself has its own cultural history, from Pilgrims to contemporary long-distance walkers.
Longs first work made by walking, in 1967, was a straight line in a grass field, which was his own path, going ‘nowhere’. Longs intention was to make a new art which was also a new way of walking: walking as art. Each walk followed his own unique route. Each walk stood for a particular idea. Thus walking as art provided an ideal means to explore relationships between time, distance, geography and measurement. Long records his in three ways: in maps, photographs or text works. All these forms feed the imagination, they are the distillation of experience.
Walking also enables Long to extend the boundaries of sculpture. Sculpture could now be about place as well as material and form. His landscape sculptures are on two ends of the spectrum they may be a built monument of natural material or simply leaving only footprints in the landscape. Stones from his walks can be used as markers of time or distance, or exist as parts of a huge sculptures. On a mountain walk a sculpture could be made above the clouds, perhaps in a remote region, bringing an imaginative freedom about how, or where, art can be made in the world.
Richards Longs work is not only a form of sustainable design in the sense that it does not harm the enviroment. He may tread down some grass photograph it and then the area is left to return to its natural state once again. But also Longs work defeats borders and boundaries. Who says that art belongs on paper or on a canvas on a wall in a gallery instead Long will create his installations out in the natural enviroment with the freedom of space around the art as opposed to a confined piece of paper. Long has a new contemporary outlook on art and i think its brilliant he has now boundaries his works are mainly spontaneous which is probably what makes them so thought-provoking.
As a designer do we have the role to create art in a new space, make people view art in a new way. The enviroment itself is art perhaps we should just sit back and enjoy that for a while.
Organic cotton
I have just recently brought an organic cotton t-shirt and I love it. Just made me think of being environmentally friendly : ) They are all over the high street and don’t even vary in price that much from normal cotton t shirts everyone should buy them as an alternative.
350.org
350.org is an international campaign dedicated to building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis. The campaign is designed to create a new sense of urgency. Why 350? Scientists say that 350 parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere is the safe limit for humanity whereas we are at 387 ppm.
The 350 mission was introduced with the animation below which as there are more than 4000 languages spoken around the world, words don’t always get the point across. I come across this animation on a random site and thought it was brilliant. It caught my eye and it wouldn’t matter what language which in my eyes makes it a successful piece of design with regards to their aim. It also reminded me of work i have been doing recently with isotypes.
Is it the designers role to be universal?
Recycled fabrics
An interesting example of reuse of recycled fabrics is that of Ashley Watson. She makes eco-friendly hand bags made from recycled leather that she finds in charity shops. This may be a great idea for creating less waste and the reuse of materials BUT some people feel it promotes the killing of animals, because it is still leather.
Is it ok for an environmentalist to wear leather even if it is recycled?? This is a product that sits on the fence between being environmentally friendly and NOT being environmentally friendly. It was once an animal killed to make a jacket but now risks being chucked into landfill so is it best to reuse and recycle?
With this issue im afraid im still on the fence. I do not agree with the killing of animals for clothes because it is not needed whatsoever. Yet if it is happening anyway this recycling method of the leather seems a perfect way to protect the enviroment from any further damage us humans create. As a designer it is our job to come up with a solution to a problem in this case the waste of leather and I do think its a successful solution although I would definitely prefer if the leather wasnt there to be reused in the first place.
Here are a couple of pics of Ashley Watsons bags. ( I especially like the features she maintains in the bags like buttons, zips and pockets.)
Fashion and Fabrics
The fashion industry possibly one of the biggest industries that could make a world-wide impact with its products. When it comes to purchasing in the ever growing fashion market place it is up to the consumer to put their money into eco-friendly companies who put the environment first. Aswell a this it is also up to the designer to encourage and persuade the consumer to buy the products else the environmentally friendly design idea will NOT succeed.
So what makes a fabric eco-friendly?? Eco-friendly essentially means “treading lightly” on the earth. There are three main factors that make a fabric eco-friendly: 1. The renewability of the product, the resource need to be renewed effectively in a short space of time. 2. The ecological footprint of the product, therefore how much land is used and needed to bring the plant to full growth and to support it. 3. The eco friendliness of the product therefore how much chemicals and pesticides are required in the growth and process of the plant before ready to sell.
Environmentally friendly companies usually also care about other factors such as: fair-trade labor NO SWEATSHOPS, sustainable goods in the sense that products made locally in order to use less fuel, animal cruelty NO LEATHER AND FUR and finally making sure the product is recyclable or even made from recycled goods.
Hemp 
Hemp fabric has the most potential to be eco-friendly for a number of reasons. It’s ecological footprint in considerably smaller than that of others. It also doesn’t require pesticides to grow, along with requiring no irrigation as it can survive on the amount of water in the average rainfall. Hemp has long fibres which makes it suitable for spinning with minimum processing. These long fibres are long-lasting which makes it incredibly durable and therefore wears extremely well. Hence less need to shortly throw away into landfill after purchasing. www.recycledsilk.com/hempnettle.html
Bamboo is a highly renewable grass, and it is probably this property that has resulted in its being classified as “eco-friendly”. It also has natural antibacterial properties and the fabric “breathes”. The resultant cloth is biodegradable
Recycled and vintage fabrics
Recycled fabric is great because it goes back into the market instead of ending up at a landfill. I feel this is a brilliant way to not waste fabric. Vintage fabrics are awesome and this method is definitely becoming more popular now in young people. Mainly because you don’t have to lose style but just gain more. Within fashion this is on the rise and becoming a new way of dressing. Creating your own statement with recycled fabric, everyone can essentially be the designer. I love it!!
Organic cotton
Anything created organically (without the use of chemicals like pesticides or herbicides) is always a winner. Organic cotton falls nicely into this category.
I especially think its important that consumers wise up to the issue belonging to fashion and fabrics. It is a huge factor in most peoples lives. A small change for some of the clothing you purchase to be environmentally friendly could make a huge difference to the enviroment. Now it is the designers job to design clothing that is appealing to the consumer using these eco-friendly methods.
Urban Farming
In the UK we currently produce around 60 per cent of the food we eat. The rest has to be imported. With a growing world population estimated to increase by 3 billion people, which leads to competition for land, an estimated 109 hectares will be needed. Along with climate change bringing extreme weather conditions food could soon be in short supply and cost a lot more. The argument for growing your own food has never been stronger.
A Potential Solution: Urban Farming Vertically
An entirely new approach to indoor farming must be invented, employing cutting edge technologies. The Vertical Farm must be efficient, cheap to construct and safe to operate. Vertical farms, many stories high, will be situated in the heart of the world’s urban centres. If successfully implemented, they offer the promise of urban renewal, sustainable production of a safe and varied food supply all year round. Along with the eventual repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed for horizontal farming.
Columbia university professor Dickson Despommier took existing greenhouse technology as a starting point and are now convinced farms within city sky scrapers are a practical idea. In their design energy would be generated by a giant solar panel with incinerators which use the farms waste for fuel. Aswell as this all the water in the entire system would be recycled making the plans whole complex sustainable.
A 30 story building with glass walls. On each floor giant planting beds, visualising as indoor fields as such with a sophisticated irrigation system.
Positives
- All year round cropping production.
- Minimal exposure to pests.
- Elimination of dangerous runoff into river systems.
- Zero food miles as food would be consumed locally.
- Practical way to address climate change.
- No shipping costs therefore no pollution caused by moving produce around the country.
- Free up cleared farm land to be reforested.
An interior farm for a skyscraper in the centre of the urban world. Well as 60% of the world’s population live in the city therefore doesn’t it make sense to grow within the city as there would be no pollution for transport of natural goods. The thought of growing within large vertical buildings may seem unnatural if it is sustainable and good for the enviroment in the long run i feel it is a great design. Urban farming is a prime example of design reaching and extending through the boundaries. Something unusual and normally unthinkable yet it would work and make a difference perhaps more so than just preaching about climate change.
Design doesn’t belong on “normal” materials it can be anything u can think even the intricate design process of an indoor urban farm and its sustainable qualities.
“Even if it’s not quite natural…..Youre going to get back the rest of the earth” Professor Dickson Despommier
http://urbanagriculture.wordpress.com/
Co2 Cubes
In Copenhagen, an art project conveys the hard facts about carbon dioxide.
Whilst trying to combat climate change, a multimedia art installation floats on a barge near the Tycho Brahe Planetarium to remind onlookers of how much risk is in the air. The CO2 cube is a structure 27 feet on each side that represents 1 metric ton of carbon dioxide, the amount produced by the average citizen of an industrialized country in a month, and half the total of the typical American. Created from 12 shipping containers to form the equivalent of a three-story building, the installation is clad on two sides with architectural mesh fabric that serves as a screen for video displays related to the impact and solutions for climate change.
Here is a clip from youtube of the cube in action.
The idea of having a huge structure in a public location for everyone to see is a clever design idea in order to communicate a message efficiently. The cube visualizes data in a different way to that of facts and figures it’s the equivalent to the size of an actual tonne of co2 therefore conveying the message so much stronger as the damage you do the planet is right there in front of the onlooker. Why should campaigns remain on paper and posters, this is a brilliant twist on an environmental campaign, which brings me back to the idea that the designer has a responsibility to protect the enviroment by producing such brilliant design ideas such as this.
Sustainability
What is the role of the designer in the contemporary world. My aim is to examine a range of modern practitioners with special focus upon their working philosophies with emphasis upon three themes in particular: Sustainability, Boundaries and Borders and finally Ethical Issues. This will enable me to value the diversity of these three themes for different designers.
Sustainability
Sustainable art work in the urban world is extremely important. I came across this piece of sustainable artwork that revitalised Brisbane car park whilst searching the web.
This piece was installed by Urban Art Projects (UAP) it successfully transforms the unsightly view from the street of a tall ninestorey car park with a further thirteen levels of office space above on Albert Street, in the Australian city of Brisbane. It turns and ugly car park into a sustainable visually exciting piece of art work.
The piece was invented by Jenifer Marchant who proudly named it “Landlines” It is created from 549 powder coated, laser cut aluminium panels all 1.2m x 3.6m. inspiration for this piece came from the idea of what can be viewed from the top of the tall building, therefore people on the street have the experience of taking in what the landscape around them looks like from the buildings point of view, all the beautiful contours of the main land around them. Essentially bringing the view from the top of the building to street level.
The design is unique as it serves an environmental purpose as well as just being visually pleasing and uplifting. It acts an a veil that disguises the exterior of an unsightly car park but also as a sustainable design solution. The aluminium panels work to naturally ventilate the sub tropical car park. This has reduced the buildings carbon emissions due to not needing the use of over £1million of mechanical ventilation systems.
Daniel Tobin, Principal of UAP said, “53 Albert Street illustrates the huge potential value integrated artworks can contribute to a project, in this case saving the client money, significantly reducing the building’s carbon footprint whilst also enhancing the public realm.”
“With this project we wanted to make visual connections to the surrounding landscapes which firmly route the work within its context and highlight UAP’s belief in site specific responses to public art.”
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