Critical Messages: Contemporary Northwest Artists on the Environment

by: Sarah Clark - Langager Critical Messages examines the key environmental issues that face our region and the many ways contemporary Northwest artists are responding to those issues in their artwork. Environmental art is a new kind of mirror, a reflection of our past and a crystal ball holdig visions of the future.In their approach to environmental concerns, some contemporary artists face critical issues head on: growth management as seen in urban/rural conflict; the connection of transportation and urban sprawl; contested sources of energy; mass production and consumption; toxic management of land, watersheds, and waters; and dramatic climate change. Others accent environmental values such as preservation of wilderness and wetlands, sustainability, and biodiversity; some even work this interest interst out through the strategy of artist and nature as co-agents. Finally, some artists have chosen to enhance the impact of current conditions and challenges by capturing their apocalyptic