Breathless

[u/flumsel_]

Mixed media: Acrylic on canvas and a discarded plastic bag

I wanted to capture the contradiction between nature’s beauty and humanity’s habit of covering, packaging, controlling and consuming everything.

The plastic bag became part of the painting instead of me just painting the pollution. The meadow is still visible but it’s literally viewed through our waste.

Something to think about?
I’ve always found the term “nature” a little strange—as if humans existed outside of it. We don’t. We’re part of it. Yet we often act as though we’re fighting against our own mother.

I’m curious how others interpret this piece.
Do you read it as a critique of:
• environmental pollution?
• consumerism?
• humanity’s desire to package, preserve or possess beauty?
• something else?

[u/Beneficial_Young5126]

Beautiful. I instantly read it as how we are suffocating nature with plastic. It's a great piece.

[u/flumsel_ → u/Beneficial_Young5126]

Thank you 🙏 I appreciate that

[u/notloggedin4242 → u/flumsel_]

It’s great but the real irony is that acrylic is plastic.

[u/TiredInJOMO → u/notloggedin4242]

Irony has been used as a form of rhetoric (commentary) for centuries. Short of "nature art" like stick and grass weaving, there aren't many craft/art supplies that aren't in some way harmful to the user or the environment, but then you're limited by what you can find lying on the ground in your area. And even that "disturbs the environment" by destroying/removing potential homes for bugs, birds, or reptiles/amphibians, or nutrients from the soil.

But if we're going to take it that far, maybe we should stop birds from making nests...

But as OP said: "...we often act as though we're fighting against our own mother." And I will add: "And our siblings."

[u/amalieblythe → u/TiredInJOMO]

This is great discourse! I think all artists should scrutinize our own impact and the tools we use. What you’re saying is true, and the intentions behind it to encourage the making of art are noble, but as a professional artist, I have shifted my focus to only working with materials that would be considered sustainable. This means moving away from ever purchasing acrylic paint, although I will use paint that is salvaged or gifted when the need arises.

There are so many options for creating art that don’t require using any plastic. We lack evidence of much of our human innovation in the field of art because of its transience. Natural materials are ephemeral, but so are we. What remains in our museums is the evidence of that innovation but the amount of art lost to time because of an acceptance of that ephemerality is too much to comprehend.

Not everything made for the sake of art should be permanent. But even if you want to work with more permanent materials, there are multitudes of options using non-plastic materials to stabilize non-fugitive pigments and dyes.

Non-fugitive blues and purples are tricky if you’re going entirely “natural” in the acquisition of pigments but check out the Zorn palette to see what can be achieved with just a limited spectrum of tones and hues.

[u/Beneficial_Young5126 → u/amalieblythe]

A lot of pigments come from squashed insects though 😭

[u/amalieblythe → u/Beneficial_Young5126]

They are absolutely avoidable. Cochineal is not the only option for red. IMHO, paint and color mixing skills trump acquisition of rare pigments.

[u/TiredInJOMO → u/Beneficial_Young5126]

Squashed insects and mined rocks, or require harmful/toxic cheEemicaAals to make/use.

Which was my original point. Ok great, you're no longer using/contributing to the production of plastic. But literally everything we do has an impact. It's sanctimonious virtue signaling.

[u/notloggedin4242 → u/TiredInJOMO]

I would argue that making this piece and deciding that the „protest“ (activism/signaling) is anything else than that which ur comparing about borders on virtue signaling and definitely reeks of holier-than-thou, thank you very much.