I have yet to encounter any serious or sustained discussion of the environmental impact of art, and perhaps that is understandable in relation to the attention that is given in the wider debate to large issues such as the effects of diesel engines or the demand for meat. Art would seem to occupy a very small part of the world picture. Over the past week-end, however, I have been steered in this direction by other conversations I have had.
There was an interesting exchange with my son, who is compelled by his occupation to travel a great deal by air. He defended stoutly the cause of the airline industry, claiming that the statistics for the carbon emissions from aircraft actually indicate that air travel accounts for a very small proportion of the whole picture. (He didn’t, however, address the question of the very large car he drives!)
His family live in Sheffield, where the region surrounding it has been hit recently by flooding. We had an interesting exchange over the possible reasons for this, and in particular the effects of poor planning controls in relation to housing, and changes in agriculture. It all seemed a long way from my own immediate situation, and yet in a recent discussion session during the Italian language class I attend our conversation centred upon the changes we might make to life-style at a personal level, as a consequence of growing environmental awareness. So: by a somewhat circuitous route I have ended up thinking about my activity as an artist. Two things have emerged in this process.
First of all, it didn’t take me long to realise that nobody seems to be asking, let along answering, questions in this area. I know, for example, that paint manufacturers have generally moved away from using relatively rare compounds, such as cadmium or cobalt, in the manufacture of paint. I have no idea, however, whether this is for purely economic reasons, or whether the newer generation of paints we use is any better for the environment.
Then I started to think about the manufacture of paper, and I wondered whether (as I suspect) this might be a very heavy user of water, and what consequences the discharge of this might have. If I buy “sable” brushes, am I having an unwelcome effect on wildlife, or are the animals in question farmed? (The same question, I suppose, is raised by “hogs’ hair” bristles.) Once again, I have not the foggiest idea of the answer to any of these questions..
Reflecting further, I did reach the conclusion that individuals, however, well-intentioned, can’t make much impact here, and that the basic information on which decisions are reached lies with government and the manufacturers. Perhaps we individual artists ought to be asking more questions: but the distinction between trivial and important questions, or the nature of effective responses, can only be made at a much larger level.
Finally, I found myself thinking about the centrality of the exhibition to the life of art. I have just returned from an exhibition on Sheffield, at some distance from my home in Bradford. I have had to take my pictures for preliminary selection, and ask why the organisers can’t conduct that process on the basis of electronic images–as most exhibitions do these days. Then I had to deliver my pictures, a month later, which meant a second journey. (I suppose that it was not strictly necessary for me to stay on for the Preview, but at least this didn’t involve another journey.) Finally, of course, I had to bring home the unsold work.
Artists these days (myself included, of course) rely increasingly on websites for the display of our work, and I have sold some things by this means. I maintain, however, that there is no substitute for actually being in the presence of a piece in order to respond to it properly. Could that be improved? I am cautious about the possibilities here. There might, in fact, be an argument in favour of the environmental responsibility of exhibitions, as the punters would not need to travel all over the place to see work, but can view (as in the case of the recent Sheffield show) a thousand items in one place.
I am aware that these questions only scratch the surface of a large question. I would like to see a larger awareness, and a wider debate, about this kind of issue. Any immediate responses?
PS: What about all that bubble-wrap we use every time we store or transport a picture? I wonder how long that takes to decay–if ever.