What Impact Does Pop Art Have On The Environment

In recent years, artists have taken to visually express their concern for the planet through environmental art (Doyle, 2011; Gauntlett, 2011; Wells, 2011). Several environmental groups take part in public art projects as a way to illustrate pressing environmental concerns. Activist art also has a place in pop culture by combining constructed visuals and text to uphold ideological themes and lately multimodal expression and public engagement expands to a variety of digital platforms too. They encourage creative expression from interested supporters, not just artists to foster caring for the environment that is both localized and personalized. What follows is a sample of art expressing environmental concerns, especially climate change.
Cape Farewell

Seely’s art project explores time and space on a planetary scale through video and photo making visible the impacts of climate change in both the tropics and the Arctic. Their World is Not Our World, by Susannah Sayler and Edward Morris centers on the Netherlands, one of the most vulnerable countries presently combating climate change because of rising sea levels and almost a third of the country is below sea level as well as at risk from flooding. Through photos and video, they have captured the dichotomy between humanity’s quest to dominate the land and at the same time desire for control, particularly as society reconsider our relationship with the natural world (Canary Project, n.d.). Canary Project also is involved with Highwaterline Project, a participatory public art experience visualizing climate change in vulnerable communities and working with “experts from diverse disciplines to devise climate change resiliency at the local level” (Highwaterline.org), n.d.). They conduct workshops and public art activities with local communities to foster knowledge and educate solutions to climate change impacts. This unique approach engages local members of the community in a way that is meaningful and relevant to

They reclaimed messages like ‘We Can Do It!’ incorporate modern design elements in eco-messages promoting “strength, optimism, and unity for the sustainability movement” such as ‘Please Unplug’ to express overuse of electricity is harmful to the environment; ‘Eat Local, Buy Local, Grow Local’ that promotes low carbon living, to simply ‘Recycle’ (Green Patriot Posters, n.d.). Graphic artists initially were recruited to communicate sustainability in Cleveland, Ohio, to produce a series of bus ads supporting Green Jobs and Public Transportation. Since the project’s inception, other campaigns have launched to provoke public dialogue about energy independence and sustainability in the fight against climate change. Green Patriot Posters engage with the public through their website that displays posters along with opportunities for the public to contribute, make a poster, how to get involved, and solutions for a sustainable future. People also voted on submitted posters and the highest ranked posters were included in a book, and the remainder is viewable on the web and part of an international travel exhibit (e.g. bus ads and billboards, and