The Artist as Ecologist - (New Directions in Contemporary Art) by Filipa Ramos (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

How are contemporary artists responding to the climate crisis? Filipa Ramos takes an original approach to the subject by addressing two parallel strands. She looks firstly at pioneering approaches to ecology by key contemporary artists from different generations and cultural backgrounds working in different art media; and she considers the balance between ecology as theme and ecology as practice, underscoring the imperative for both artists and art institutions to adopt responsible environmental positions in their practice.

This topical and important book discusses the work of artists who have returned to the land; reviews how questions of shared rights and environmental justice are represented in contemporary artistic practice; highlights the renewed importance of performance and time-based media in ecologically themed art; and looks at artists' and art institutions' complex relationship to environmental action.

Review Quotes

'A timely, much-needed account of contemporary art's interaction with activism and the environment' - Jeremy Deller, artist

'Making fresh sense of apparent trends in the art world towards planetary consciousness, and ecological and social practices, Ramos plots a powerful long view of the role of the artist. Foregrounding those who are "breaking the spell of modernity", her book convincingly demonstrates that if art is to be meaningful now, it must be founded in awareness of our complex coexistence on this planet: human and non-human.' - Catherine Wood, Director of Curatorial & Chief Curator, Tate Modern

'In this book, Ramos explores the fascinating ways that contemporary artists are responding to the ecological crises unfolding around us. The book's central argument is vital and timely: the power of the arts to change the way we think, feel, and understand has never been more important.' - Merlin Sheldrake, author of Entangled Life

About the Author

Filipa Ramos is a curator and writer whose work intersects art, moving images and ecology. She is a Lecturer on the Masters Programme at the Arts Institute of the Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz, Basel, where she leads the Art and Nature seminars, and Artistic Director of Loop Festival, Barcelona. Her publications include The Shape of a Circle in the Mind of a Fish (as co-editor) and Animals (as editor). By merging curatorial practice, writing and transdisciplinary research, Ramos has expanded the discourse of Art History towards an ecological sensibility, encouraging museums, curators and artists to envisage art as a catalyst for social and environmental change.