Eco Artists John Fekner considers the origins of ecological art

Today's guest post is by Current Green community member John Fekner. In the 70s, John Fekner was ‘anonymously known’ for over three hundred environmental/conceptual works consisting of dates, words, and symbols spray painted throughout the five boroughs of New York. The “Warning Signs” project focused on pointing out hazardous conditions that dominated New York City and its environs in the 1970s. In the spring of 1977, Fekner created word-signs using hand cut cardboard stencils and spray paint. He began a relentless crusade concerned with social and environmental issues. Starting in the industrial streets of Queens and the East River bridges, and later on to the South Bronx in 1980, his messages were seen in areas that were desperately in need of construction, demolition or reconstruction. By labeling structures and emphasizing problems, the objective was to call attention to the accumulated squalor by urging city officials, agencies and local communities to be more responsible and take action.As an artist working with social and environmental themes for over thirty years, I’m encouraged and optimistic about the energy and concern of the current generation in developing sustainable projects and striving to achieve a better environment for all.

My first environmental works, stenciled messages that were ‘sited’ outdoor in situ were not only about communicating to the general public, but philosophically were an attempt to reduce the value of an art object to that of a shared visual experience within communities. How does one arrive at such an ideology? As an undergraduate art student, I saw an increase in awareness about environmental issues. Robert Rauschenberg’s Earth Day poster and Stewart Brand's Whole Earth Catalog were both published in 1970. The catalog was not only exemplary of DIY publishing, but it also ushered in a modus operandi embodied in all art forms of that decade, including independent record labels, alternative art centers, pirate radio transmissions, etc. I was part of that first generation, and continue to incorporate those ideals and tactics in new online collaborations.

If you were doing multimedia art in the 70s, it usually meant that you had to make two trips to the car to get all the equipment. It was quite a balancing act to lug around a Sony Portapac camera, tethered to another person who carried the bulking recorder and other temperamental equipment i.e., sun guns, microphone booms, etc. Media centers were scarce, and artists working in NYC sometimes had to go to Long Island or upstate to rent equipment and use editing facilities catering to artists and non-profits organizations. In 1976, I was lucking enough to us the Inter-Media Art Center on Long Island. How we managed to complete projects as formats were rapidly changing is anyone’s guess. Today, I am amazed at the work that is done on portable devices right in the palm of one’s hand.

Since those early days, I continue to explore ecological themes using video and sound with both traditional artists and online collaborators. For me, I see new material is new thinking as a way of visualizing at any age or regardless of your specific artistic discipline.

Learn more about John's work at his website: Eco Art Projects-Warning Signs 4U2C  and Trail Markers video

Related links:

Photos Across America: The Northern Rocky Mountains (video)

Environmental Sculpture Art (video)

Wacky underwater art