The Art of Empathy

 

DEDICATION:  HELEN MAYER AND NEWTON HARRISON

WEAD dedicates this Magazine Issue to the memory of two extraordinary, historically important, precedent setting ecological artists, Helen Mayer and Newton Harrison.  Helen died in 2018, and a short time later in September 2022, Newton died.  With their passing the eco and social justice art communities lost two vital creative trailblazers, educators and mentors.  In this issue, Scottish ecoartists/educators CHRIS FREMANTLE and ANNE DOUGLAS share a beautifully personal essay imparting why and how the Harrisons came to influence the empathetic direction of the nascent field of contemporary ecoart. 

 

 

FEATURED ARTIST:  REIKO GOTO

WEAD is proud to honor an artist for whom “empathy” has been the light motif of 30+ years of well-researched, yet intuitive, ecoart projects– Reiko Goto.  Born in Japan, her ecoart practice began in the San Francisco Bay Area where she earned an MFA at the SF Art Institute and met her collaborating partner, Tim Collins.  After several successful Bay Area projects (solo and together) they moved to Pittsburgh PA as ecoart teachers and researchers at the Carnegie Institute.  There they produced two important urban projects, Nine Mile Run and 3 Rivers 2nd Nature.  About 10 years ago they relocated to Scotland, as equal principals in the Collins and Goto Studio, Glasgow. There they continue ecological research and produce art installations related to listening to trees (Plein Air), nature in the cities, and critical forest art practice, among others. They are important authors and lecturers. Personally, Reiko has been a good friend to WEAD– one of our first members, exhibiting work in WEAD shows, and writing earlier essays for this Magazine. Reiko is globally appreciated by peers, friends, flora, fauna and inanimate nature, for her true empathy, compassionate intellect, aesthetic mastery, and visible love of all life.  Reiko is an outstanding representative of “The Art of Empathy.”  WEAD thanks her.

 

 

 

THE ESSAYS

 

ANNE DOUGLAS & CHRIS FREMANTLE

A Poetics of Empathy–Helen Mayer and Newton Harrison

Ecoart practitioners Douglas and Fremantle met the Harrisons in Great Britain and went on to work with them on global warming projects for three years.  Their essay emphasizes the importance of empathy and conversation in the Harrison’s work.

 

RUTH WALLEN

The Stickiness of Touch: Caring for Boulder’s Front Range Forests

Working in Southern California for years, Wallen has developed an empathic relationship with damaged forests and trees. Her ecoart has always been grounded in deep scientific research.  In this poetic essay Wallen discovers how, in a burnt forest above Boulder CO, innate empathy is enriched by Buddhist practice during a Naropa University residency there.  

 

ZAC–ZEST ARTIST COLLECTIVE

IMAGO INSECTA: A Relational Immersion

ZAC was formed during the Pandemic by six feminist ecoartists from six different countries, with the goal to create global collaborations on site-specific ecological issues that are common to all.  ZAC artists: Elena Redaelli (Italy); Karin van der Molen (Netherlands); Lucia Loren (Spain), Karen Macher (Perù), Imke Rust (Namibia/Germany) and Sally Kidall (Australia). 

 

SHU-JU WANG

Castor and Sapient

Shu-Ju Wang shares the history of the beaver as a lynchpin species, and how working in her own home garden came to influence her professional work.

 

ANDREW MUNN

Liza Lim: a Composer becoming like the Orchid that became like the Bee

A prominent figure in contemporary music since the 1990’s, Australian composer Lisa Lim works from an ecological and indigeneous perspective.  

 

ANGELA MARSH

It’s Really Just a Love Story

A Canadian artist works to “rewild” a city park.  Marsh studies urban “wild plants” (aka “weeds”) that, without human help, restore life in abandoned lots. This                      research has led to her collaborating with nature on urban rehabilitation projects.

 

 

 

COMMENTARY

 

EXHIBITION REVIEW

JANE CHIN DAVIDSON

Dr. Chin Davidson reports from the 2022 Venice Biennale.

 

RECOMMENDED READING

A collection of new and prominent ecoart titles assembled by the WEAD editors.

 

ON MY MIND 

IN HER OWN WORDS

dominique mazeaud

Dominique talks about the spiritual in art in service of the earth.

 

 

WEAD ARTISTS PORTFOLIO

The Portfolio is a mini on-line exhibit curated to spotlight WEAD members’ work on the Issue theme.  

The Portfolio is an asset of WEAD membership to give artists the opportunity to share recent work.  Join WEAD now! There’s an open call every issue, so send us a few high quality images with brief descriptions.

Tanja Geis
Eliza Thomas
Lorna Stevens
Rainey Straus
Stephanie Garon

 

 

We are now accepting magazine essay proposals on an open, rolling basis for 2023 Magazine ISSUE 14. Email to info@weadartists.org, title:  Magazine Proposal 2023

 

WEAD MAGAZINE ISSUE No. 13, THE ART OF EMPATHY
Published November 2022