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Nature has always been the inspiration for man to create beautiful drawings, exciting books or even new machines. We are always striving to replicate nature, but there are some people out there that have used the environment to create art. The environmental art movement may be new, it started around the late 1960s early 1970s [Source: Wikipedia], but the artform has existed for centuries. What is environmental art? Simply put, it is art that helps improve our relationship with the natural world.

Each environmental artist uses different materials ranging from the raw, the found, to the discarded and many take different approaches to their art. The older generation of environmental artists wanted to create something that would increase people's awareness on a certain topic despite the detrimental effects of the art piece itself. More recent environmental artists have adopted a new name, sustainable artists, and attempt to create art that leaves as little impact on the environment as possible. Of these more recent artists, some of the more famous ones are: Andy Goldsworthy and Nils Udo. Both artists work to spotlight the beauty of nature without impacting the environment. But even with the utmost care there is, "a basic internal contradiction...It is a contradiction...that can't escape the inherent fatality of our existence. It harms what it touches: the virginity of nature..." [Source: Treehugger].

Other artists create political/environmental art in order to show that every act, whether good or bad, does add up to something larger. Artists like Chris Jordan and Barbara Hashimoto use everyday items to create an image of a "slow-motion apocalypse" that stems from our over-consumption. [Source: Treehugger]. While these artists take a different approach to environmental art, they still show us the relationship between ourselves and nature. Rather than showing the beauty of nature, these artists show the audience the impact that we have on nature.

Still other artists combine art with alternative sources of energy, proving that art can be beautiful and functional. Two famous examples include Sarah Hall and Julian H. Scaff. Sarah Hall works in the medium of stained glass where she incorporates photovoltaic cells in each of her pieces. The glass panes can generate enough energy to run lights and other appliances. On the other end of the renewable energy spectrum are wind turbines. While many people can easily integrate solar panels into their lives, wind turbines have been labeled as eyesores for many communities. Julian Scaff has been working for years to create wind turbines that double as public art, most notably in Nantucket Sound and in Crete [Source: Wikipedia]. By blending art and function, the designs of alternative energy has changed and allows people to think more freely about the aesthetics of renewable energy.

With the various types of environmental art out there, sometimes the larger message can be lost among the smaller details. While each artists is out to convey something particular, each piece of work is meant to re-envision our relationship to nature.

Read more: environment & wildlife, environmental art, sustainable art, environement wildlife