1. INTRODUCTION
How we relate with our surroundings? How environment shape our perception and our thinking? This is a cognitive relation that becomes an intuitive process, as I myself walk into the forest, or on an opened space I discover how I build a relation with the environment that surrounds me, I established a metaphoric relation with the place I’m in, it always makes me revive experiences lived or recall places where I have been, places different from the “no-man’s land” that highways, supermarkets, and city streets of America had became to me. However memories are dared to me; they meant a life in a group such as a family or friends, I treasure those memories as places in my mind where I found a meaning to my personal needs and expectations when facing a new place.
Answering my first question about how we relate to our surroundings I just could said that this relation depends of what the place activate on me. I’m an amateur artist and I cannot talk about building or performing with inspiration found in a place. I like photography and every time I arrived to a place I’m driven by curiosity, I felt energetic, vivid and as I walk I discover a wonderful experience; when I visit a place where to look to small details that call my attention, and they build my relationship with the place.
As I get familiar with the place I start arranging spaces throw my viewfinder, and as I close my eyes I rediscover what I have sought before with a new sight.
2. WORK OF ART AS LOCAL EXPRESION OF AWARNESS
Most of the times at the end of a journey I found myself with a sad feeling because I have to leave something behind, something that has being meaningful to me.
So up to now I have two ways of react and establish a relation with the environment the first objectively, the second subjectively, this two relations work together toward a creation. At this point I’m echoed the words of Timo Jokela as he said:
“I hope that my art sustains a meeting of the three levels of landscape experience mentioned earlier: nature in objective terms, a personal subjective world of experience, and communally produced textual meanings that are often veiled in every day activities”
My experience sustain resemblance with the founding’s in nature as ‘objective terms’ and this is translated to a ‘personal subjective world of experience’ expressed into photography, but in this way I failed to present a contextual work to create a project that involved a group.
I describe this as a single person, not belonging into a group, but when a group is involved then my interaction is with the group and how “we” stand out from the place or the environment around us. The feeling of belong that is built in a group is stronger, clearer and mixed with the feelings of the individuals participating; creation demands a certain level of awareness of the place its history and the different changes that will affect the work of art, most of the times this knowledge is built meanwhile working, discovering and re-shaping the work of art, until the piece is done.
This feeling is one with the feeling of community, a common place shared with others helps to create a sense of togetherness and this feeling helps to work toward a common ground. If the group faces different challenges they will found solutions in their own group, these challenges could be as simple things as trade, or more complex chores as generate the different means to survive. But how environmental art fits into the landscape of community activities?
As a symbolic way of translate the feeling of belonging with a place, maybe I put my memories in the same present instant, a bucket, a statue, a promontory in an open space could trigged the feeling of ‘déjà vu’ and then the sensation of being at home, or strange familiarity that will attach me to a place. This is a phenomenological answer to the environment. Example; a back yard, a bed sheets drying under the sun of May waved by the wind, it’s an impression common to many middle class families that live in the suburbs. But the same image taken to a rural location won’t change the warm feeling of familiarity that aim a daily activity summed up in that very moment.
Reading Wanderer in the Landscape by Timo Jokela, and observing his ever changing art I started to understand how important is the relation of a person and a place, and the feeling of belonging to a place and a group settled in it.
3. GENIUS LOCI
The first thing that called my attentions was the definition of “Genius loci” or the character, ‘Genius loci’ is the spiritual value that we humans tend to give to a place; In the case of the Northern environment the expression of emptiness, openness and barrenness is a strong ultimate experience that is lived in daily basics.
The idea of Genius loci is presented by Tuan Yi-Fu and it is the actual workload offered as a work of art in a daily action, the perception of the environment and finally the attitude toward it and the value granted to a specific place.
Some daily activities, that belong to the sphere or rural work, such as commitment, transportation and display of cattle (were apply in central European countries) demand specific approaches like Rodeo (as entertainment expression) or the relation with the cow skin and its different sub-products linked to a specific location. In Finland reindeer herds or hay cutting and packing becomes part or the everyday life. Daily actions that work toward the survival of a community in every season; i.e. in winter time is marked by activities as snow removal, snow building and mobility on snow and icy condition; knowledge of the thickness of the ice, the dropping temperatures and the wind chill effect are not just necessary but mandatory, they become an important part of the lives of those living in the north, shaping their in views and characters. This last frontier (since the point of view of a westerner, or as simply as an outsider) could be seen as barren and lonely, but increasingly this barren location is seen as a place where to find yourself, and to listen to the voices of the time.
If we look at the work of Timo Jokela ‘Daughters of Paivo’ we could found their talk about migrations, blood links and relation to the place where they are located; As the snow slowly melts it reminds us that we are not permanent, and that every human sign is ephemeral, that our process and thinking is an abstraction partly shaped by the place we live in and the pass of the time.
So there’s three important points that are related with the environmental work of Mr. Jokela:
relation with the space
time, seasonal changing, weather changing, light conditions
symbolic meaning
This phenomenological approached helps to understand the mental landscape of a person belonging to a group ‘the Sami people’, and the Lapland’s inhabitants; As we look at the landscape and feel uplifted by it, the concept of German romanticism pop ups in my mind. As Mr. Jokela “wanderer in the landscape” in 2006, Caspar David Friedrich “wandered in a see of fog” in 1818.
4. ROMANTICISM
Working Physically on an activity is mandatory in order to achieve a mental process toward a creation that will fulfill us with spiritual reward. The Art work can be tell apart from just daily routine because it means a never lasting memento or light or shadow that is depicting all of an experience. This moment tell us how unique we are, where we came from and why we are here, a moment that an artist share with its community. The main point of environmental art maybe is not the landscape, but the universal meaning of our presence there, the way we witness the changing. A thinking that depicted this is the German Romanticism.
An example of it is the German painter Caspar David Friedrich, his work is an expression of mysticism. His landscapes seek blissful joy as the classic concept of art, but also he research in the soul of the artist to connect with the feeling of lonely contemplation in the overwhelming power of Nature. Then elements are depicted in this kind of work, ruins, elements from legendary lost places or history, reminiscence of what it was, a reminder of change itself.
But as well the figure of the human being is present along with this lonely sight. The artist itself produces an individual standing apart from Nature. This dialog between the nature’s powers and the artist reminds us how the human being differentiated himself from the observed object; In this case the Human being still a unit, Un-fragmented and differentiated.
But this world has changed and nowadays invasive art came to colonized “new territories”, so the dwelling deals not just with expected environmental changes but with the expansive power of colonization; the peripheral world has to deal with globalization and oppression of Western mainstream culture, migrations and ever-changing politics could affect their relation with their own environments.
Fragmentation and rupture could happen, but as long as communities and artist are aware of the ground they are standing on it would be possible that the transitions will be as smooth and invigorating as the snow melting on a warm spring day.
The Sami people is a culture immersed in the local environment, they benefit from their natural resources, they understand natural and seasonal changes, cycles and natural materials (snow, ice, water and wind) those materials, and conditions give the work of the land a specific Genius Loci (character).
5. CONCLUSION
“the painter should paint not only what he has in front of him, but also what he sees inside himself.” Friedrich.
What started as a personal experience, in the body of the artist’s work, turned to have new proportions as depicting “inside” oneself could become an extensive work that involves others.
The issue of individual experience then takes new meanings when the artist-painter-sculpture is living and working within the subject depicted. The relation is affected by the work done. My point seems that the knowledge of this experience is important, and transmitting what is inside the artist mind enlightens others peoples’ points of views. The mystical and metaphorical position of the artist takes importance in the people of the North, people/artists are conscious of the changing, being aware of it and knowing how to translate it in a piece of work is demanding and takes time and energy but as well provides with a spiritual reward, in terms of artist-shaman the work of art present healing powers not only for the person performing the rituals, dances, or sculptures, but as well for the surroundings; spirits that are annoyed by humans actions can turn into storms, winds and unexpected weather changes, as folklore believed in the Inuit populations of Northern Canada
Thus, the artist also has the important role of producing elements to heal and compose our fragmented egos, to transcend the boundaries of the mind, from the shamanist-artist believes chart.
It’s not my chore to explain the mystical relations of arts and shamanism in the community; but the knowledge that they depict helps me to explain the way the artist work and specially to answer my starting questions, as an awaked group works they build belonging, awareness and they write their own story and experiences in order to better comprehend their surroundings and implications within the environment that provide them with dwelling, food and materials. Resistance to mainstream pressure is one of various ways to defend local tradition.
6. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Biography of Friedric, Caspar David, German Romanticism, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspar_David_Friedrich
Jokela, Timo; Wanderer in the Landscape- Reflections on the relationship between art and the northern environment, http://www.environmentalart.net/jokela/wanderer_in_the_landscape.doc, visited 6th November, 2007
Jokela, Timo; Close to Nature: Marks of the Forest, 1.4.2007, http://www.environmentalart.net/natur/close_to_natur.htm , visited 6th November, 2007
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