Climate in Art & Literature

Introduction

Art is an essential, universal aspect of human expression; it helps us understand out world and our place in it. It can also help us express and experience the complex experience of what it means to be human at a time of ecological crisis.

Psychology has long drawn on the arts for inspiration and understanding of the human mind (and heart). And art can inspire us and touch us to our depths in ways that other forms of communication cannot. Because of all this, an exploration of climate-related art fits well within purview of Climate & Mind.

The resources below are not meant to be an extensive or complete catalog “climate art”. This would be very difficult to keep up-to-date, and would require us to determine what counts as “climate-art,” and what climate-art deserves posting. Instead, this page has two simple aims:

1. Provide links to other people and groups exploring the topic of climate change art; and

2. Provide some samples of climate-related art, in various media, to give a sense of what possibilities exist, and possibly inspire you to create your own!

We will add resources over time - please feel free to contact us if you’d like to recommend something we’ve missed.

General Climate Art Resources

• Artists and Climate Change - “Today, interesting artistic work about climate change is popping up all over the world, in all kinds of venues… The goal of this blog is to track these works and gather them in one place. It is both a study of what is being done, and a resource for anyone interested in the subject. We deeply believe that what artists have to say about climate change will shape our values and behavior for years to come.”

• Art of Resilience “demonstrates how art can unite a range of disciplines—big data, scientific research, and community organizing—to further the understanding and communication of disaster and climate risk.”

• Art for our planet - Twitter Feed

• Wikipedia Page on Climate Change Art

• Good Energy Stories - “We’re a group of writers, artists, academics, and advocates who understand the human side of climate change. We bridge the gap between climate experts, people on the front lines of the crisis, and storytellers looking to connect with modern viewers. We are here to support writers in portraying the climate crisis in any storyline, across every genre, to create relevant, authentic, and, above all, entertaining stories.”

Visual Climate Art

• Olafur Eliasson, Glacier Melt Series 1999/2019 - “The glacier melt series 1999/2019, brings together thirty pairs of images from 1999 and 2019 to reveal the dramatic impact that global warming is having on our world.”

• Maya Adams, Solastalgia - “[A]ims to explore the psychic or existential stress that is induced by the negative aspects of climate change.”

• News article: (2020) “An artist set out to paint climate change. She ended up on a journey through grief.” L.A. Times, Jan. 11, 2020

Performance Climate Art

• Leonard, James (2015). Tent of Casually Observed Phenologies. (involving ‘climate change related tarot readings’)

  • Artist’s site

  • Article about the piece in Brooklyn Magazine

  • Article about the piece in Hyperallergic

Music

• Climate Music Project “enable[s] the creation and staging of science-guided music and visual experiences to inspire people to engage actively on the issue of climate change.”

• Echo of Species

  • https://twitter.com/echo_of_species

  • https://soundcloud.com/echo-of-species

• Judy Twedt - “Connecting to climate change through music” (TEDxSeattle talk)

Climate-related Films

• Hans Jørgen Rasmussen maintains a website, The Climate Cinema, compiling Climate-related films on a range of topics. He has categorized 65 films as related to Climate Psychology: The Climate Cinema - Climate Psychology Film List

Meanwhile, here are a few films from various genres, that touch on Climate Crisis:

1. First Reformed (dir. Paul Schrader, 2017)

   • Review from Yale Climate Connections (2018)

2. Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance (dir. Godfrey Reggio, 1982)

3. Mother! (dir. Darren Aronofsky, 2017)

Literature

• The Cli-Fi Report - “a research tool for academics and media professionals to use in gathering information and reporting on the rise of the emerging cli-fi term worldwide.”

• Here is a short list of books we can recommend, that explore climate themes, either directly or indirectly:

  • Butler, Octavia (1993). Parable of the Sower.

  • Butler, Octavia (1998). Parable of the Talents.

  • Ghosh, Amitav (2019). Gun Island.

  • Lessing, Doris (1982). The Making of the Representative for Planet 8.

  • Robinson, Kim Stanley (2017). New York, 2140.

  • Robinson, Kim Stanley (2020). The Ministry for the Future.

Have more to add? Let us know! Send a message to: climateandmind@gmail.com