Last month I posted 16 Ways to Reduce the Carbon Footprint in Your Art Studio and I invited artists to contribute their ideas. One artist was chosen for their answer, and has won a free class: Courtney Wooten pointed out that as artists, our greatest potential for impact can be made by using our art to “spread awareness, to shine a light, to educate, inspire, agitate and help build a movement.”
Courtney Wooten: Although we do a lot of re-using canvases and re-purposing materials in our home, my mind keeps going back to Toni Cade Bambara’s exhortation that, “the role of the artist is to make revolution irresistible.” As important as personal responsibility and praxis is to me, over 70% of greenhouse gas emissions come from 100 corporations. Reducing my own carbon footprint is great, and using my art to spread awareness, to shine a light, to educate, inspire, agitate and try to help build a movement feels even greater! No social movement is without creativity and visual art—as Brecht (I think, I’m paraphrasing?) reminded us, our artistic expression isn’t just about holding up a mirror to reflect society, but wielding a hammer with which to shape it.
[image_with_animation image_url=”7694″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Hey – who mailed us the gnarly stick with the bobcat stamp? We love it. For the creative challenge today, let standardized paper and …
Preparing for my Unconventional Portraits class this Friday night, I asked Google to show me famous portrait painters. I saw this: In a line of 27 portrait painters, 24 are …
The role of the artist is to make revolution irresistible
Last month I posted 16 Ways to Reduce the Carbon Footprint in Your Art Studio and I invited artists to contribute their ideas. One artist was chosen for their answer, and has won a free class: Courtney Wooten pointed out that as artists, our greatest potential for impact can be made by using our art to “spread awareness, to shine a light, to educate, inspire, agitate and help build a movement.”
Courtney Wooten: Although we do a lot of re-using canvases and re-purposing materials in our home, my mind keeps going back to Toni Cade Bambara’s exhortation that, “the role of the artist is to make revolution irresistible.” As important as personal responsibility and praxis is to me, over 70% of greenhouse gas emissions come from 100 corporations. Reducing my own carbon footprint is great, and using my art to spread awareness, to shine a light, to educate, inspire, agitate and try to help build a movement feels even greater! No social movement is without creativity and visual art—as Brecht (I think, I’m paraphrasing?) reminded us, our artistic expression isn’t just about holding up a mirror to reflect society, but wielding a hammer with which to shape it.
Use your art to raise awareness, call for action, and change the world. (Works for any medium and skill level!) – Courtney Wooten
Thank you for the call back to our powerful potential as artists, Courtney. Looking forward to seeing you in class!
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[image_with_animation image_url=”7694″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Hey – who mailed us the gnarly stick with the bobcat stamp? We love it. For the creative challenge today, let standardized paper and …
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