Artists as transformative agents dissertation

Hello mountaineers!

I am a student of Environmental sciences at the university of East Anglia and I am just beginning my dissertation about the role of artists and creative thinkers in relation to the scientific sphere. I have chosen to focus on Dark Mountain as a case study, enquiring into whether artists and creative thinkers can be 'transformative agents' at the forefront of societal change.

For my research I need to interview 'mountaineers' so as to gain personal insight. I have already contacted several people but any input is greatly appreciated. I am focussing on the 34 'mountaineers' on the website who are outlined as being some of the people most closely involved in the project... if you are one of those people and I have not yet contacted you, please do get in touch! And if anybody else feels they might have something useful to add, I'd love to hear from you too.

So, do Artists perceive themselves to be 'transformative agents' at the forefront of societal change?

Tags: Artists, change, science, societal, transformative

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Permalink Reply by bert louis on July 19, 2012 at 1:06

Why the hell would you come here?

have a look at this for ''transformative agents' at the forefront of societal change"

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Permalink Reply by Cathy Fitzgerald on July 20, 2012 at 18:15

Hi Ava,

I'm interested in what you are doing - I'm coming from a visual culture/experimental film angle and cross disciplines of science (new methods in forest management) and politics in my work. I don't think of myself as a 'transformative agent', that sounds a bit like the romantic/modernist myth of artists as somehow being the avant-garde of culture etc but I like to think art can bring new ideas and actions from moving across different ways of knowing/disciplines.

Anyway, here is a post about my work where I summarise some ideas of my own art practice Deep Sustainability and the art & politics of forests (mind you, I still don;t really know where it is leading) - it might be of interest, but no worries if not. However, it is ironic, in regards to your project, that my last film clip is called 'transformation'

transformation from Cathy Fitzgerald on Vimeo.

You might also be interested in the 10 yr exhibition that celebrates the Land2 project up in Leeds at the moment