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Right: Detail of “Gaia, part 3” created by Resa Blatman to highlight environmental themes. It is made from different materials including oil paint and glitter on lasercut Mylar and PVC, oil and latex paint on hand-cut Mylar, with silk and plastic flora. Below and below right: Sixteen feet high and 20 feet wide, “Harvest Dome” was put on an unusual display, floating in various waterways around New York City, in order to make viewers more aware of the environment in which they live.
CHARLES TANG/Courtesy SLO Architecture
cientists around the world agree that environmental problems pose a serious threat to humanity, and they’re not the only ones who think so. A growing and diverse group of visual artists is joining the conversation, using topics like global warming and sustainability as fuel for their imagination. The result? Striking works that both capture the eye and raise awareness on environmental issues. Resa Blatman, a Massachusetts-based painter, first began creating works based on environmental themes in 2011. “I’ve always cared about the environment and been conservative with the amounts of water and electricity I use. But, seeing the movie ‘Gasland’ really put me in a new direction,” says Blatman, referring to the Academy Award-nominated documentary that describes the impacts of fracking in the United States. After experiencing the film, Blatman asked herself how she could help in a significant and meaningful way. “I decided to put that energy into my artwork,” she says. “And that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.” Blatman’s recent work includes the “Trouble in Paradise” and “Gaia” series, collections of paintings crafted with oil and latex paint, silk, Mylar and other materials. “The sky is molten and grotesque, and has a tumultuousness to it, as if a tornado were forming,” she says, describing the paintings. “There were tornadoes in western Massachusetts a few years ago and that has never happened before. They’re showing up now because of