The arts and restoration: A fertile partnership?

ECOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT & RESTORATION VOL 4 NO 3 DECEMBER 2003 163

F E A T U R E

The arts and restoration: A fertile partnership?By David Curtis

he last 30 years have seen a rise in com-munity groups and activities that have

aimed to move our society towards eco-logical and environmental sustainability(Fenna & Economou 1998). Yet, if we areto have greater success in improvingAustralia’s record of environmental care,we need to understand some of thedeeper motivations for people’s actionsin relation to environmental issues. Arecent performance of the ecologicalchorale The Plague and the Moonflowersuggests that the arts and restorative

environmental management are a naturalpartnership.

Despite over 20 years of Common-wealth and State government interventionin attempting to repair Australia’s environ-ment, the National Land and WaterResources Audit and the State of the Envi-ronment Report indicate that, overall, theenvironment is not improving and that anenormous amount still needs to be donebefore it can be considered ecologicallysustainable (Australian State of the Environ-ment Committee 2001). Part of the reason

T

The creative urge is

fundamental to the human

condition and provides a

conspicuous common

ground between members of

Landcare and the arts,

prompting us to ask whether

artists can become more

involved in changing

community behaviour

toward the environment.

David Curtis has worked for over 20 years

coordinating community environmental programs

in the Northern Tablelands and the Northwest

region of NSW, during which time he frequently

utilized the visual and performing arts. This

feature draws on David’s current doctoral

research with the Institute of Rural Futures and

Ecosystem Management (School of Environmental

Science and Natural Resource Management,

University of New England, Armidale NSW 2350,

Australia. Tel. (+61-2) 6773 5142. Email:

[email protected]. This research involves

assessment of several visual and performing art

events in terms of their potential to influence our

environmental behaviour.

Figure 1. The Plague and the Moonflower is a musical pageant and ecological love story, inte-grating visual graphics, dance, drama and musical arts around a deeply moving environmentaltheme. Its southern hemisphere premiere, staged in Armidale in October 2002, involved about170 local performers and crew, including the Armidale Symphony Orchestra (pictured), ArmidaleMusical Society Choir, Armidale Sing NSW Choir, Body Moves and the Nyardi IndigenousExperience dance groups, The Gypsy Hot Club folk band and other individual instrumentalists,vocalists and actors. (Photo: Len Zell. Reproduced with permission.)

F E A T U R E

164 ECOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT & RESTORATION VOL 4 NO 3 DECEMBER 2003

for this lack of overall improvement is atechnical failure in getting information toall in the community and convincingpeople to change their land-use manage-ment or patterns of consumption so thatthey are more environmentally sustainable.Another reason is that some of our mostintractable issues have a ‘high structuraldependence’ and are what the socialtheorist P. Roqueplo describes as ‘acci-dents in slow motion’ (Roqueplo 1986).Such problems are the most resistant topolicy change. Problems like the green-house effect, soil salinity, urban sprawl andloss of biodiversity fall into this category.

Governments usually try to changepeople’s behaviour towards the environ-ment through provision of information,financial incentives and regulations. Onlylimited consideration appears to be givento (i) the cultural elements which reducethe efficacy of conventional modes ofpromoting change, or (ii) potential forusing cultural elements to more effectivelyengage the hearts as well as the minds ofcommunities. Yet there appears to be con-siderable convergence between the com-munity arts movement and the communityLandcare and environment movement.There are now many examples where com-munities have staged art events where theenvironment is a strong theme, and manyLandcare or environment-based activitieshave included arts-based methodologies(e.g. Meekison & Higgs 1998; Curtis et al.1999; Downfall Creek Bushland Centre2002).

The visual and performing arts (definedhere as creative and interpretative expres-sion through theatre, literature, music,visual arts, and crafts; Costantoura 2000)appear to have great potential in encourag-ing us to reflect on the consequences ofour actions and the nature of the environ-ment itself. They may influence our valuesand show us ways to change our behaviourto lessen our impact on the environment,as well as enhance the environmentthrough our activities (Eastburn 1999;Clifford 2000; Grant 2001; Kastner &Wallis 2001; Norman 2001; Green 2002).Various forms of art are used effectively bydifferent groups in society to affirm certainbelief systems such as religious beliefs or tohelp affirm or encourage certain behav-

iours such as consumerism via advertising.On the other hand, the arts (or particularartists) are often at the forefront in chal-lenging dominant paradigms and are oftenactive participants in attempts to changesociety (Cembalest 1991; Goldberg 1991).The ability of artists to synthesize complexideas into powerful symbolic images, songsor performances can be very importantin influencing individuals and even thegreater community, and has been usedeffectively in environmental educationprograms in schools and in communityeducation and extension (e.g. Andrew &Eastburn 1997; Evergreen Theatre 2002).The celebratory aspects of the visual andperforming arts also make them a usefultool in affirming ecological restorationand environmental repair activities (Curtiset al. 1999). My experience with visual andperforming artists in rural extension andcommunity facilitation work over the lasttwo decades has suggested to me thatmusic, performance and the visual arts canhave a highly motivating effect on people.The tools of the performer and visualartist allow the incorporation of multiplemeanings and symbolism, which morescientific means of communication lack.

The use of the arts to influence behav-iour is a vexed topic. Because of the natureof the languages open to practitioners ofthe visual and performing arts (with theirlack of syntactical precision and theunpredictable discourse with materials andmedia) it is often difficult for artists torespond to an aesthetic quest on the onehand and to address a specific topic onthe other. Nevertheless the associationbetween artists and those who attempt toconserve the natural environment has along history (Bonyhady 2000).

The very process of creating art appearsto be useful in some aspects of influencingenvironmental behaviour including Land-care. Berensohn (2002) suggests that if weare artistic in our lives we start to noticethe environment more, and this is vital indeveloping a caring relationship with it.Indeed, from my preliminary explorationsit appears that the creative urge, orcreative sensibility appears to be commonto both Landcare, environmental restor-ation and the arts. The actual process ofbeing involved in creating some form of art

(e.g. writing a story or painting a picture)and researching and reflecting in theprocess of its development can help onedevelop or consolidate one’s ideas andknowledge about a topic, and this processis not dissimilar to what goes on in manyLandcare-type activities.

The Plague and the Moonflower

An example of some of the ways that thearts can affect people in relation to theenvironment was the concert of ThePlague and the Moonflower, staged inArmidale in October 2002 (Figs 1–6). I wasinvolved in this as designer (i.e. the lightingdesign, the data projections, the staging,costuming, and the foyer concepts) as wellas being an ‘action researcher’, interview-ing about 30 audience members and partic-ipants. I have collected a body of materialabout the performance and the reactions ofparticipants to it that provides an opportu-nity for reflecting on and illustrating someof the ways that the arts might be effectivein focusing people’s attitudes and behav-iours towards the environment. This per-formance contained several art forms(orchestral and choral music, dance,theatre, and the visual arts), involvedseveral community groups and a largenumber of participants, had a strong envi-ronmental theme, was a single identifiableevent but with an enduring life, and wasintegrated into the activities of local envi-ronmental groups.

The work is a spectacular musicalpageant and ecological love story, andbrings together music, drama and poetryin an extraordinary collage – orchestra andguitar, words and pictures, sound andvisions. It is a powerful work whichexplores both the destruction of thenatural environment by humanity, as wellas salvation of humanity through a redis-covery of the importance of the naturalenvironment (Box 1).

Loca l communi ty contex t and invo lvement

The concert was conceived by local doctorBruce Menzies who conducted the work. Itwas one of the most ambitious musicalundertakings that the Armidale community,

F E A T U R E


a community of about 20 000 people, hadever been involved in. It took over 12months of planning and involved a largenumber of different community andamateur music groups. It involved about170 performers and crew, including theArmidale Symphony Orchestra, the Armi-dale Musical Society Choir, the ArmidaleSing NSW Choir (directed by Cathy Wels-ford), the folk band The Gypsy Hot Club,solo classical guitarist Stephen Tafra, soloviolinist Errol Russell, didgeridoo playerDuan Pittman, soprano Peta Blythe and boysoprano Jesse Stevenson. Quite apart frominvolving so many performers, it alsoincluded a huge array of instruments(including 35 percussion instruments and adidgeridoo), many of which had neverperformed with the Armidale orchestrabefore.

Overlaying the whole performance wasstrong theatricalization through the use ofdance, visual imagery, lighting, staging, andseveral acting/narrating roles directed byFran Curtis. Two dance groups were partof the production: Body Moves and the

indigenous dance group Nyardi IndigenousExperience. These included dancers fromArmidale and Duval High Schools. Originalchoreography was created for the concertby Tania Gammage and indigenous chore-ography was by Shannon Smith. Therewere three acting roles: the Narrator (ChrisRoss-Smith), The Plague Demon (WaineGrafton) and Margaret Mee (Fran Curtis).

A proportion of each ticket sold wasdonated to the Armidale Tree Group to gotowards their woodland education centre.The Woodland Centre houses displays andart works featuring woodland ecology andis being developed to be a valuable educa-tional resource for the people of the NewEngland region. The Armidale Tree Groupalso invited several local artists to presentworks with an environmental theme. Theresulting art exhibition was launched atThe Plague and the Moonflower concertand later moved to the Woodland Centrefor 2 weeks. The local Armidale office ofGreening Australia helped organize themaking of native plant flowers fromschools throughout the region. These were

used to celebrate the local biodiversity andwere added to the art exhibition at theconcert.

Short and longer-term impacts?

The concerts were a great success artisti-cally and financially and the local mediadescribed it as ‘possibly the most signifi-cant musical/theatrical event of Armidale’spast two decades’ (Bill Driscoll, ArmidaleExpress, 1 November 2002, p. 8). Bothconcerts were virtually full-houses, withabout 1000 attending altogether. Its successwas also acknowledged in the invitation torestage the work at the Woodford FolkFestival (one of Australia’s premiere musicfestivals) in December 2003, as one of theirmajor arena events. This will expand theaudience, and allow this artwork to evolvefurther in its impacts.

Immedia te impact on per formers and aud ience

Interviews with about two dozen partici-pants and audience members were con-ducted mostly within a few weeks of theconcert, although a few were conductedabout 6 months after the concert. Peoplewere interviewed using a set of preparedquestions. They were asked how theycame to see the performance, which per-formances they saw, what was most mem-orable for them about the event, whatwere the main messages that they got fromthe event, how they felt immediately afterthe performance and at the time of inter-view, whether they would go again if theyhad the chance and why, and what effectsthe event had on their beliefs or behav-iours, as well as ways they thought the pro-duction might have been improved.

Preliminary analysis of these interviewsrevealed that most audience membersinterviewed were strongly moved by theexperience and strongly identified with themessage of the work (described in Box 1).The musicians and choir members seemedto be similarly exhilarated by the perform-ances. It is not possible to extrapolate fromthis event to all art events and from thissmall sample to all those who experiencedthe event. Nevertheless the feedback

Figure 2. The ‘River Stories’ scene from The Plague and the Moonflower featured dancersfrom the Body Moves dance group and the Armidale Symphony Orchestra. Development ofcommunity participation was an important element of the production, potentially broadeningexposure to the environmental messages. (Photo: Len Zell. Reproduced with permission.)

F E A T U R E


Box 1

The P lague and the Moonf lower

The Plague and the Moonflower is

an ecological chorale written for

choir and orchestra with several

vocal and instrumental soloists and

acting roles. The music was

composed by Richard Harvey and

the words and images were devel-

oped by the artist Ralph Steadman.

The work was commissioned in

1989 for the Cheltenham Festival

in the UK. The Plague and the

Moonflower has been performed in

all the major cathedrals in the UK,

and a film was made of the produc-

tion by the BBC, winning the Indies

Award in 1995 for Best Music and

Arts Programme. Its performance

in Armidale, New South Wales, in

October 2002 was its premiere

performance in the southern hemi-

sphere.

The composition is divided into 12

sections, each varying in length

and musical style. The work moves between celebrating the natural environment, reflecting on civilizations that have gone

before and which have left deserts in their wake, reflecting on the destruction of the natural environment by modern industri-

alized society, and eventual rediscovery of nature. It points to a future ‘free of fear and oppression’.

The work explores the dark side of humanity through the character of Plague. Its theme is the struggle for the survival of

our planet in the face of apathy, pollution and greed. It is, however, celebratory when Plague is transformed through his

encounter with the Moonflower, deep in the Amazon rainforest. It is the discovery of the rare Moonflower by the botanical

artist Margaret Mee which provides the celebratory and inspirational aspects of the work. The Moonflower is very rare and

only flowers under a full moon. It emits a beautiful perfume while it flowers, but within a few hours it is gone. In real life

Margaret Mee made several expeditions to the Amazon and finally found the Moonflower deep within a submerged rainforest.

She painted it while balanced on the roof of a small boat at the age of 79. An assistant held lights over her head while she

painted throughout the night (Morrison 1988).

During the performance images by Ralph Steadman and photographs by Australian photographers Leo Meier and Richard

Woldendorp were projected above the orchestra. At the commencement of the performance, the foyer was full of rubbish, so

when the audience arrived they had to walk among plastic and other rubbish, which lined the walls and covered part of the

floor (Fig. 4). Off the foyer was an art exhibition which featured art works that celebrated the natural environment.

Figure 3. The Plague and the Moonflower conveys strong ecological messages about thestruggle for the survival of our planet, emphasizing the role of human transformation. (Image: LenZell. Reproduced with permission.)

F E A T U R E


indicated that such art-environment per-formances:• can strongly move people and engender

a strong feeling for the environment;• can have a very strong capacity for

engendering an appreciation and prideof community and can act to strengthenthose bonds;

• can have a great capacity for involving awide range of people and thereforeexpand the audience for environmental

awareness-raising (many in the audiencewere normal concert goers, not peoplenecessarily attracted to the environmen-tal content); and

• can allow participants to develop theirown ideas, to learn about issues and toexpress their own feelings for thoseissues, suggesting that the actual processof being involved in events such as theseis important in learning and consolidat-ing one’s ideas and knowledge.

Longer te rm impacts?

The question of whether the eventchanged people’s behaviour towards theenvironment is less easy to answer. ThePlague and the Moonflower is not a workthat lays out a program for action. Insteadit seeks to engender respect and appreci-ation of the natural environment and adislike for the destruction of nature bymodern industrialized societies. It operatesmostly on the heart, attempting to movethe emotions into a love of the natural envi-ronment and a repugnance at what indus-trialized societies are doing to it. Primarilyit is asking us to ponder what legacy we areleaving for our children.

Certainly the responses from the inter-views indicated that the work succeeded atengaging the emotions. The comments ofmany were conveyed in the words of oneinterviewee who described it as an inspir-ational and uplifting experience that tookher out of the normal day-to-day experi-ence to a ‘higher plane’. She felt that thebeauty of the medium itself ultimately gaveher optimism for the future. It:

inspired me to appreciate [the] beauty of

nature and the environment more …

appreciate clean air and absence of ‘plague’

in my environment. It was more appreciation

rather than action … I guess that appreciation

feeds that action. It was an aesthetic

appreciation. It’s that beauty … To me the

whole performance was so beautiful it was

inspiring.” (Interview with Joan Anderson,

10 March 2003)

But did the event actually make peoplechange their behaviour towards the envi-ronment? It may well have succeeded indoing this although no changes wereevident in most of the people that I inter-viewed within 6 months of the perform-ance. It did appear to reinforce people’sexisting behaviours or reminded them ofpro-environmental beliefs that had becomedormant (in that it reminded some thatthey should be behaving better towardsthe environment in terms of what theybought, how they travelled and theirrubbish disposal habits). On the otherhand, it may be too soon to show whetherthis event will be a pivotal event inchanging people’s attitudes or behaviours.

Figure 4. At the commencement of the performance of The Plague and the Moonflower,plastic and other rubbish lined the walls and covered part of the floor of the foyer. When theaudience arrived they had to walk among it to reach the auditorium, confronting images we wouldnormally choose to ignore. (Photo: Len Zell. Reproduced with permission.)

F E A T U R E


Perhaps seeing the art event as anisolated pivotal moment in changingpeople’s attitudes or behaviours is aninappropriate way to view such events.Perhaps the important role of an eventsuch as this is to open people’s minds toinformation that they receive at a latertime. Or perhaps the more interestingquestion, particularly in this case, is fromwhat community context did this eventemerge and what role may it have playedunder those circumstances? For example,our production came amid the worstdrought in living memory, just after thedreadful dust storms and amid talk ofimminent war. All these were, in theirown right, pivotal stresses increasing aneed for some sort of creative resolutionor reaffirmation which the productionappeared to provide for some. At the topof the concert program the Director, FranCurtis, wrote:

This week as millions of tonnes of topsoil

was swept out to sea in a cataclysmic wind

the ecological message of The Plague and the

Moonflower could not be more timely. We

need to heed the message of this work. We

need to cherish and plant trees! (Fran Curtis,

Program for The Plague and the Moonflower,

Armidale Production October, 2002.)

In this context therefore the workbecame all the more powerful as it evokeda strong love of the natural environment,and more importantly celebrated our owncommunity and its ability to make musictogether. The capacity of the arts to fostercooperation indicates an important poten-tial role of community arts in a restorationcontext. Many communities, for example,are hampered in their capacity to worktogether due to internal divisions andphilosophic differences. Involvement byfamilies in musical or theatrical activities,however, can be less-threatening thanjoining a Bushcare or Landcare group andcan often help heal social divisions or atleast ‘soften’ resistance to the idea of com-munities working together. Such involve-ment, then, can potentially foster animproved social climate from which com-munity-based environmental work maymore readily emerge.

Figure 6. The Armidale Musical Society Choir in the Armidale, NSW, rehearsing for The Plagueand the Moonflower. It was significant that the production occurred amid the worst drought inliving memory, just after dreadful dust storms and amid talk of imminent war – all pivotal stresses,increasing a need for creative reaffirmation. (Photo: Len Zell. Reproduced with permission.)

Figure 5. Guitarists Stephen Tafra and Stephen Thorneycroft performing with the ArmidaleSymphony Orchestra. Participants reported that involvement in the production increased theirexposure to issues and helped them to consolidate and express their own feelings surroundingthose issues. (Photo: Len Zell. Reproduced with permission.)

F E A T U R E


Broader questions

From my broader and ongoing research onthe topic of the potential role of the arts inrestoration, I have identified several keyroles that the arts may play in affectingenvironmental behaviour (D. Curtis, unpubl.data, 2003). These include assisting inincreasing understanding and knowledge;aiding communication and expanding theaudience; provoking change in the individ-ual, community or society; celebrating,affirming or validating particular attitudesand behaviours; evoking the emotions; andfostering a spiritual connection with thenatural environment.

Examining the effect of The Plague andthe Moonflower on participants andaudience (as described above) revealedthat each of these roles was implicated.However, examination of this event alsoraises several interesting questions withregard to the broader topic of arts and theenvironment – each of which is worthy offurther study and reflection. For example,does the celebrity status of artists givethem a special role in influencing peopleand do artists have a different ability topenetrate into communities and get acrossinformation that traditional extensionservices lack? Do the arts have a specialability in providing neutral ground to allowpeople to be more open to challengingideas about environmental management?Do the arts have a special ability to providemotivation for people to act? Is the abilityof the arts to ‘suspend normality’ bothwithin the actual art performance andwithin the event in which it is occurring,important in influencing attitudes andbehaviour? Just how much can the artsincrease the audience for environmentalinformation? How important is the arts’ability to engage the heart as well as thehead, and can the arts convey the complex-ity of the environment as well as thepassion and inspiration?

This case study has shown that arts canpowerfully express ethical considerations

relating to humanity’s relationship withthe natural environment, and that this canhave a strong emotional reaction on par-ticipants. Whether such expressions andreactions can ultimately result in animprovement in environmental sustain-ability is a subject of my ongoing research.However, irrespective of academic scru-tiny, the intuitive understanding amongmany restorationists that restoration is notonly a technical and ecologically validactivity but also a creative and culturallyvalid one is widespread and appears to begrowing. Academic validation may not berequired to approve or kick start theprocess, but stronger understanding of thepotential and mechanisms for cross-disciplinary work may empower landmanagers and funding bodies to moreeffectively tap this strong potential.

Acknowledgements

The broader project of which this casestudy is a part is funded by Land and WaterAustralia and the Rural Industries Researchand Development Corporation. It is beingjointly managed through the Institute ofRural Futures and Ecosystem Management(in the School of Environmental Manage-ment and Natural Resource Management)at the University of New England. Sincerethanks to Nick Reid, Ian Reeve and JohnReid for guidance throughout the project.Sincere thanks also to The Plague and theMoonflower production team for givingpermission for the use of the production asa case study and in particular ConductorBruce Menzies and Director Fran Curtis forproviding comments on a draft of this man-uscript. Thanks also to the many inter-viewees and case study participants, and toRalph Steadman and Len Zell for the use oftheir images.

References

Andrew J. and Eastburn D. (1997) ConsideringCommunity Diversity: The Murray-Darling BasinCommission. Deakin University, Geelong.

Australian State of the Environment Committee(2001) State of the Environment 2001.Independent Report to the CommonwealthMinister for the Environment and Heritage.CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the Departmentof the Environment and Heritage, Canberra.

Berensohn P. (2002) Interview on ‘Environment andthe Arts’. ABC Radio National, ‘Earthbeat’,broadcast on 1 June 2002. http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/earth/stories/s570032.htm.

Bonyhady T. (2000) The Colonial Earth. TheMiegunyah Press, Melbourne University Press,Carlton South.

Cembalest R. (1991) The ecological art explosion.Artnews Summer 1991, 96–105.

Clifford S. (2000) Culture Matters (EnvironmentalIssue), 2, Queensland Community ArtsNetwork, Brisbane.

Costantoura P. (2000) Australians and the Arts.Australia Council, Surrey Hills.

Curtis D., Curtis F. and Dunsford C. (1999) TheCase of the Memorable Moment: the StreuthFamily Investigate the Role of Art in ChangingBehaviour and Attitudes Towards the Environ-ment. Southern Crossings. Pointers forChange International Conference on Environ-mental Education, Sydney.

Downfall Creek. Bushland Centre (2002)Mountains to Mangroves Corridor. Brochure.http://www.mountainstomangroves.org.

Eastburn D. (1999) … the Search for the Story-Teller and the Artist. M. Env. Ed. Thesis.University Canberra, Canberra.

Evergreen Theatre (2002) Evergreen TheatreSociety: educating about the environment.http://www.evergreentheatre.com.

Fenna A. and Economou N. (1998) Green politicsand environmental policy in Australia. In: Intro-duction to Australian Public Policy (eds A.Fenna) pp. 331–357. Addison-WesleyLongman, South Melbourne.

Goldberg V. (1991) A terrible beauty. ArtnewsSummer 1991, 106–113.

Grant P. (2001) Wild Art at the World’s end. Artlink21, 14–16.

Green R. (2002) Preface. In: Uncharted Waters (edD. Connell) Murray-Darling Basin Commission,Canberra, viii.

Kastner J. and Wallis B., eds. (2001) Land and Envi-ronmental Art. Phaidon Press, London.

Meekison L. and Higgs E. (1998) The rites of spring(and other seasons): The ritualising of restora-tion. Restoration and Management Notes 16(1), 73–81.

Morrison T. (1988) Margaret Mee in search offlowers of the Amazonian Forests. NonesuchExpeditions, Suffolk.

Norman R. (2001) Reading the waters. Artlink 21,10–13.

Roqueplo P. (1986) Der Saure Regen. Ein ‘Unfall inZeitluppe’ – Ein Beitrag zu Einer Soziologie desRisikos. Soziale Welt, 4, 402–426.

The arts and restoration: A fertile partnership?

Documents

Transcript of The arts and restoration: A fertile partnership?