The article, STEAM as Social Practice: Cultivating Creativity in Transdisciplinary Space contained some insightful ideas and case studies regarding considering a STEAM approach to the classroom (integrating Science, Technology, Engineering, ART and Mathetmatics). I appreciated how the article talked about some typical environmentally conscience art projects, but shared some criticisms and insight held by some science and engineering to make them more powerful and impactful. One line of questioning hovered over my head regarding the nature of working with recycled materials and a meaningful environmental initiative.
Whenever I have witnessed or been involved in an environmentally conscience art project centering around creating works out of recycled materials, I often question whether the final work contributes to the problem or not. For instance, if you create a blue heron out of recycled materials, and display this in a gallery or in the community, what happens to it afterward if it does not get permanently installed? Does its get broken apart and recycled again or even worse, to a landfill as a discarded sculpture? This result seems counter productive to the spirit of the environmental initiative of the project.
One idea I had was adding an “adoption” element to the art project. What if you ask you students to commit to “adopting” their work afterward and ensuring it has a permanent home for the future outside of a landfill. I think this would intensify the students commitment to the process and result, and of course the spirit of the project. And perhaps it would help the student create quality work knowing they have to “live” with their work afterward. Just a thought…
