Art for Wildlife

Lynne Hull is an artist who works wider than in the frame of conceptual art. Her works are surprisingly functional.

Raptor Roosts

 "Useful to birds and animals - but why call them art? Because they are sculptures . . .
they are all aesthetically pleasing . . .
And they might well tickle the mind, too -
provoking a few thoughts about what we are doing to our environment."
- John Fox, The Nation, Nairobi, Kenya

 Lynne is an environmentalist artist whose works contribute to sustainable ecological conditions and wild life habitat withing particular bio regions. She created sculptural bird nesting sites in Utah and Wyoming where there are insufficient numbers of natural trees. "Hull created habitats for birds from recycled telephone poles, paint, and wooden cross-beams or branches attached with metal hardware. Hull views her art in the contexts of global and local webs of life that include people, animals, and plants.Hull's art is interdependent with community and ecological issues. Her life-centered approach to making art is community-based, associated with particular geographic locations and with the understanding that art, culture, and ecological relationships need to consider issues of biodiversity."

 

Another interesting example are Hydroglyphs - water capture carved in rocks basins for desert wildlife holding rain or snowmelt. They help wildlife to find that valuable source in the areas where water is scarce naturally or was taken away bu humans.

To me Hull is a type of an artist who balances on the border between art, design (if there is a design for wildlife) and crafts. However, I cannot but agree that her "artistic relationship with nature illustrates that artists can venture out of their studios and connect ideas about art, aesthetics, ecology, and culture to the benefit of all concerned." She is a person who is moved by a very honest desire to contribute to the health of the planet and uses her artistic resources. She does not need a viewer that much to appreciate her works (most of them are away from the popular roots) and is satisfied with the knowledge that her work helps wildlife. She often works in collaboration with zoologists and other scientists to organize educational programs all over the world for locals, to help people through art understand their nature and interact with it for good.


Resources:
Lynne Hull's Website
Greenmuseum