Actions for the Earth: An Exhibit to Ground Students

Credit: Matthew Tuhey

Needless to say, it can be extremely overwhelming to be a student in the digital age. It seems that we are required to maintain a constant digital presence if we desire to lead successful careers and social lives because of the Internet’s pervasiveness. A 2023 study of college undergraduates revealed that students spend an average of 10 hours per day online. The Pew Research Center states that extensive time online harms us by reducing our focus and ability to socialize offline while increasing our exposure to dangerous misinformation. With considerable amounts of our time being spent in this abstracted reality, we find that we often neglect the well-being of the environment, our communities and ourselves. 

Fortunately, The Block Museum of Art’s latest exhibition can serve as a poignant reminder of the kinship we have with the natural systems we inhabit. Titled Actions for the Earth: Art, Care, and Ecology, this collection of artwork serves to reduce the noise and confusion of modern life, especially for Northwestern students. 

Sharmila Wood, a Western Australia-based independent curator, created this exhibit after witnessing the increased social and environmental awareness that came about during the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting product is a collection of works from 18 artists that addresses our current crises with their ideas of radical interconnectedness. Wood further explains that the ethos of this project was to combine traditional knowledge systems with a modern understanding of ecology, allowing the visitor to explore unconventional methods for challenging oppressive structures of power. 

Wood, along with the Block’s academic curator Corinne Granof, notes that it was crucial that the artworks solicit the participation of the viewer to successfully communicate the message of the collection. Interactive elements are designed to give agency back to the visitor, a choice that empowers us to be stewards of our communities and environments. 

The first piece you encounter, Yoko Ono’s Painting for the Wind (1961/2022), sets the precedent for the exhibit’s exploration of ecology and spirituality. Ono writes, “cut a hole in a bag filled with seeds of any kind and place the bag where there is wind.” This recommendation, although brief, effectively conveys this message by inviting the viewer to intentionally engage with the ecosystem’s natural rhythms. Similarly contemplative themes throughout the exhibit encourage the viewer to enter a meditative state. For example, composer and accordionist Pauline Oliveros’ collection of Sonic Meditations prompts the visitor to practice their auditory awareness of the sounds that surround us, a practice she defines as “deep listening.” 

As I analyzed the works as a collective, I noticed that many pieces were displayed through digital media, which initially seemed antithetical to the exhibit's intended purpose. As I was talking with Granof explained that many of the pieces were shown through these mediums because they are the means through which we are most accustomed to receiving information. I found that Tabita Rezaire’s Premium Connect executed this idea most effectively. Compilations of bright colors and striking graphics are played on a screen, capturing one’s attention by resembling the type of eye-catching content commonly seen on social media. Rezaire also humorously merges principles from African divination systems and quantum physics to make the viewer reevaluate their relationships with colonial technologies. 

As Granof puts it, Actions for the Earth is a “resource for our current times.” Although it cannot completely remove us from our distractions, the exhibition helps us question the ways in which we connect with the world around us. 

Actions for the Earth is a traveling exhibition hosted and produced by Independent Curators International. The exhibition was curated by Sharmila Wood, and The Block’s presentation was organized by Chicago-based curator Stephanie Smith. It is free to the public and will be on display until July 7, 2024.