Semester II Honors Reflection
Seminar Reflection
Choice Project
Artist Statement
Nature has its own organic, individual soul and energy and Gaia, our Mother Earth, is most sacred, which makes it horrid to disturb the natural flow of our beloved planet. Each character in the Monkey Wrench Gang was affronted by the attacks on Gaia and each had a personal and distinct motive for participating in eco-terrorism. However, despite their individual viewpoints and motivations, the gang came together in a common action to “monkey wrench” or sabotage the industrialization or development of wilderness areas. For the gang, their actions spoke louder than words and it was less important to espouse their individual philosophies than to make a statement with a sometimes violent act. It was their choice of actions that truly mattered to them in the end, yet, their actions raise the question, “Is any form of terrorism acceptable or positive?” At this point, I am uncertain whether or not eco-terrorism can be justified. My personal motivation for radical action would be out of pure respect for Mother Nature and all of her treasures. What I have learned from the Monkey Wrench Gang is that my passionate beliefs in nature and why I should radically protect it are not necessarily important, but the radical action I might chose is. So for now, while the destruction of Mother Nature is abhorrent, the jury is still out on radical eco-terrorism.
My art piece was an attempt to depict what the Monkey Wrench Gang has helped me to understand about my own environmental ethics and the risks that I am willing to take to protect our planet. I painted an aspen tree with an eye flowing with colors and an energy spiral above the eye to symbolize my connection to nature, which the book helped me understand to a deeper extent. I feel nature and the planet as a whole has a spirit and a soul radiating the most positive and divine energy of pure life. The eye’s purpose is to depict this soul and the spiraling colors above it represent how enlightened and divine Mother Earth is. The eye also represents the amazing amount of respect I have for nature as a pure living organism with a soul. The variety of colors spiraling in the background of the painting is also intended to portray the energy the earth is producing and spreading around. As I considered how to represent the immense beauty of nature in this painting, I came to the realization that I, too, could be radicalized on Mother Earth’s behalf. My environmental radicalism was spurred on by an Edward Abbey quote that resonated with me, “the wilderness once offered men a plausible way of life...now it functions as a psychiatric refuge. Soon there will be no wilderness. Soon there will be no place to go. Then the madness becomes universal...and the universe goes mad”. The thought of destroying our precious energy plush planet terrifies and angers me, making me feel that eco-terrorism if done right is justifiable. The Monkey Wrench Gang prompted me to re-evaluate my intentions and reconsider my respect for the Earth enough to incite my passion to consider being radical. A large inspiration for my work was Edward Abbey whose writing helped me identify my own relationship with nature and rethink how I want to have an impact going forward. In my personal interpretation, I found a spiritual connection with nature through Abbey’s work and his writings about the environment helped me understand and develop an immense amount of respect for the Earth and a desire to preserve it. My art piece shows my passion for nature as a life form, hence showing my own radicalism. The perspective I took with this piece has less to do with the actual book and more to do with expressing my own ideas and the environmental ethics that I gained from Abbey’s writing. While my painting does not have much to do with the actual book, except for the common theme of nature, I used this as an opportunity to express what I’ve gained personally from the Monkey Wrench Gang and my newly found and growing relationship with nature. |
Monkey Wrench Gang Seminar Reflection
Choice Project
Artist Statement