Engaging with Nature
Art and Nature
Nature as Art and Artist
Does art need to be made by humans to be considered art? Is nature art? Can natural processes create art?
Nature as Art and Artist
Many artists bring their artistic vision to life with the help of the natural world. Artists work with nature by using art supplies that are often made from the natural world. For example, paint pigments often come from minerals in the earth, dyes can come from plants and minerals, and sculptures are often made from rocks, wood, or clay from the earth.
Some artists go a step further in their partnership with the natural world and use nature and natural processes to help create their art. There are several different kinds of artwork created by working with natural processes. Gardens themselves can be considered works of art! Explore a few artworks:
Japanese Garden
The Japanese Garden is one of the oldest gardens at The Huntington. It was started over a century ago and has undergone a great deal of change over the past 100 years.
Desert Garden
Over the past 100 years, gardeners have transformed the Desert Garden into a 10-acre expanse with over 2000 species of succulents and desert plants.
Bring It Together: Create Artwork with Nature
Once you have explored artworks that have been created in partnership with nature, consider the following activities:
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Design a garden or an outdoor gallery space to showcase some of the artworks you’ve explored.
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Develop a care plan for one of these artworks. What does it need? How are its needs different than a painting’s needs? How are they similar to a painting’s needs?
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Write labels for the artworks with our label writing activity for younger audiences and older audiences.
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Create a 3-D model of one of the artworks you viewed.