London-based artist and political activist Gustav Metzger is to initiate the project ‘Remember Nature’, with arts practitioners around the world encouraged to participate in a Day of Action to highlight the topic of extinction. Metzger’s call to action urges arts professionals and students from all disciplines to create new work concerning this issue.
‘Remember Nature’, will address global issues such as extinction, climate change and environmental pollution. A launch event will take place at Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design and at art schools nationwide on 4 November. Metzger’s work, including his involvement in the Serpentine’s Extinction Marathon in 2014 and his acclaimed exhibition, Decades 1959 – 2009 at the Serpentine Gallery in 2009, addresses climate change and its catastrophic effects.
Metzger says: “This appeal is for the widest possible participation from the world of the arts. It is our privilege and our duty to be at the forefront of this struggle. We have no choice but to follow the path of ethics into aesthetics. We live in societies suffocating in waste.”
“The art, architecture and design world needs to take a stand against the ongoing erasure of species – even where there is little chance of ultimate success. It is our privilege and our duty to be at the forefront of the struggle. There is no choice but to follow the path of ethics into aesthetics. We live in societies suffocating in waste. Our task is to remind people of the richness and complexity in nature; to protect nature as far as we can and by doing so art will enter new territories that are inherently creative, that are primarily for the good of the universe”.
Taking place in The Street, the Remember Nature performance will be followed by an exhibition curated by Alex Schady, Art Programme Director, Central Saint Martins in collaboration with Gustav Metzger and supported by the Serpentine Gallery London, showcasing work made in response to Metzger’s call to action by students from across our Art Programme.
About the artist:
Gustav Metzger is a London-based artist who was born in Nuremberg, Germany in 1926 to Polish-Jewish parents. From 1945 to 1953, Metzger studied at art schools in Cambridge, London, Antwerp and Oxford. His practice has spanned over 65 years, focusing on opposing yet interdependent forces, such as destruction and creation. In 1959, he developed the concept of ‘auto-destructive art’ and ‘auto-creative art’, proposing works that reflect the destructive nature of political and economic systems.
Gustav Metzger: Remember Nature Project – Central Saint Martins – 4 November to 5 November 2015