Going to the Two Rivers Art Gallery was a very eye-opening experience. “Dismantled worlds” art exhibit really prompted me to reflect on how we are treating our earth. I am fortunate enough that when I went to elementary and secondary school, I never really gave much thought to how the earth is slowly deteriorating. I know in present time there are many children and youth that are experiencing climate anxiety. As a teacher, it is important for me to be aware that many of my students may be experiencing these feelings and to be empathetic and attentive to these common but valid emotions. Something small I can do as a teacher in my classroom is encourage recycling, reduce energy consumption in the classroom, and educating myself and my students about the importance of being kind and respectful to the earth and the land around us.
It was interesting to do the observing activities. I observed Through Ash by Jude Griebel and attached a picture to this post. I have never taken the time to look at a piece of art for an extended period of time. By doing this I was able to recognize so many small but important details in the art piece. I was often questioning what made the artist specifically place artifacts in certain spots. It would be interesting to get in their heads during the process of creating the art. While we were observing we didn’t get much context as to what the meaning behind the art piece was. What I got from this art piece was the interpretation of how humans have destroyed the earth due to capitalism and the exploitation of natural resources. The sun is red representing the pollution that is hypothetically present in the art piece. Observing this art piece made me feel a lot of emotions but mostly sadness and anger. We can see how much the earth has been affected over the years especially with global warming and climate change. I hope as teachers we can educate our students on the importance of treating the earth with respect and try to encourage recycling and reduce overconsumption.