The phrase “Think Globally Act Locally” originated in 1972 by Rene Dubos, an adviser to the UN conference on the Human Environment. It referred to the argument that to take action on global problems one must first consider the economic, cultural and ecological differences of ones local environment. Later, in 1979, Dubos suggested that environmental consciousness should begin at home. He believed a new world order needed to be created in which “natural and social” units maintain or recapture their identity, yet interplay with each other through a system of communication.
Since the advent of the Internet the concept of “natural or social unit” no longer has geographical limitations. People can now virtually gather in online communities to share common interests regardless of physical location.
The goal of this project will utilize the personal (local) act of art making in combination with global relationships and communication. The project, IN MY OWN BACKYARD I CAN SEE THE WORLD, will attempt to create awareness of both local and global issues of culture and identity. The artists in this project will take their ideas of “the local” and expand it, to both influence and act on “the global” environment, by working together towards a common goal of their choice.
Questions of Significance
•When visual information is so easily available, how does this impact the art produced within cultures? Is cultural identity maintained?
• Is art in general becoming more homogenized, concerned more with global trends than with local identity?
• Are certain areas of the globe impacted more by technology than others?
• Do artists function and even thrive in the realm of the unknown?
• What ways to problem solve can be discovered that are mutually beneficial and how are these solutions reached – verbal, non-verbal communication?
• And maybe most importantly, through technology, is it possible to develop a meaningful working relationship with another artist whom you have never met, or is collaboration through virtual means simply a paradox, of what relationships are or can be.
