Home Institution
Bowdoin College
Publication Date
Spring 2022
Abstract
Urban art is a novel dimension of the environmental movement. Utilizing highly trafficked areas, urban art has the potential to spread environmental messages both because of the size of the audience and because of the contrast between nature-centered art and the urban context. The paper discusses 15 environmental urban artworks in Lisbon and conducts a visual and thematic analysis. The analysis revealed five themes present in Lisbon: the power and beauty of nature, connection with nature, environmental loss and degradation, waste management, and climate change. The most prevalent theme in Lisbon was the connection with nature, followed by a tie between power and beauty of nature and environmental loss and degradation. The presence of these works revealed concerns for the impacts of urbanization on the natural environment in a multiplicity of ways. The analysis in this paper serves as a framework for how cities and artists can use the urban setting in environmental activism.
Disciplines
Art and Design | Civic and Community Engagement | Environmental Studies | European Languages and Societies | Graphic Communications | Place and Environment | Urban, Community and Regional Planning | Urban Studies
Recommended Citation
Gunther, Ana, "Murals & Mother Nature: Urban environmental art in Lisbon reveals great concern and appreciation for the environment" (2022). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 3443.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/3443
Included in
Art and Design Commons, Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, European Languages and Societies Commons, Graphic Communications Commons, Place and Environment Commons, Urban, Community and Regional Planning Commons, Urban Studies Commons
Program Name
Portugal: Sustainability and Environmental Justice