ABSTRACT
SUMMARY: This chapter discusses the role the arts play in the sustainable management of the environment and its relationship to society. It examines the parallel attitudes in both the secular west and in Islam towards environmental stewardship and its influence on the work of artists. Artists are inevitably linked to the environment because their materials and tools come from nature. Their use of natural materials and the development of the technology of art has had a profound impact on human history and technological advancement. Human technologies paralleled the explorations and development of the artists and craftsmen, from the caves, through the iron and bronze ages, to present technologies. The natural world has been the fundamental source for art materials. The need to respect, nurture and preserve nature is inherent in the tradition of making art. Art materials themselves however, were often toxic for artists, and they were one of the earliest professions to examine the environmental and health hazards of their materials and working conditions. During the current ecological crisis, much art addresses the problem of the environment. New genres of art have emerged that confront the issues of environmental waste, hazards, and the destruction of nature. Artists have created forms of art using the natural environment itself as both subject and material for artworks. The secular west and Islam share a sense of ethical responsibility for the environment, and its impact on health and quality of life for the global human community. Their artists express these concerns in their art.
