Sustainable Cinema

Abstract

Beyond mere inspiration, a subset of artists have given the natural world a more influential role in the outcome of their work. By harnessing the physics, biology, and ecology of the natural environment as artistic tools, they have used natural phenomena as a co-creator in their art-making practices. This use of natural force impacting the actual form of an artwork can also extend into moving image arts. Sustainable Cinema is a series of kinetic public sculptures that merge natural power sources with early optical illusions to create a moving image. The variations within this series now cover seven distinct image generating systems, multiple animation narratives, and several alternative energy sources. This chapter reviews each sculpture in form, content and site and discusses how collectively they create a case study for a larger perspective on culture's relationship with the forces of nature and the materiality of the moving image.