Back to Home Page
Artists Community Send us Info
Membership Frequently Asked Questions About Us Search
See other Writings

Environmental Art 2008 Calendar


by greenmuseum.org

Beautiful cover Image by Nils-Udo,
Beautiful cover Image by Nils-Udo, "The Nest, earth, stones, birch trees, birch branches, grass, Luneburg Heath, Germany, 1978.
All of us here at greenmuseum.org were proud to announce the publication of: "Environmental Art 2008 Calendar: Contemporary Art in the Natural World", thanks to a partnership with Amber Lotus Publishing.

The (now sold out!) calendars were available in major bookstores throughout the United States and in some stores internationally. In addition to helping spread the word about this work and helping the participating artists, a portion of the sales went to benefit greenmuseum.org. So thank you!

We spoke recently to Tim Campbell VP Sales & Marketing at Amber Lotus Publishing and asked him about the 2008 Calendar.

First of all, what inspired Amber Lotus to want to work with greenmuseum.org on this Calendar?

Tim Campbell: I've been in the book business since graduating from college in 1984 with a Masters in Theatre. First my wife and I ran a bookstore in Austin, Texas and then I was a book rep, and so over the years I've spent a lot of time in book stores. When I first saw Andy Goldsworthy's books I knew here was something remarkable for my generation and for generations to come. The message and the media were so captivating to a neo-bohemian, nature-loving closet environmentalist like myself. I fell in love with his work. We wanted to work with Andy on a calendar project but he's politely turned us down several times. After Rivers and Tides came out I just felt the time was right for the whole art form to reach the widest possible audience.

I was particularly impressed that the children of some of my neighbors, who might not have been particularly interested in art per se, found something in the whole environmental art movement that they could really relate to, that opened the whole idea of what art could be, not to mention re-defining environmentalism and activism. It's a magical combination. Art that uses the environment as a medium to re-connect back the environment. Now that's interesting. It shakes my imagination wide open. So, one day I was looking online for sources for environmental art, and there it was, the holy grail, greenmuseum.org. I consider that a very fortunate day. I was entranced by the wealth of art and artists represented on your site, by the international flavor, and the staggering range of works. And in about 10 minutes my whole notion of what environmental art is exploded. It was so much bigger, deeper, richer and purposeful than I had known or imagined. And the rest is, as they say, history. I took the idea to Lawson and Leslie [Founders of Amber Lotus Publishers] and here we are. In my nearly 10 years at Amber Lotus this is one of the projects that I am most proud of.

What has the response been to the 2008 Calendar?

TC: The response has been overwhelming and overwhelmingly positive. EA is the bestselling new title in the history of Amber Lotus - which means as a new first year title it has sold more copies than any new title ever in our 20 year history. The calendar has sold like crazy in all kinds of venues, from a direct mail catalog company in England, to Barnes & Noble, to good old mom and pop bookstores in Vermont. Literally, everywhere across the country, we had a tremendous response to this calendar. At the beginning of last year I was tracking the number of accounts ordering each calendar and EA held the lead with a whopping 73% of all accounts ordering calendars from us, ordering that title. That was a higher percentage than any other calendar on the list including our number one bestseller.

Did you receive any specific feedback you'd like to share?

TC: My favorite response was from my New England book rep. He's a great man, a good friend and a great sales rep. But I think I can say truthfully, he's not your typical Amber Lotus customer. He said to me, "Look Tim you know me, this is not really my thing, but I've been in business a long time and I listen to my customers. Every time I laid your catalog down, when we got to the page showing Environmental Art my customers went nuts. They absolutely loved this calendar. So then I started going in and showing that title first." That's a good salesman.

What do you think accounts for the response?

TC: I think the reason Bill's accounts went nuts and the reason we've had such a tremendous response is the timing is right. And of course, the range and rich array of works you have is stunning. For a calendar to work, to really sell in large numbers, there has to be enough interest in the general public to make it swing. I think the idea of environmental art has reached the collective (un)conscious if you will. It's an idea whose time has come. I think part of that has to do with Goldsworthy's wide exposure. The movement is so much bigger than him, but he's done the movement a tremendous service by helping to break it out to a much wider audience. For that he deserves a lot of credit. Now if he and I could only change places so I'm building stone beehives in Wales and he's sitting at my desk typing the karma would be complete. It must also have something to do with the huge upsurge in general interest and concern with all things green and environmental (God bless you Al Gore). The day we have all longed for, where the idea that the we cannot continue as a species without being in real relation with the planet has arrived.


Participating artists include Chris Drury, Mark Fischer, Strijdom van der Merwe, Brandon Ballengeé, Nils-Udo, Trashformaciones, Richard Solomon, Lezli Rubin-Kunda, Steven Siegel, Bruni & Babarit, Tim Gaudreau, Urs-P. Twellman, Shelley Sacks, Fritz Haeg and Ko, Seung-hyun.
Participating artists include Chris Drury, Mark Fischer, Strijdom van der Merwe, Brandon Ballengeé, Nils-Udo, Trashformaciones, Richard Solomon, Lezli Rubin-Kunda, Steven Siegel, Bruni & Babarit, Tim Gaudreau, Urs-P. Twellman, Shelley Sacks, Fritz Haeg and Ko, Seung-hyun.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

This was the Press Release we sent out...

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

*PRESS RELEASE*

Press Contact:
Sam Bower
Executive Director
greenmuseum.org
Phone: 415-945-9322
E-mail: info@greenmuseum.org
Website: http://greenmuseum.org

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

First Environmental Art Calendar by greenmuseum.org

Corte Madera, California- Through a unique collaboration with Amber Lotus Publishers, greenmuseum.org, an online museum of environmental art, is proud to announce its first Calendar: "Environmental Art 2008: Contemporary art in the Natural World". "To our knowledge, this is the first wall calendar to address the global environmental art movement and Amber Lotus is the first major calendar company to print the pages of all its wall calendars with 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper," says Sam Bower, Executive Director of greenmuseum.org. "In terms of the medium and the message, it's a great partnership."

Environmental art is one of the most exciting art movements of our time and is growing rapidly around the world. With roots in the Land and Earth Art movements of the 1960s and '70s, and the iconic work of artists such as Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt, environmental art now celebrates our connection to nature through beauty, science, metaphor and ecological restoration. They can encompass a surprising landscape of approaches from ephemeral "art in nature" sculpture designed to last only a few hours before returning to the earth, to community-based "eco-art" installations which clean up polluted watersheds and promote public understanding of local and global environmental issues.

As concern about environmental issues increases internationally, new and surprising initiatives are emerging. Issues such as climate change, species extinction, even the restoration of polluted cityscapes, are all receiving attention from artists. In contrast to the traditional model of the lone artist in their studio, many contemporary projects involve on-site collaborations between artists, scientists, park managers and communities.

The artworks featured in the Environmental Art 2008 wall calendar were drawn from the global archives of greenmuseum.org, a not-for-profit online museum of environmental art. The calendar provides a sampling of some of the latest developments in this field to stimulate the imagination and promote the role of art in the creation of a more sustainable world culture. "By calling attention to this work in a popular medium such as a calendar we hope to show more people what's possible and inspire the creation of new work," says Bower. A portion of the Calendar sales will go to support the work of greenmuseum.org.

Please visit www.greenmuseum.org to learn more about this movement and join us in the global effort to make what's good for our communities and ecosystems even better. The Environmental Art 2008 calendar is available for sale online and at major booksellers across the United States.

####

© 2010 greenmuseum.org