By Alexa Kim

April 22, 1970, marked the inaugural celebration of Earth Day, a day created to bring increased awareness of pollution, the state of the planet, and its effects on human health. With much to still be confronted about climate change, 50 years after the first Earth Day celebration, we pause to take a look at how artists have used art to address these topics and celebrate the beauty of nature. 

Through Gina Stepaniuk’s serigraph print, Vibrate (2008), the viewers are transported into a landscape surrounded by towering tree trunks, radiating hues of blue, magenta, and green. Based on a painting Stepaniuk created in 2005 from a series titled Rebirth, this forest of trees could be one of many places on our planet. Its nondescript nature is a response to a planet Stepaniuk describes as “increasingly unrecognizable” in its current state of plight. Through Stepaniuk’s work, she hopes to remind us that our planet and its landscapes are all interconnected, and each of us plays a critical role in contributing to the present state of our environment. 

In the 2015 Printmaking Survey of the Los Angeles River, artists examined their relationships with the LA River as Angelenos living in the intersections of nature and urban life. One of the works in the portfolio by Usen Gandara titled The River of Los Angeles with its Plants and Animals(2015), explores the notion of how native flora and fauna of the river might thrive, if uninterrupted by humankind. Through his linocut process, Gandara meticulously carves his idea for this idyllic natural life amidst the urban sprawl of the city. The length of the LA River is vast, stretching over 50 miles from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach. As development continues to increase along the river, changes will also come for those plants and animals who call the river home. 

One of Self Help Graphics’ recent projects includes Utopia/Dystopia, a portfolio curated by Miyo Stevens-Gandara, in which 26 artists were invited to interpret their ideas of Utopia and Dystopia on two playing cards which together form a full 52 card deck. Among the group of artists is Alex Fridrich-Ward, whose prints titled Bolsa Chica Afternoon and Bolsa Chica Evening convey contrasting visions of the Bolsa Chica wetlands. Through a  warm color gradient and beachfront properties lining the coast, the dystopian vision depicts the effects of human encroachment on the land. In contrast, Fridrich’s utopian landscape takes viewers to envision the wetlands thriving in their natural glory and uninterrupted by the human transformation.

As we enter the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, these works reveal the beauty of nature, juxtaposed against the underlying reminder that this beauty can be fleeting. As a world experiencing the urgent effects of climate change, we must honor and protect the nature around us in order to preserve the environment for generations to come.

Alexa Kim is Self Help Graphics & Art’s Program Manager, an art historian and cat mom.