The Effect of Environmental Art on the Level of Environmental Literacy of Students (Kharazmi University of Karaj) Based on Cultural Components

Document Type : Original/Research/Regular Article

Authors

1 PhD Student of Art Research, Faculty of Arts, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Visual Communication, Faculty of Arts, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran.

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Visual Communication, Faculty of Arts, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

In the modern era, due to the growing industrialization of the world and the change of lifestyles and the aggressive approach of humans towards nature and its manifestations, many crises and issues have appeared in nature and its manifestations. These crises include a wide range of problems; such as air and soil pollution, water crisis, destruction of the ecosystem, noise pollution, the issue of the ozone layer, cutting down trees, hunting and extinction of animals, etc. All these problems caused environmental concerns, especially for thinkers, social groups and also groups of contemporary artists, and finally the conceptual view of this range of artists and a set of causes and the factors led to the formation of a wide flow of environmental art, the scope of which soon went far beyond the initial boundaries, and it must be said that it is still alive and dynamic. Environmental art flourished from the heart of new art in the contemporary era, although it has historical roots in past eras. New art combines the postmodern conceptual view with industrial facilities and new human products and inventions, such as computers, film and video, internet, etc. presents to the contemporary world. In other words, postmodernism; It is an era for the wide body of mainly idea-oriented and conceptual styles, which is not so attached to countless distinctions and nouns, nor can its artists be included in the group with traditional lines. artistic styles and styles were easily accommodated, and in other words, broad and numerous schools and styles gave way to mostly personal styles, and perhaps the styles and tendencies can be counted according to the number of artists of this era He searched for distinctive and special art. Among the types of artistic movements of this era, we can mention various types of environmental arts, land art, art composition, video art, performance art, body art, event art, etc. In the meantime, with human progress regarding new technologies and the emergence of field media such as film and photography, network, internet and digital media, new arts, including environmental art, benefit from this new category in the best way. they took. This research was conducted with the aim of investigating and analyzing the effect of environmental art on the level of environmental literacy of people (statistical population in this research: the student group of Kharazmi University of Karaj) and in order to achieve more complete results, the role of cultural capital of people (as a factor the interventionist in the research) to investigate and obtain specific results of these effects with quantitative and statistical analysis. Accordingly, the research questions are: "To what extent and with the intervention of which factors can environmental art be effective in the level of environmental literacy of people (group of students of Kharazmi University of Karaj)?" And "Which cultural components have more interference in the effectiveness of environmental literacy than environmental art on the target society of the research?" And according to that, the main hypothesis of the research is as follows: "Meaning with the intervention of cultural capital is effective in increasing environmental awareness and ultimately improving people's attitudes and inclination towards environmental behavior (group of students of Kharazmi University)". New art combines the postmodern conceptual view with industrial facilities and new human inventions, such as computers, film and video, Internet, etc. Contemporary has offered. Environmental art is one of the types of new art, which is directly related to natural open environments, one of its most important concerns, along with the aesthetic approach, is collective concerns caused by environmental problems and crises. In the contemporary era, due to the growing process of industrialization of the world and the change of lifestyles and the aggressive approach of humans towards nature and its manifestations, many crises and issues have appeared in nature and its manifestations, such as air and soil pollution, water crisis, ecosystem destruction, noise pollution, ozone layer problem, cutting down trees, hunting, and extinction of animals, etc. On the other hand, one of the most important aspects of human literacy, especially in today's world, is environmental literacy, which emerges in the field of environmental awareness, attitude, and behavior. This research aims to achieve the influential role and position of environmental art in today's crisis-stricken world, and seeks to achieve a clear and articulate picture of how environmental art may affect the level of environmental literacy of people by considering and intervening in cultural capital. The questions are as follows: To what extent and with the intervention of which factors can environmental art be effective in the level of environmental literacy of people (group of students of Kharazmi University of Karaj)? And which cultural components have more intervention in the effectiveness of the level of environmental literacy from environmental art on the target society of the research? And therefore, the main hypothesis of the research is as follows: "Environmental art seems to be effective in a meaningful way with the intervention of cultural capital in increasing environmental awareness and finally improving the attitude and inclination towards environmental behavior of people (group of students of Kharazmi University)". The results of the research show that environmental art has been significantly effective on the environmental literacy of the statistical population, although this effect has been different on its three aspects. According to the findings, environmental art did not have a significant impact on environmental awareness, but it did have a significant impact on environmental attitude and behavior. Also, according to the Multivariate Analysis Tests, in general, cultural capital has not had a significant effect on the effect of the stimulus (environmental art) on the dependent variable (environmental literacy), although it has interfered with the level of environmental awareness of the statistical population. And of course, in an independent state - and not as an interventionist - it has influenced the level of environmental literacy of the statistical population, especially on the environmental behavior. The type of this fundamental research and the method of conducting it, experimental and analytical in the way of pre-test and post-test and the method of data collection; it is a library document (in the theoretical foundations section) and especially a questionnaire (in the main and field research section). According to most of the writings and researches that have been examined as the background of the research, despite the thematic connection and sometimes some similarities, the present research with a more distinct approach, in a specific and comprehensive way, to the effect of art on the level of environmental literacy. Of course, with the entry of an intervening factor (cultural capital) into the research, it has been compiled and written, a point that has not been addressed in previous researches with this particular point of view.

Keywords


Azimi, M., Gholami, M. & Ramin Azad, M. (2013). Explanation of Environmental Literacy Indicators Based on Science Literacy Standards in America 2061 Project. The 14th Environmental Education Seminar. Tehran. Iran.
Bower. S. (2012) Environmental Art. A Working Guide to the Landscape of Arts for Change. A Program of Americans for the Arts.
Chilvers L., Osborne, H. (2004). The Oxford Dictionary of Art. (Translated by F. Goshayesh). Tehran: Efaf.
Coltner, J. W. (1999). Interpersonal Speech - Communication؛ Elements and Structures. (Translated by A. Mirhosseini). Tehran. Amir Kabir.
Fahim-Nejad, H. (2019). The Role of Cultural Elements and Native Arts in Environmental Art of Iran (Case Study: Ecological Art). Master's Thesis. Soore University. Tehran. Iran.
Gary, W. B., Peles, J. D., Odum, E. P. (1997). Transcending Processes and the Levels-of-Organization Concept. BioScience. September. 8. 531-535.
Harker, R. (1990). Education and Cultural Capital. An Introduction to the Work of Pierre Bourdieu: The Practice of Theory. London: Macmilan Press.
Thornes, J. E. (2018), A Rough Guide to Environmental Art, Article in Annual Review of Environment and Resources. December. 33. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1319930.
Homan, H. A. (2013). Scientific Method in Behavioral Sciences. Tehran: Samt.
Milton Berger, R. (2009). Behavior Modification: Principles and Procedures. (Translated by A. Fathi Ashtiani and H. Azimi Ashtiyani). Tehran: Samt.
Myers, D. J. (1994). Communication Technology and Social Movements: Contributions of Computer Networks to Activism. Social Science Computer Review. July. 2. 250–260.
Udo, N. (2001). Chiemgau. Germany: High Bavaria.
Pakbaz, R. (1999). Encyclopaedia of Art, Tehran: Farhane Moaser.
Sabzehei, M. T., Gholipoor, S., & Adinevand, M. (2016). A Survey of the Relationship Between Environmental Awareness. Attitude and Pro-environmental Behavior of Female Students at Qom University. Environmental Education and Sustainable Development. September. 4. 16-5.
Smagula, H. (2002), Contemporary Trends in Visual Arts. (Translated by F. Ghabraei). Tehran: Cultural Research Office.
Throsby, D. (2012). Economics and Culture. (Translated by K. Farhadi). Tehran: Ney.
Turki Baghbadrani, Z. (2014). The Role of Environmental Art in Improving the Cultural Level of Interaction with the Environment. Master's Thesis. Faculty of Art and Architecture. Tarbiat Modares University. Tehran. Iran.