An artistic perspective on nature

As I looked out my fifth-floor Forest Quad window Saturday afternoon, I saw people running, throwing Frisbees, having picnics and even doing cartwheels. Yes, spring is here, and last weekend showed it’s in full swing. The warm weather brought with it a sense of community and childlike whimsy that is characterized by all the cliche imagery of joy and wonder.\nThis past weekend, I climbed up a waterfall behind a giant playground on Old State Road 37, played board games outside Forest and Read quads and walked wherever I could. And as a good finish to an amazing weekend, I watched the Discovery Channel’s premiere three hours of the new special “Planet Earth.” What is the common factor of all these enjoyable activities? Nature.\nAt the essence of all things human is the fundamental aspect of nature. It is something that gives so much to us, and almost anyone who was outside in Bloomington this weekend will agree. Proof of its incredible impact on us is the inspiration it gives to artists. Who hasn’t seen a landscape painting? Who has never read a poem about a snowy evening? Who has never heard seaside sound effects in soothing music?\nNature is one of the greatest sources of artist inspiration, as it is the basic principle of our existence. The beginning of art itself is the primitive cave paintings of local animals at sites such as Lascaux, France. Everything we do goes back to nature, and a true artist not only takes from nature, but knows how to give back to it.\nArtists pay homage to their environment by hammering it down into their masterpiece opuses, color studies and epic poems. Through their works, they allow others to truly realize the majesty of nature. Because we enjoy so much of what nature has to offer to us, it is up to us to give back to it.\nIn these times of global warming and potentially irreversible climate change, we can be artists as average people by doing our part to save nature. Whether or not you believe in global warming, you cannot deny that nature is something we must live with symbiotically. And even if there is no threat of impending disaster, there is still no harm in living like there is. For the sake of how much we can extract from nature in the future, we must be average-citizen artists and give back to nature as much as we can now.