Paradise: The International Center for Creation and exhibition of Art in Nature

The International Residential Center of Environmental Art

Application Click Here to Download Application of Paradise Center

PARADISE (PARDIS) is a celestial garden. The words of paradeisos in Greek, paradise in European languages, and firdaws in Arabic, originally came from Persia the "Avestan pairi-daeza" , meaning garden. It is described as an eternal spring with which the trees have blossoms and everything is joyful. The mystics in Iran simply interpreted paradise as being the good deeds of man.

Where is the meaning of paradise for us

For us Paradise means the environment we created for working in nature with people and our satisfaction. We enjoy interaction with people rejoicing spiritual state in nature.

That is why we named our small garden in Polour Paradise. This garden is situated in the north of Iran- Tehran (65^th kilometer of Haraz- Amol Road). Since 1996 we received many international artists from countries as diverse as Germany, The Netherlands, UK, Lebanon, USA, Australia, Switzerland, Ireland, Japan, Greece, Belgium.

The International artists who came in summer time stayed in our little villa, and realized their environmental art in the nature of Iran or collected material to create art pieces in their homelands. They experienced living with Iranian families, society, and traditional food.

In autumn and winter we live in small apartment near the Tehran Museum of Contemporary arts, and each year many international and local artists contact us to learn about Paradise, and Iranian contemporary art. We organize festivals, workshops, and art projects not only in the nature of different parts of Iran but also in city environments. We create an arena and allow these activities to have an international impact on the art scene. Our paradise is place where global and Iranian artists meet and exchange experiences.

Paradise International Center 2003

The Aim of Paradise is:

- One of the main goals of this center is to create peace and harmony between humans and nature.

- protect earth and purifying water.

- Promotion and appreciation of environmental artists.

- Paradise also aims to provide a platform where environmental artists can collaborate, develop ideas and gain shared insights and a different approach to making art.

Here in Paradise we have prepared workshops and short course for different groups of younger generation of environmental artists. Through discussion on examples of works by famous environmental artists they inspire and learn to develop their own works in nature. This center is interested in working with people, organizations, museums, and galleries around the globe and developing artistic experiences and cultural exchange. We hope that the exhibition and presentation of these works will create a space for cultural exchange and dialogue among nations.

The Paradise Art Centre is internationally recognized as:

- A resident center for international environmental artists who wish to inspire or create and display their works in nature. So far some festivals took place in Polour and many environmental works performed and created in this village.

- A permanent gallery in nature which display works by Iranian environmental artist Ahmad Nadalian. This beautiful natural environment has created the backdrop for the stone-carvings of Ahmad Nadalian. Since he began his activity in 1996, many artists and visitors have come here to view his work. In addition, everyday thousands of people visit his works at WWW.RiverArt.Net.

What is unique about The Paradise Centre?

- Paradise is among the few places in the world which receive only environmental artists and concentrate on environment issue. It is also a platform for development of the environmental movement and art.

- This village has many attractions. Being close to Mount Damavand, the climate in this village is extremely favorable in the months during late spring and summer. Beauty of nature, kindness of people who live in the village. Its lush green valleys, flowers, many springs and rivers (the source for Haraz River), Gol-Zard Cave, and the local tribe and indigenous people are some of the reasons why thousands make this their vacation spot during the summer.

The building of Paradise in a fogy day

Poloor in late spring 1985

Small villa in Paradise Garden 2001

Time and Duration of Residency

Poloor is extremely cold during autumn and winter. The favorable months of stay at this center are therefore during the late spring and summer. The period of residence is anytime between June and August, for fifteen days.

It will be possible to house few artists a year at this center and Iranian artists and visitors will be able to witness the created works.

These works will also be made available to the public on the Internet and as multimedia format CDs.

Application

Artists wishing to inspire or create and display their works in nature are invited to submit their requests, previous work history and proposals for this project by e-mail. The management of "Paradise" and other critics in the field of contemporary art will choose applicants based on their previous work experience and proposed project for this site.

Click Here to Download Application of Paradise Center

About Environmental Art

Now, at the beginning of 21st century, we have made new discoveries and advances, and acquired new abilities. But at the same time we are encountering problems, crises, and diseases which never existed before. In many ways, contemporary man uses or abuse nature to make life better, yet the pollution and environmental problems can be easily seen by almost anyone anywhere in the world.

Technological developments, increasing population, inappropriate ways of using natural resources, change of climate and a lack of good behavior towards nature have resulted in many problems for all creatures, including human beings. Polluted environments are the result of polluted emotions, thoughts and attitudes.

In the contemporary world many artists and scientists, from around the globe, have shown an interest in environmental issues. The pollution of nature has been the subject of both scientific research and the development of new movements in society and art.

In societies which are fully equipped with new technology, many scientists investigate these environmental crises. But in many societies, mostly third world countries, we can see that many people neither have a belief in respecting nature, nor good education in how to behave with respect to nature.

Historically the movement ‘environmental art’ emerged in the 1960's in response to the ecological movement. They tried to facilitate a "sustainable balance between human and non-human nature through restoration, education, and multidisciplinary collaboration. Given the educational focus of environmental art, community involvement is often central." "Much environmental art is ephemeral, designed for a particular place (site-specific) and involves collaborations between artists and others such as scientists, educators and community groups".

We can distinguish environmental art from land art and earth art, though in some cases both terms can be applied to a single work.

Environmental movement and art in some cases has been a result of collaboration between scientists, artists and audiences.

Here we would like to classify at least four types of environmental art. First, some environmental artists are interested primarily in the aesthetic of their work: they use natural elements or environment to create beauty, it seems that they are not committed to educating the community and the people (or at least in their works the educational message is not obvious), they don’t protest or give awareness about losing nature, but just want to create a peace of art. Second, those artists whose work shows a strong ecological message: some of this work can be regarded as social activity or part of the green movement rather than art, and in these works the boundary between social movement and art is not clear. Third, a type of environmental art which shows a combination of both aspects: where we can see beauty as well as concept or social message. Fourth, where the artist uses virtual material and technology to produce environmental art: in this type of work the artist may use material by other artists or scientists, and this type of work is also often presented in museums, galleries or other media such as the web.

Now we need to provide a platform for further development of the environmental movement and art. We have to use every possibility to show the crises and ways to face this global problem. We need new knowledge, approaches, vision and spirituality to improve ourselves and our environment. Through education and art we can inform and educate societies.

Individual artists can not know and measure all change in environment. Scientists tell us what is happening on the bottom of ocean, in space, or in each atom and what will be the consequence of any change in nature. They have the ability to examine, record, and report any transformation in environment and can inform us of the dimension, aspect and vastness of environmental crises. Artists may have the ability to visualize the outcome of the scientist investigations and change the situation for better.

There is no question about the deepness of environmental disasters and crises. Environmental crises and diseases are the result of many changes in nature and a lack of good behavior and education. A pure world belongs to a pure being, but the pollution of nature comes from the pollution of the human soul.

The focus of environmental and ecological art can be in clarifying the fact that in this planet we are not alone and everything doesn't belonging to us. All we need to learn is to stop polluting it any further.

Finally we have to realize that we are part of "Mother Nature", so through a dialogue with nature and our environment we can learn how to behave and how to improve our attitude. Through this interaction we can enrich our culture, and create a new and ideal environment.

Dialogue of Artists and Scientists with Nature

Ahmad Nadalian

Introduction

Scientists can provide information about the deepness and consequence of this global disaster, but they cannot solve the entire problem alone. The fact is that the discoveries of scientists and their specialist language may not be comprehended by all people or individuals. A wide range of artists have the ability and talent to make it tangible and have an impact on societies.

On the other hand the results of investigation and research by scientists can provide the subject matter for works by environmental artists. There are many artists who use visual material provided by scientists to produce art such as installation, video art, video installation, multimedia… This virtual education can easily travel to any part of the world.

In this paper we try to address the environmental crisis and then we suggest the collaborative role that scientists and artists can take to confront this global disaster. In order to understand ecological and environmental art, we have to define what ecology, environment or environmental crises are. Then we will discuss the emergence of environmental art and say what it means. Finally discussion focuses on the collaboration between scientists, artists and all communities, which can enrich our culture and create a new and ideal environment.

What is Ecology?

Scientists understand and communicate with nature through ecology, which is "the study of how living and non-living things in an environment interact with one another. They could be living together in peace and harmony, or they could be out to destroy and use one another. This is part of the cycle of life." Now the signification of ecology is changed. "Ecology is no longer just an obscure field of scientific study practiced by a few field biologists roaming the prairies, forests, and streams in search of truths about how nature works."

What are environmental issues?

Likewise the meaning of environment has expanded. "When we think about the environment and environmental issues we each think about different things. Probably everyone correctly recognizes oil spills, air pollution and water pollution as being environmental issues. Other issues that come to mind are nuclear power" ... Some other people "will point to deforestation, desertification, over fishing and overgrazing as being environmental issues. Are all of these environmental issues? Yes, and there are many more". Fundamental are: "the ecosystems consist of air, water, land and living things (biodiversity)--species of plants, animals and other organisms, such as bacteria, viruses and so on--as all being interrelated (including natural events)." All this makes up "the environment." And we are in it.

Scientists also point out many other types of environmental disasters: the greenhouse effect which is going to cause climate change, the ozone layer disappearing, acid rain killing our lakes and forests, exploding human population precipitating mass starvation. "There is now broad agreement in the scientific community that there are serious problems with the life-supporting processes of our environment. Air, water, soil, habitats, wildlife, and other public resources are being rapidly degraded in all countries"… "There is clear evidence that ecosystems are breaking down"…

Such environmental destruction is now found everywhere. Perhaps the biggest reason for developing a worldwide effort to monitor and restrict global pollution is the fact that most forms of pollution do not respect national boundaries. The first major international conference on environmental issues was held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972 and was sponsored by the United Nations (UN). "Environmental protection is a rare occurrence in human history because there is no inherent mechanism in society for protecting it. In the past, nature has survived only because humans lacked the power to destroy it. This is no longer the case". "Since 1880, the average global temperatures have risen sharply, and the1980s were the warmest decade in the last hundred years. Ozone decreases of up to twenty-five percent have been detected. An estimated 36,500 species of plants and animals become extinct each year, mostly because of human activities."

Polluted Water

Water is undoubtedly the most precious natural resource that exists on our planet. Without water the life on Earth would not exist; it is essential for everything on our planet to grow and prosper. Although we as humans recognize this fact, we disregard it by polluting our rivers, lakes, and oceans. Subsequently, we are slowly but surely harming our planet to the point where organisms are dying at a very alarming rate. In addition to innocent organisms dying off, our drinking water has also become greatly affected, as is our ability to use water for recreational purposes. "The pollution of rivers and streams with chemical contaminants has become one of the most crucial environmental problems within the 20th century. Waterborne chemical pollution entering rivers and streams cause tremendous amounts of destruction." "Estimates suggest that nearly 1.5 billion people lack safe drinking water and that at least 5 million deaths per year can be attributed to waterborne diseases. "

Clearly, the problems associated with water pollution have the capability to disrupt life on our planet to a great extent. "It is ultimately up to us, to be informed, responsible and involved when it comes to the problems we face with our water". "As we head into the 21st century, awareness and education will most assuredly continue to be the two most important ways to prevent water pollution. If these measures are not taken and water pollution continues, life on earth will suffer severely".

"Environmental problems involve not only ecological issues but political, economic, and religious ones as well." The world today is divided by unjustified wars and terror. These issues are expanding our problems and as a result we will face further environmental crisis. So we can say that environmental crises exist in many fields.

As we have seen, many societies are fully equipped with new technology; and they are the real force behind the environmental crisis. Many artists and scientists in developed societies are aware of the implications of this crisis, thus it is debated in academic and scholarly circles, and strict laws are passed. This is not the case in developing and Third World countries, where they are either still struggling to gain access to advanced technology, or it has been imported already. But the sensitivity to environmental issues that should accompany these advances is still lacking.

It is clear that past approaches to environmental reform will be insufficient for future success. A new approach is clearly needed. Inappropriate human behavior patterns and misplaced values and belief systems produced these crises.

As we have given the evidence we involve a deep problem. From the early stages artists shoed sensitivity and started to reflect these crises in their works.

The Emergence of Environmental Art

Art reflects the beauty of nature and can help us to improve our relationship with the natural world. In the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries many artists escaped from cities and technology, to produce their art work in nature or even in a primitive society. It is obvious that they felt the problem and could suggest the consequence of the development of technology. The fact is that now we cannot all escape from civilization and forget about technology. Without the current facilities we will face many problems too. So it is better to be reminded that nature should be used in a correct and appropriate manner.

Generally modern art was not interested in education and sought to escape from subject matter and any involvement of social issues. After the 1970’s many artists started to convey idea and engage in education. They involved the audience and considered the surrounding space as an inseparable part of a piece of art. Many contemporary artists are now interested in political, social and environmental activities.

Historically the movement which we call it environmental art emerged in the 1960's in response to the ecological movement. They try to facilitate a "sustainable balance between human and non-human nature through restoration, education, and multidisciplinary collaboration. Given the educational focus of environmental art, community involvement is often central." "Much environmental art is ephemeral, designed for a particular place (site-specific) and involves collaborations between artists and others such as scientists, educators and community groups".

We can distinguish environmental art from land art and earth art, though in some cases both terms can be applied to a single work. However, some scholars say: in the broadest sense, "environmental art also includes architecture and landscaping". Environmental art adds to the quality of the built environment and of planning. It enriches the environment and lends itdistinction.

Environmental art is grounded in an ethos that focuses on interrelationships. These relationships include not only physical and biological pathways but also the cultural, political and historical aspects of ecological systems. (Wallen & Lerner). Through the medium of art, the patterns of human and non-human nature can be visualized as a dynamic and interdependent system.

Ecological art becomes a platform for a culture that focuses not only on moral aspects and the beauty of the mind but also on aesthetic values. Allegory is often a key element in environmental and ecological art. The different aspects of nature which have been unnoticed can be seen and interpreted again.

Environmental movement and art in some cases has been a result of a collaboration between scientists, artists and audiences.

Here I would like to classify at least four types of environmental art. First, some environmental artists are interested primarily in the aesthetic of their work: they use natural elements or environment to create beauty, it seems that they are not committed to educating the community and the people (or at least in their works the educational message is not obvious), they don’t protest or give awareness about losing nature, but just want to crate a peace of art. Second, those artists whose work shows a strong ecological message: some of this work can be regarded as social activity or part of the green movement rather than art, and in these works the boundary between social movement and art is not clear. Third, a type of environmental art which shows a combination of both aspects: where we can see beauty as well as concept or social message. Fourth, where the artist uses virtual material and technology to produce environmental art: in this type of work the artist may use material by other artists or scientists, and this type of work is also often presented in museums, galleries or other media such as the web.

Artists and scientists need to exchange ideas and thoughts, and can show each other new horizons.

Conclusion

All the above mentioned evidence shows, that there is no question about the deepness of environmental disasters and crises. Environmental crises and diseases are the result of many changes in nature and a lack of good behavior and education. A pure world belongs to a pure being, but the pollution of nature comes from the pollution of the human soul.

The vastness of environmental crises requires global willingness, collaboration between scientists, those who are involved in education, and finally those who use art to express this tragedy.

Scientists increase our knowledge about nature and provide information about its processes, but artists can feel the environmental problem and through their art show their vision and imagination about the environment. Scientists can perceive and prove the contemporary crises by a logical investigation and give us a classified report, while ecological artists can interpret nature or create artworks which influence societies.

Collaboration between scientists and artists can make people of environmental disaster and expand the movement. The knowledge and information provided by scientists may inspire artists to suggest the subject-matter of environmental art. Occasionally they use the material provided by scientists, such as images and clips, to produce the art works which can educate people to save environment.

Anyone wishing to view the works in this village may contact the manager at +98 9121482177 or send e-mail to : Contact


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