140 Artists' Ideas for Planet Earth

by Hans Ulrich Obrist

Through 140 drawings, thought experiments, recipes, activist instructions, gardening ideas, insurgences and personal revolutions, artists who spend their lives thinking outside the box guide you to a new worldview; where you and the planet are one.

Everything here is new. We invite you to rip out pages, to hang them up at home, to draw and scribble, to cook, to meditate, to take the book to your nearest green space.

Featuring Olafur Eliasson, Etel Adnan, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Jane Fonda & Swoon, Judy Chicago, Black Quantum Futurism Collective, Vivienne Westwood, Cauleen Smith, Marina Abramovic, Karrabing Film Collective, and many more.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Design, Cookbooks, Art Design, Nature, Environment

288 pages, Paperback

First published June 3, 2021

About the author

Hans Ulrich Obrist is co-director of the Serpentine Gallery in London. Prior to this, he was Curator of the Musée d'art moderne de la ville de Paris from 2000 to 2006, as well as curator of Museum in progress, Vienna, from 1993 to 2000. Obrist has co-curated over 250 exhibitions since his first exhibition, the Kitchen show (World Soup) in 1991: including 1st Berlin Biennale, 1998; Utopia Station, 2003; 1st & 2nd Moscow Biennale, 2005 and 2007; Lyon Biennale, 2007; and Indian Highway, 2008-2011.
Obrist is the editor of a series of conversation books published by Walther Koenig. He has also edited the writings of Gerhard Richter, Gilbert & George and Louise Bourgeois. He has contributed to over 200 book projects, his recent publications include A Brief History of Curating, dontstopdontstopdontstopdontstop, The future will be…with M/M (Paris), Interview with Hans-Peter Feldmann, and Ai Wei Wei Speaks, along with two volumes of his selected interviews (Interviews: Vol. 1 & 2). The Marathon series of public events was conceived by Hans Ulrich Obrist in Stuttgart in 2005. The first in the Serpentine series, the Interview Marathon in 2006, involved interviews with leading figures in contemporary culture over 24 hours, conducted by Obrist and architect Rem Koolhaas. This was followed by the Experiment Marathon, conceived by Obrist and artist Olafur Eliasson in 2007, the Manifesto Marathon in 2008, the Poetry Marathon in 2009, Map Marathon in 2010, and the Garden Marathon in 2011.
In 2009, Obrist was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). In March 2011, he was awarded the Bard College Award for Curatorial Excellence.

Reviews

[Molly Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely devoured this book. Almost every page I bookmarked because there was a quote I liked. Was so amazing and thought provoking. If you are an art or philosophy lover - you will love this book.

[Ivana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed several ideas/artworks but generally writing, there were too many recipes for someone who does not like cooking.

[My Little Forest · Rating 3 out of 5]

This handbook's main course is filled with all types of nutritious notions and fruitful contextualisations regarding the (missing) relationship between the Earth and its living beings.

Some artists manifest their ideologies through sarcasm; others do it through raw realism; and others with such sophisticated means that I could truthfully barely grasp its intentions. Also keep in mind that this was compiled in times of Covid-19.

This compilation of vignetted one-page-long chapters is for you if you're looking for literally what the title suggests: 140 (widely) different artists' ideas for Planet Earth.

For teachers, if you're looking for some SDG content– you won't be let down! Take a close look at: 7, 66, 91, and particularly 127.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. A nice book to hold in the hand and consider the wider picture of groundedness, what has transpired, is transpiring and what may emerge, with artists as guides, seers, activists and advisors. Interesting how often the actions have a spiritual aspect.

[Analeal96 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a treasure for me. It reminds me of the valuable things of life in this planet, the importance to reconnect with nature and the community. It's good to read one artist everyday and just think and reflect about his/her words.

[Halle · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favourite page:

121. Sky Hopinka

Remember the street where they harmed you, where they called you that name and made you unsafe. Remember the country road you walked along as the cars passed and honked their horns and threw trash at your feet.

Remember the smell of the sea as you got to the beach and walked over dried kelp on the rocks as it baked in the sun. Remember the looks of the picnicking families eating their lunches as the fathers sat staring, dribbling mayonnaise from the corners of mouths, curling lips, shaping words that brought agony.

Remember the songs of your ancestors, shaped by the drink, shaped by the shore, shaping your presence and belonging as you find a quiet spot and rest your weary legs. Remember they were here, too.

Remember wherever you sit is a world natural and full of life and loss, of pain and humiliation, of joy and comforts that are brought under the shade and sprawled on the grass as you lay staring at clouds framed by the leaves of a tree. Remember who sat there, who stood there, who lay there before you, beside you.

They are still there, we are still here, you are still everywhere with your voice and your body as it rises and you move onward in this world with your footsteps, your breath, and your power.

[Kyle Lees · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ask a friend to slice various vegetables while you slice peeled limes. Put the former on top of the latter, making duos: for example, a slice of jalapeño pepper on a slice of lime, a slice of mango on a slice of lime, or a slice of celery on a slice of lime. Eat them while telling jokes. - Asad Raza. :)

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I paced myself with this book, reading it over a couple of months, allowing time for processing and reflection.

An eclectic, inspiring, thought provoking book about ecology, community, and de-colonisation. Made up of recipes, instructions, photographs, drawings, and so much more, this book is certainly one I will come back to time and time again.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice to read aloud !

[Otone · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting way to be introduced to the thoughts / ideas of 140 artists, with some more engaging than others.

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Sasha Alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished this in 1 night, very cleverly done

[Jona Meijer · Rating 5 out of 5]

always fun to look in

[Zane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it should be consumed as a exhibition in book form. Every idea doesn't need to be logical, make sense or even be in written format. The step by step guides can be absurd. After all it just shows that people care about nature, about future and opens different ways to talk about climate change.
The book leaves the reader thinking about how to slow down and appreciate the world around.

[liv (≧▽≦) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars**
I didn't really know what to expect but it wasn't that - I guess I thought there would be more genuine ideas but the book was filled with random recipies and other almost joke answers.
Probably the least annotated book I've read which I thought would be the most.
I did pull some quotes though:
- "the calendar often makes a discreet, quantem-like jump of thousands of years, because, while for us - humans - a year may be a huge amount of time, is it the same for the mountains? or octopuses? or microorganisms? or for pulsars or black holes?"
- "understanding the finititude of human existence and still striving to create beauty and provocate reasoning. finding new concepts, recognising new patterns. desiring to know the importance of insignificance of existance. seeing reality and still being able to dream."
- "Just as the roots of mature trees grow towards each other in complex and inter-dependent eco systems that allow each tree to stand tall, so it is our relationships with one another and with nature that allow us to flourish in harmony with our earth."

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up to inspire activities for a community action day for Earth Day. Definetly gets you thinking in different ways! Some extremely bizarre suggestions, some I admit I just didn't get, some funny, some might actually work.