A natural human assumption is that there is always more time. The thought of tomorrow offers more time to share with each other, more time to do the things we want to do, more time to save the world—perhaps even more time to become who we want to be. Newton Harrison chose to become a maker of earth, a voice for the ocean, and a visionary where others refuse to look. He spent an entire career creating art that draws attention to imperative environmental struggles. For Newton, today was already too late and action needed to begin yesterday. With his recent passing, what becomes the legacy of ecological art?
Together with his wife and creative collaborator Helen Mayer Harrison, Newton became a pioneer of the ecological art movement by blending highly conceptual ideologies with eco-activism. The Harrisons regarded all living systems as in dialogue with each other, thus creating a...