Hatley Publication Explores Mankind's Nature Interaction

SALISBURY, MD---Are stones and sand works of art or works of nature? Artist Andrew Goldsworthy shows they can be both, and Dr. James Hatley of Salisbury University’s Philosophy Department says that may lead mankind to a better understanding of the ethics of interaction between mankind and nature environments. Many think of the natural environment as pristine and untouched by human hands, but artists have been experimenting with natural elements since cave paintings were created. Philosophers are now examining the question of man and environment, specifically where art is concerned. Hatley, a faculty affiliate for SU’s new environmental issues major, explains the connection in his paper “Technology and Nature: Wilderness and the Aesthetics of the Trace in Andrew Goldsworthy.” The International Association for Environmental Philosophy (IAEP) featured the paper on its Web site after Hatley presented it during the association’s recent annual convention in Boston. Goldsworthy’s outdoor assemblages—which use found elements such as thorns, leaves, stones, sticks, snow and ice—inspired Hatley to explore how an ethical interaction between mankind and nature could best take place. The paper may be found at www.environmentalphilosophy.org.

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