environmental concerns

hello,

i wanted to ask a question to artists, or perhaps generate a discussion… however imbecilic it may appear… it's why I am asking it…

you can't help let the matters of the world affect what you produce. indeed it supports why u do what u do.

but in my own thinking about art i am often faced with a dilemma between my visions for pieces that push, or extend upon previous practices - and the lineage of art itself - that is, art that tends to be formal, with cultural references, social critique, etc…

but the situation of the environment often comes up for me as an artist, whether or not I frequently choose to imbue these themes in new work…

for example I can be at a magazine stand and glance through the latest issue of IDN - and find meaningful insight and validation for what i do/want to do. i've always been interested in sound and light, immersive experience, virtuality etc… but on the other hand,
in that same magazine stand i can pick up a copy of Adbusters… and that feeling is completely reversed…

i feel like an imposter… a contributer and proponent of the veil that protects people from dealing with environmental issues head on…

these practices seem to go against the core of what is happening in the world. ie… the claim is often made that the minions who walk the earth are 'consumers', safe-guarded with their tv's, incesant shoppers, addictive creatures, oblivious, or beastly careless to the effect our way of life is having on the planet…

my question is, is immersive, or indeed any type of art, that does not engage environmental issues a dismisal of them? is the artist in that sense any wiser than the spectacle consumer? art is entangled in that spectacle and serves as an anaesthetic to people who simply prefer different flavours…

is non-environmental art just as guilty of "concealing" environmental matters as any other form of media, in that it is still purely escapism?

granted, who would want a world of purely 'environmental' art… (re: land art etc) but i can't help feeling a sense of guilt, when say, i aim to create a completely immersive self contained art experience that envelops the audience, and concerns itself with say, for instance, science fiction films…

am i just being pedantic?

does any one else share this conundrum?

is it arts job to do anything about the environment?

are u an immoral artist if you don't?

LT.

p.s. latest adbusters issue is very good