CONTEXT

            The buttons I am designing will use the same language as political campaign buttons. Campaign buttons bear some similarity to bumper stickers, which are also used for political or other promotional messages. As a novelty item, campaign buttons are part of the hobby of collecting. For the past 100 years, slogans have been used to promote candidates and causes.

            The language of the 4-part campaign button – metal back, paper design, clear plastic cover, and metal pin – lends itself well to my project. The idea of pins as “retro” collectible novelty items enhances the idea of “green-washing” that is related to the piece. Green-washing, a corporation or business’s deceptive advertisement of a product or policy as “environmentally-friendly” or “green”, is a result of the commercialization of the recent surge in bright green environmentalism. The language of the pin suggests a consumer’s ability to acquire environmentalist status through collectible items.

PROCESS

            I will have to finalize the button design on Photoshop or InDesign, and then save the design as a PSD, PNG, PDF, AI, TIFF, JPG or EPS. I will then upload my design to justbuttons.org and order 50 2.25” metal pin-back buttons through this website for $35.00, plus shipping.

SCHEDULE

1.      Finalize button design on Photoshop and/or InDesign.

2.      Upload and order 50 2.25” metal pin-back buttons from justbuttons.org

3.      Receive buttons within a few weeks.

WHY?

The social interaction between the audience, social systems, and the artist through the distribution and receiving of the button pins, and the resulting room of people wearing these pins, is meant to inspire debate and catalyze social exchange. This piece is meant to engage the audience in thought and discussion about their roles as environmentally-conscious consumers in a time of extreme environmental crises. The circulation of the pins will lead to a circulation of questions throughout the audience, such as, “Am I pretending to be an environmentalist? What environmental issues am I aware of that I am not acting on? Are the simple things that I do, like recycling, not enough? Is it my responsibility to do more?” By offering a pin to every person in the audience, each individual will be confronted with the question of their personal environmental responsibility. Whether or not they choose to accept and wear the pin or reject the pin will be a direct reflection of themselves. To wear the pin is to accept responsibility for one’s personal environmental impacts; to reject the pin is to excuse oneself from this responsibility.

            As an environmentalist, the hardest thing for me has been accepting responsibility for all the choices I make as a consumer that contribute to pollution, depletion of resources, etc. However, after I did accept responsibility for my actions, I was able to make drastic lifestyle changes that have greatly minimized my negative impact on the environment. I still, however, have many more improvements to make. In a time of extreme environmental crises, humans must make rapid changes to our lifestyles. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and there is no time to waste. This inspired I Pretend To Care About the Environment as a social engagement piece. These buttons will serve as mirrors for self-assessment to the audience of consumers attending Senior Showcase. I will use Senior Showcase as a vehicle to distribute the pins and by extension the message of environmental consumer responsibility. Through this performance piece, I hope to inspire honest environmentalists from the audience to make more serious and dedicated choices for the betterment of the world.