#solarpunk aesthetic
Why Solarpunk Gives Me Hope for the Future ft St Andrew
When we look out into the murky depths of our future, it’s hard not to despair. The scars of capitalism run ragged through our minds, bodies, and environments. The uncertainty of a world in climate chaos is driving many into a state of apathy. Inaction and status quo politicking is so prevalent among the ruling class that it’s easy to believe in neoliberal hawk Margaret Thatcher’s assertion that “there is no alternative.” Well, there is. It’s beautiful, vibrant, and gives me hope for a juster, more ethical, and more ecological future. It’s called Solarpunk. Today, we’re going to dive into the visions of Solarpunk, uncovering what it is, what it looks like, and how exactly it can be implemented right now to construct a radical eco and human-centric present.
Solarpunk. A burgeoning movement blending aesthetics and politics that envisions a future which answers the question: “What kind of world will emerge when we finally transition to renewables?”
Loving how the core question of solarpunk is constantly being re-iterated.
“What does a sustainable civilisation look like, and how can we get there?”
I just read this article earlier today and I absolutely love the little Margaret Thatcher throwdown that occurs.
That aside, it’s a nice little article, short, sweet, and to the point. Would highly recommend reading when you have the time.
Hey guys, I’m back, I had a little reprieve from posting or even checking my blog. I wanted to address the themes of solarpunk, the direction it’s moving and if it’s considered too idealistic for our modern, cynical society.
Short Answer: Yes
Long Answer: No, not entirely
Yes, solarpunk may have optimism embedded in it, but that’s mostly to ward off despair. Despair is easy to fall into as an activist or even an entire movement, so the focus is mostly on environmental impact and restoration, mitigation of ecological collapse, etc. First and foremost however, solarpunk is a political movement and no political movement is entirely optimistic for the future, otherwise they wouldn’t exist to attempt to make a change. As a new movement, we all have to decide our direction, our appeal, etc and like I’ve said before, utopian visuals are a nice goal, but we must focus on what we can change now and not what the next generation will attempt to do down the line.
There are many things we can improve on as a movement, like drawing attention to it (either artistically or politically, preferably both), getting involved with local to state government, or even subversive action (not recommended, but very effective in certain circumstances). Whatever that can be done to push the movement into the public eye, do it, not only for yourself, but because it’s the right thing to do.
Anyway babes, that’s all from me today. This has been @punkofsunshine have a good one and stay safe.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the whole art nouveau thing, but I’d like to take a step back and analyze how the aesthetic should reflect the movement. While it is nice to have an end goal in mind, the message should be “We need to work together so the earth doesn’t become uninhabitable in our lifetime.” and not “Hey, pretty pictures of green cityscapes, but also here’s the message based around a few different political philosophies that you have to look into.”
In short I’m saying, we need to put the punk firmly in solarpunk so it reflects upon the movement as one with ideas and ideals as opposed to overly utopian in nature. A nice change would be moving away from cityscapes and focusing on architecture that feels handmade, adding in the punk principle of DIY into the aesthetic while also keeping the greenery would make something totally unique and reflect the movement better than the current iteration does. Changing the aesthetic would also drive home the point that we’re constantly evolving as a movement, constantly growing and changing.
As I’ve said before, with growth comes new challenges. If we want our message to be fully understood and not just ogled at because it’s bright and pretty, we need to make it easier to understand off the bat and not as easy to twist into something harmful where someone could say “If [X group] weren’t around, we could have this future!” Visuals are a powerful medium, we sincerely want them to reflect our intent as well as provide a message that we’re not going away, ever. So now, I ask you artists to rethink the future of this look and imagine one which is more akin to a cobbled together house with solar panels and a water pump out front as opposed to a green apartment complex in a retrofitted city. One of these is achievable in our lifetime and I know you know which one.
That’s all for today (tonight really) babes. This has been @punkofsunshine, have a good one and stay safe.
Okay, shit, I never expected this to blow up like it did, I would like to add a few things.
Thing number one, (basically a summary) yes the art-nouveau thing has its place, it’s nice to have an end goal in mind, but right now we have to think pragmatically and semi-realistically otherwise the movement won’t go anywhere and will be stuck in fantastical visions of the future. We must be fluid and shape the movement into something we want to see it become, a pathway for the future.
Thing number two, thank you so much for all the constructive criticism and additions to the post. It’s really helped spread a message in the solarpunk community (at least on Tumblr) and builds a bigger platform for people with similar ideas to stand on. It’s extremely helpful for stay at home activists like myself (not that I don’t want to participate in direct action, but I have a job and nothing happens in rural Illinois) these blog posts are the best way for me to express myself as a neurodivergent person. Most of the time it’s incredibly hard for me to put my thoughts into words in an eloquent way until I start writing.
That’s all for this little addition babes, have a good rest of your day/night.
I once again am boosting my playlist because I think it fits the movement perfectly in attitude. It has a lot of different cultural influences and has some nice ambient music in there too including a track from @thecarboncoast
I hope you enjoy! This has been punkofsunshine, have a good one and stay safe.
I have also made a Solarpunk playlist for winter in case the first playlist was too summer-centric.
