Defining an Emerging Transdisciplinary Field

Abstract

GeoArt has emerged over the past four decades as an interdisciplinary field connecting geology, geography, environmental humanities, geospatial technologies, landscape architecture, and artistic practice. Yet despite its growing use, there is no universally accepted definition. Existing interpretations range from the appreciation of geological beauty and geoscience education to artistic research, geoheritage communication, and environmental storytelling. This article reviews the evolution of GeoArt through the literature and proposes a contemporary definition that positions GeoArt as a transdisciplinary practice capable of bridging science, culture, and environmental stewardship. Drawing on geography, mapping, GIS, remote sensing, landscape experience, and artistic expression, GeoArt is framed not merely as the representation of landscapes but as the transformation of geographical knowledge into cultural experience.

Introduction

The relationship between art and the Earth has long been explored through landscape painting, environmental art, cartography, and scientific illustration. More recently, the term GeoArt has emerged to describe diverse practices that engage with geological phenomena, landscapes, spatial data, environmental processes, and place-based knowledge. However, the meaning of GeoArt varies significantly across disciplines.

Some authors define GeoArt as the appreciation of natural geological beauty, while others describe it as a pedagogical tool, a geotourism strategy, a form of artistic research, or a medium for environmental communication. These varied interpretations raise an important question:

What is GeoArt, and why does it matter?

This article explores the evolution of GeoArt as a concept and proposes a broader definition that reflects contemporary developments in geography, landscape architecture, GIS, geodesign, and environmental storytelling.

The Evolution of GeoArt

1. GeoArt as Geological Interpretation

One of the earliest uses of the term appeared in Wise’s concept of Linear Geo-art (1982). Here, GeoArt referred not to artistic production but to the interpretation of geological lineaments and spatial patterns. Wise highlighted the creative and subjective dimensions of reading geological data and identifying meaningful spatial structures.

This interpretation established an important theme that persists throughout later definitions:

GeoArt involves the creation of meaning through spatial representation.

2. GeoArt as the Appreciation of Earth’s Beauty

Lee Chai Peng (2000) provided one of the earliest formal definitions:

“GeoArt is the study and appreciation of the beauty found in landforms, rocks, minerals and fossils of the Earth.”

Peng argued that Earth itself can be viewed as an artist, producing aesthetic forms across scales ranging from microscopic crystals to satellite imagery of landscapes. In this view, GeoArt serves to reveal and celebrate the intrinsic beauty of geological processes.

3. GeoArt as Geoscience Education

Also in 2000, Mieras proposed a different interpretation focused on education. Through drawing, observation, model making, and creative exercises, GeoArt became a pedagogical framework for improving geological understanding.

For Mieras, art was valuable because it encouraged close observation and deeper engagement with Earth processes. GeoArt therefore became less about aesthetics and more about learning.

4. GeoArt as Geotourism and Public Communication

Muda (2012) and later Grover (2023) expanded GeoArt into the fields of geoheritage and geotourism. Their work demonstrated how aerial photography, satellite imagery, and platforms such as Google Earth reveal landscape patterns that are often invisible from ground level.

Natural landforms appeared as visual compositions resembling animals, symbols, and abstract artworks. GeoArt therefore became a tool for increasing public appreciation of landscapes while communicating geological processes and promoting conservation.

5. GeoArt as Artistic Research

Golanska (2018) shifted GeoArt into the realm of artistic research and environmental humanities. Rather than viewing landscapes as objects to be appreciated, she understood GeoArt as a process of knowledge creation emerging through interactions between artists, materials, landscapes, weather, and ecological systems.

GeoArt became:

• artistic inquiry,
• environmental research,
• material engagement,
• knowledge production.

In this interpretation, art is not simply representation. It becomes a way of understanding the world.

6. GeoArt as Geodesign, Participation and Resilience

More recently, Tara (2024) proposed GeoArt as an extension of Geodesign and a component of a broader Georesilience Framework. This perspective argues that geospatial analysis and planning often struggle to communicate cultural meaning, emotion, and imagination beyond technical audiences.

GeoArt addresses this gap by transforming:

• GIS datasets,
• spatial analysis,
• environmental modelling,
• community narratives,
• cultural knowledge,

into artistic and participatory experiences that support communication, engagement, and resilience-building.

Why GeoArt Matters

A recurring theme throughout the literature is that scientific knowledge alone is rarely sufficient to inspire understanding, connection, or action. People engage with places not only through information but through emotion, memory, imagination, identity, and culture.

GeoArt helps bridge these dimensions.

Science	GeoArt
Data	Meaning
Evidence	Experience
Analysis	Imagination
Information	Interpretation
Knowledge	Connection
Observation	Participation

GeoArt enables geographical knowledge to become culturally meaningful and personally relevant.

A Contemporary Definition of GeoArt

Building upon previous definitions, GeoArt may be defined as:

GeoArt is a transdisciplinary creative practice and research methodology that transforms geographical knowledge, spatial data, landscapes, environmental processes, and cultural narratives into artistic forms that generate new understandings of place, strengthen human-environment relationships, and communicate complex spatial issues through aesthetic, experiential, and participatory means.

This definition integrates:

• Peng’s appreciation of Earth’s beauty;
• Mieras’ educational perspective;
• Muda and Grover’s emphasis on landscape discovery;
• Golanska’s artistic research framework; and
• Tara’s focus on mapping, participation, communication, and resilience.

Ata Tara’s Definition of GeoArt

From the perspective of Trace Visual:

GeoArt is the artistic transformation of geographical knowledge, spatial data, landscape processes, and cultural narratives into meaningful visual, experiential, and participatory forms that generate new understandings of place and strengthen connections between science, culture, and environmental stewardship.

This definition positions geography itself as both the medium and subject of artistic practice.

Maps, satellite imagery, GIS layers, stories, memories, environmental processes, and future scenarios become creative materials for inquiry and expression. GeoArt therefore moves beyond representation to become a process of interpretation, communication, participation, and transformation.

Conclusion

The concept of GeoArt has evolved considerably since its early geological origins. What began as an appreciation of geological beauty has expanded into a transdisciplinary practice encompassing education, artistic research, geotourism, environmental communication, geodesign, and resilience.

Today, GeoArt offers more than artistic representation of landscapes. It provides a framework for translating geographical knowledge into cultural experience, helping communities understand, value, and engage with Earth systems in increasingly complex and uncertain times.

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References

Baucon, A., & Carvalho, I. (2008). GeoArt and Geological Illustration.

Corner, J. (1999). The Agency of Mapping: Speculation, Critique and Invention.

Golanska, D. (2018). GeoArt and artistic research: Materiality, environment and knowledge production.

Grover, V. I. (2023). GeoArt: Artistic Manifestations of Earth Processes and Landscapes.

Mieras, J. (2000). GeoArt and Geoscience Education.

Muda, J. (2012). GeoArt as a Tool for Geotourism and Geological Communication.

Peng, L. C. (2000). GeoArt: The Study and Appreciation of the Beauty of the Earth.

Tara, A. (2024). GeoArt, Geodesign and Georesilience: Integrating Creativity, Mapping and Participation.

Wise, D. U. (1982). Linear Geo-art and Geological Interpretation.