Introduction

The quest for a solar age is defined by a general change in ecological con-sciousness, a decline in non-renewable energy resources, an extreme increase in global and local pollution, a strong demand for decentralization in political as well as energy-related decisions and the rising demand of the underprivileged three-quarters of the world to participate in a higher quality of living.

This quest for change cannot be based on traditional, non-renewable energies. The solar age, in this respect, will be defined by a new policy of installing and using technologies that directly harvest the sun's radiation.

To be fully effective in 2025, all plans for reforming our energy situation must be put into practice now. The estimated 10 billion people who will inhabit the planet in 2025 will not be able to live a human life if our present western standards of energy consumption remain the same. This is far more than a technical problem, which is why we are talking about a new definition of art in and for the Solar Age. A loosely connected group of artists today is fully aware of the necessary changes in contributing to new solutions, new materials and new strategies for an art in the solar age.

The transition to a solar age must stabilize our civilizations, and in order to do so, it must be a cultural transition. The goal of ecological stability in the next millennium must rely on cultural change if it is to be seriously anchored within the different societies of our planet. Thus, we must evaluate or re-evaluate the educational ground for advanced visual studies.