We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cindee Klement a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Cindee , appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

A few years ago, as I was developing my project World of Hum, I began to see my work in this city as an opportunity to have a positive impact on the environment – I now focus my artistic work to holistically reimagine Houston’s landscape, return the carbon in the air to the soil, support wildlife, reduce water run-off, and support flood control. Inspired by M. Thomashow, who writes, “Record natural history to the collective memory so that it is no longer endangered knowledge,” I develop “Endangered Knowledge” works, in which I am researching the natural systems in Texas’ ecological history that build soil health and cool the planet.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a Houston-based visual artist who works in sculpture, mixed media, printmaking, and social sculpture. My recent works address conservation issues, looking specifically at living soil’s ability to sequester carbon, soak up rainwater, and support wildlife. Past works address wind erosion, native bees, and recovery from Hurricane Harvey. My work records our natural history to the collective memory so that it will no longer be endangered knowledge. I recently installed Endangered Knowledge: The Soul of Humus for Sculpture Month Houston 2021, a large-scale and site-specific sculpture that researches and represents the deep environmental interrelationships between bison, grass and carbon. Symbiosis, a living piece of site-specific art activism in process, reimagines the Lawndale Art Center Sculpture garden’s traditional urban landscape and answers the question: How do we holistically restore an ecological balance in Houston? I also working on a monumental collection of fifty-plus 30″ X 44″ watercolor monotypes, Rumblings, which draws attention to the unseen and endangered 20,000 species of wild bees and other small endangered creatures that used to be common in our urban landscapes.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Thinking about resilience and my work, the power of public opinion threw me a curve ball.

In Symbiosis, at the Lawndale Art Center, I am stretching my practice and creating a living piece of site-specific social sculpture that reimagines a 53.5′ X 48′ traditional urban landscape/sculpture garden and answer the question: how do we holistically restore an ecological balance in Houston? I expected others to see the dramatic change and mimic Symbiosis in their yards. What I did not anticipate was the power of public opinion.

In 2021 I proposed to Lawndale a social Sculpture that addresses the three ways humans intersect soil in Houston. The way we treat our soil impacts two ingredients necessary to sustain life on Earth, water and air.

Water + Air + Citizens was a discussion that looked at Public policy, the Design industry, and Art activism, three ways Houstonians (humanity) impact these natural systems through urban landscapes. Medians, yards, gardens, lots, parks, and blocks are all surfaces of Earth. But, by any name, the skin of our planet purifies its water and regulates its atmosphere.

As the event grew close, I began to see a bigger picture, another layer to the work. In my sculpture practice, this is a common occurrence. In this case, I became aware that the title I chose for the sculpture is three of the most potent elements in weather. First, with water, we have floods and hurricanes. We are hit with hurricanes, tornadoes, and dustbowls in the air. Finally, citizens’ power of public opinion is a tremendous force and often overcomes the common sense of individuals and leaders.

Fortunately, at 65, I have survived an even learned to hit curve balls. Most notable was selling commercial real estate in the ’80s when interest rates were 18%-20%. That trying business experience from my past inspired my latest work, Symbiosis Celebration. I hope it is a hit.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I have read that our cities are fast-forwarding evolution. If this is true, integrating holistic, regenerative biological systems into urban landscapes will fast-forward ecological recovery.

I currently live in the heart of Houston. Located on the far east side of Texas, the city is an important migratory pathway and covers 600 square miles of what once was the coastal prairie. One of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the entire US, less than 1% remains of this prairie system. Houston, projected to double in size by 2050, plays an impactful role in the continent’s natural systems that once protected and nurtured the region’s ecology, soaked up rainwater, cooled the planet, and stored carbon. Due to its location, Houston’s landscape practices impact life on land and in the waters throughout the Americas. In August 2017, Houston received almost 52 inches of rain in a matter of days. Unfortunately, with the city’s current landscape practices and policies, Houston’s rainwater no longer soaks into its soil, and its insects, flowers, birds, and the Gulf coral reefs are disappearing. Ironically, the coastal prairie is now just as much an environmental desert as my early home in far west Texas.

I believe Houstonians—transplanted in this important migratory pathway, one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the entire US—have the unparalleled ability and opportunity to lead an urban holistic, regenerative landscape movement. My charge is to inspire their action.

My history with challenging landscapes, the desert, Hurricane Harvey, and the financial landscape of the 80s has given me a vision, a new way of seeing ecological recovery. The only way to harness the power of public opinion is through economics. Finding ways and venues to install Symbiosis Celebration into the DNA of Houstonians keeps me up at night but also gets me out of bed every day.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: @cindeeklementart
• Facebook: Cindee Travis Klement
• Linkedin: Cindee Travis Klement
• Youtube: Cindee Klement

Image Credits
Jake Eshelman, Nash Baker, and Rick Wells.