From Concept to Action: Art in the Anthropocene

by Cameron Hughes

Since people first used blood and ash to paint depictions of their lives on the walls of caves, art (as a form of self expression) has held a place of particular importance in the constellation of capacities that make up our humanity. Art, as an open ended endeavor, allows for both the mirroring of our actuality as well as the conceptualization of infinite alternate realities – one of the few efforts left available to us that encourages (though not always) us to transfigure ideations from the metaphysical to the physical plane.

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Breathing is Life / Hidden from Reality

Coming back to the breath keeps us grounded and present at any certain point and time. With so much on the mind, so much to do, so much to be accomplished, it is easy to forget that breathing in itself is an act that can be experienced. How ironic is it then, that the one commonality amongst each living thing on this planet, human or nonhuman, is air. The often forgotten breath is a wonderful representation of the disconnect seen and experienced everywhere. Let us all come back to our breath.

Last Week Tonight in the Anthropocene

Last week, we had some lovely visitors from NYC, Stephanie, Glenn and Clark, who have developed a community hub focused on “building autonomy in the Anthropocene” called Woodbine (woodbine.nyc). Their presentation enlightened us on their thought process behind Woodbine, the journey of actually creating the community, outlined what a “hub” is, and actually gave inspirational advice on ways to build autonomy in our own lives or even to bring the community together through the creation of our own hubs.

The Limits of Imagination

Telling stories is interesting — we are left to choose where to embellish, which parts to leave out, and how to set the tone — and, content aside, it is often how we tell our stories that determines how they are received. Just like anything else, the Anthropocene, as a subject, can be depicted in an infinite number of ways, depending on the storyteller/artist/writer.

Imagining the Anthropocene

The Anthropocene is a very hard topic to discuss because it is very hard to imagine a world different from the one we see today. The rapid change that has occurred on Earth and especially with the evolution of human beings is astonishing. Humankind is a mere blip on the spectrum of Earth’s history yet in this very small amount of time we have managed to completely alter our environment. And even though all this change has happened quickly, humans cannot really imagine the world not looking the way it does now.

Reducing the Anthropocene

I was fascinated by The Collapse of Western Civilization by Naomie Oreskes and Erik M. Conway.  They included detail of such grandeur in a way that made me have to backtrack and figure out if the events they were describing were current or whether they were part of the future they had created and were writing from.

Art and Artist as Guide in the Anthropocene

Transdisciplinary artist Aaron Czerny launched the series of public events linked to the University of San Francisco’s Fall 2016 Davies Forum, “Making Sense of the Anthropocene,” with a captivating participatory performance art piece

The Future We Will Someday Meet

To look at the present from the future is to look at the past from the present — always reflective of the way things are, whenever we may be. We leave to the future a future in which our “present” is regarded, in retrospect, and the question that needs to be pondered is what the future “present” looks like, and how it may shape future understanding of the past.

Ünark to the Apocalypse

Maybe it’s because I’m not the most “artsy” person in the world, but I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around Aaron Czerny’s “Navigating the Anthropocene” performance. Maybe it’s that I don’t go to a lot of art shows, but it was definitely nothing like what I had ever experienced before.

Anthropocene questions and observations that may always have various answers

The Anthropocene. What is it, when did it begin, if it even exists, and how can we come to understand it when it is not even considered a correct word or term according to my spell check?