Anthropo-Scene: Climate Change and the Arts

Climate change is, arguably, the first major crisis in the history of humankind that did not produce striking images, a recognizable plot, a tragic hero or victim. To complicate things, it appears as a game of large numbers: the square miles of melted ice, the cubic tons of methane in the atmosphere, the mountains of plastic in the oceans, and entire industries and populations that are involved in production of every degree of global warming. It seems that this crisis can only be understood through numbers and scientific models, not experienced through artistic representation. At the same time, the most important social aspect of this crisis is that the young generation is responding to it much more strongly and courageously than that of their parents and grandparents. This seminar does not offer readymade answers on how to make art that can capture the climate crisis in striking images, narratives, or sounds, and in doing so offer easy solutions. Instead, in it, we will explore the present state of the field and ask questions on how to make art that can give the body (and image, narrative, sound) to this catastrophe that seems to defy representation. In short, the seminar acts as an incubator of ideas for a new kind of work that combines art, science, and activism.