i / Anthropocene
The Anthropocene is an uneasy concept to behold. The term proposes a new geological epoch to follow the Holocene (11,700 years ago - present), a determination of the human impact on our Earth system so extreme, it implies a planetary reset.
Scaled to ice ages, merging tectonic plates, and mass extinctions that distinguish previous epochs, the Anthropocene becomes a harbinger of catastrophe.
This prophetic inclination to understand the Anthropocene construes the epoch as an explicit event, an onset of irreversible implications we must now reckon with. The notion of accelerating to our doom, however, composes a false ecology of our planet by undervaluing the agency of humans and nature as they navigate our world together.1 Humans are undeniably a central force of the Anthropocene, as scholars consider their shift from biological to geological agents of impact.2 However, this standpoint enforces anthropocentrism, which positions humans as the dominating species over other life forms. The concept revokes the agency of nature and diverts responsibility from intra-species complexities of human society necessary to flesh out the stake of the Anthropocene.
This exhibition proposes a shift in perspective that considers the Anthropocene, instead, from the locus of biocentrism. Biocentrism shifts the focus away from the human and instead acknowledges all living beings as having intrinsic value. In doing so, it reframes the planetary system as a dynamic, symbiotic relationship between humans and the natural world, rather than a singular cause-and-effect narrative.3 At its core, a biocentric persective depends on the practice of ecological or environmental reflexivity, defined by a realization of the anthropogenic effects on our landscape that leads to an increasing self-awareness of the consequence of human actions.4
Crucially, the Anthropocene prompts a “new way of being-in-the-world.”5
ii / Martin Johnson Heade
Martin Johnson Heade and the Anthropocene explores the psyche of artist and conservationist Martin Johnson Heade (1819 - 1904), who is uniquely situated at the disputed start of the epoch and the cultural impetus of environmental reflexivity.6 His oeuvre (ca. 1850 - 1900) inhabits the period between two proposed dates: the Industrial Revolution (ca. 1800/1850 -) and The Great Acceleration (ca. 1950 -).7 The former event marks a shift away from an agriculturally dominant society to a mechanical and production-driven system. The later proves the effects of human activity through a series of indicators that reveal a trend of global ecological detriment.
Global environmental indicators of impact on Earth systems: Figure 1. (b) taken from Will Steffen, Jacques Grinevald, Paul Crutzen, John, McNeill, “The Anthropocene: conceptual and historical perspectives,” Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A. 369, (2011): 848-852.
Heade's production is also concurrent with the publication of evolutionary biology and ecology texts that newly consider nature at the level of the biome. This perspective cultivates biocentrism by acknowledging nature as a network of interactions and exchanges that each hold equal importance in maintaining the ecosystem. However, an interest in nature that considers both individual organisms and spatial dynamics reawakens conflicting practices of collection and conservation.
Amidst the Icarian swells of development in 19th-20th century America, Heade grapples with finding a balance between the catalytic forces of humans and nature. Parsing his visual and written reflections in the context of the Anthropocene offers one of many perspectives that informs our understanding of the origin and trajectory of the epoch. In alignment with the biocentric Anthropocene, Heade's work telescopes multiple strata—inspired by the biological and geological world around him and sustained through intimate observations, anxieties, and ecological reflexivities.