The history of the Earth is divided into different geological eras : we are now in the Holocene and, within this geological era, the Anthropocene would be, according to the proposal of a large number of scientists, the most recent of its stages. . A new geological era, not yet approved by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), which focuses on how human activity has influenced the planet and the great impact of human beings on the global processes of the planet , especially since the first Industrial Revolution.
The concept is that environmental changes no longer depend largely on natural forces, but on human action, and that our passage through planet Earth is being catastrophic.
Based on this idea, Canadian filmmakers Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier, along with fellow Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky, embarked on the collaborative art project The Anthropocene Project. The result is a documentary, art exhibitions and a book.
As Elena Bellido and Gloria Jimenez explain in this article The Anthropocene Project: cuando el arte nos advierte de que estamos destruyendo el planeta:
“The creators have given voice from art to a devastating scientific theory that deserved to be passed on to the general public.“
“We need creative communication that imposes itself on market discourse. This is one of the main tasks of artivism. Conceived as a new way of making art committed to reality, artivism seeks unconventional discursive spaces, such as the city or new technologies, with the aim of engaging in a direct conversation with the citizen. It’s about making him see what’s behind what they’re telling him, and making him think about alternatives. Because as Alat-Vico, Jivkova-Semova, and Bailey claim, —the force of artivism lies not simply in its aesthetic avant-garde, but in its revulsive power to point out injustice, inequality, or emptiness in human development.-”.
The documentary Anthropocene: The Human Epoch travels through six continents and twenty countries and explains the effects of human beings on our planet and the damage and consequences it will suffer.
Be sure to visit the selection of movies related to the Art at 3Peusdegat.
