In Learning to Die in the Anthropocene, Roy Scranton writes, “the conceptual and existential problems that the Anthropocene poses are precisely those that have always been at the heart of humanistic inquiry: What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to live?” (20). At the intersection of these unanswerable questions and humans’ amazing creative capacity is: art.
In promoting and creating art in our community, we (under the instagram account @grievinggaia) introduced topics like species extinction, sustainability, and human mortality as depicted in art from 3000 BC to March 2019 – created by artists from all around the world.
In addition to the instagram gallery, we created a collaborative sketchbook during the quarter inviting people to doodle, write, sketch, and express any feelings they had about our dying planet. Partially inspired by Death Cafes, (meetings in the death positivity movement wherein people gather for light refreshments and a semi-guided discussion of all topics death, dead, and dying), we set up on campus with cookies and a sign that read: “Dead Week / Death Art / come draw with us!”
Unfortunately, on a busy, rainy campus, we struggled with finding an available audience and questioned whether our efforts could have an impact. But, through perseverance and a four-person sized social network, we found enough people to fill nearly twenty pages!
Twenty pages of contemplation.
Twenty pages of expression.
Twenty pages of creativity!
Our project celebrated the role of art in “changing the narrative we tell ourselves” (Active Hope, Worm at the Core). Via practice, art can be a tool for meditation and empowerment. Via appreciation, art can encourage discussion and reflection. As a collaborative piece, our sketchbook embodies the duality of artist and audience, the individual and the group, and reflects a fragment of our collective consciousness in the Anthropocene.
Flipping through the pages, I don’t see a narrative of denial. I see honesty. I see humility. I see hope.
