The Anthropo Scene, Holy City, SC

click for larger image

Jarod Charzewski is an artist currently based in Charleston (but original from the Canadian Mid-west) whose work, in his own words “reflects nature’s response to man, and mankind’s
impact on landscapes.”

He work Scarp was recently exhibited at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art in otherwise dogmatically anachronistic Charleston, SC. Sayz Halsey:

For his installation on the second floor of the Halsey, Charzewski has created Scarp, which references the earth and our place in it. There is what appears to be a geological formation made out of several tons of carefully folded clothing. The various strata reveal dense deposits of denim, corduroy, cotton, and different synthetic fabrics united by color and type. The artist states, “This project is about fabricating history with our own synthetic and fleeting artifacts as the medium.”

I particularly enjoyed the Kluge-esque schematic below, presumably developed by the artist for the benefit of bewildered Charlestonians and lost tourists. Quoting the artist:

The purchasing habits of the North American consumer requires the extraction on (sic) our planet’s resources only to replce  (sic) them with processed goods in the form of discarded merchandise. This geologicial cross section shows the new and improved layers of the Earth. Through our ever expending (sic) and multiplying landfill sites these new layers will provide us with a plent rich in synthetic nutriants (sic) and chemically enhanced goodness.

Notice all the mispellings (sic) and punning diction. Intentional, I think.

As I told a pal who has seen the exhibit in person (I have not), this is a fantastic artistic representation of the concept of the Anthropocene, popularized recently on this blog. The notion is this: beginning sometime after the industrial revolution, humankind’s impact on the environment has become so great as to express itself in the geology of the planet. Sayz Wikipedia, global arbiter of deathless knowledge:

Anthropocene was coined in 2000 by the Nobel Prize winning scientist Paul Crutzen by analogy with the word “Holocene.” The Greek roots are “anthropo-” meaning “human” and “-cene” meaning “new.” Crutzen has explained, “I was at a conference where someone said something about the Holocene. I suddenly thought this was wrong. The world has changed too much. So I said: ‘No, we are in the Anthropocene.’ I just made up the word on the spur of the moment. Everyone was shocked. But it seems to have stuck.”

Crutzen’s epiphany presumably was occasioned by phenomena such as abnormally high concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide, or increasing acidification of oceans,  or mercury deposition, or soil changes due to intensive farming practices, or etc. In other words, our acts rank up there with volcanic eruptions and earthquakes now, at least as far as future geological strata are concerned. Future geologists will be able to explain what the find in the earth’s crust by pinning the tail on this donkey. Oh well. F#ck it.

For another view by a first hand witness, check our this essay by E. Payne.