Vida Pavesich: Art and the Anthropocene

two men standing by an iceberg

Stratigraphers coined the term “Anthropocene” to designate a new human-caused geological age. When did it begin? Was it the onset of the Industrial Revolution or the use of nuclear weapons? Scientists dispute. What is not in dispute is the staggering effect of the human footprint on systems that support life as we have known it. My article on the Anthropocene [in the essay section] attempts to understand the grip that the idea has come to have on so many people.

Children as hope

I have been drawn to feature children in many collages. They inherit what we have left them.

woman with two children inside transparent globe of earth

Younger children, temporarily free of climate anxiety, represent innocence and a fragile hope.

two children working with flowers in front of earth with people sailing toward mars in the background

 See more images in my children series on the Art page.

Fires

Man walking away from a smoldering forest.
people walk away from fire

Many collages take their cue from the California fire season in 2020 and after, which created spectacular red and orange sunsets and suffocating air.  People find temporary relief by wading in the bay.  See more collages on the Art page.

Water

Calm water in a storm or rising, turbulent seas that underscore vulnerability?

girl walking in water following birds
wild seas with small rowers