In The Dust of This Planet
3) Listen to the 40 minute RadioLab program “In the Dust of This Planet” (Links to an external site.)
http://www.radiolab.org/story/dust-planet/
4) Learn about the sixth extinction.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/03/2/l_032_04.html
5) READ: On the Cusp of Climate Change and Building an Ark for the Anthropocene
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/28/sunday-review/building-an-ark-for-the-anthropocene.html
6) Visit and experience Maya Lin’s What’s Missing project (further context here)
http://whatismissing.net/#/home
http://e360.yale.edu/feature/maya_lin_a_memorial_to_a_vanishing_natural_world/2545/
7) Write a reflective essay that addresses the prompts below:
From the RadioLab program, what does the phrase “In the Dust of this Planet” mean to you? Why do you think artists, musicians, stylists, designers, philosophers, pop-culture and the general public have been drawn to this phrase? Do you think its popularity is specific to this cultural/environmental moment, why or why not? Do you agree that many people use pop-culture as an escape from having to deal with the burdens of reality (discussed at 25:30 in the program)? If that is the case, what might that mean for making art in/about the Anthropocene that actually tries to make difficult realities, such as about climate change or loss of species, real to audiences?
This semester we’ve spent a great deal of time thinking about how to communicate the difficult realities of environmental change (such as changes in climate/weather, what the Anthropocene is etc.) to public audiences through art and design. After reading “On the Cusp of Climate Change,””Building an Ark for the Anthropocene”and visiting Maya Lin’s What’s Missing project, think about how might you address the effects of climate change in response to one specific non-human entity (such as specific animal or bird, or species of plant or tree etc.). Instead of imagining a human audience for an imaginary project, imagine what might you make FOR a non-human subject — knowing what you do about the challenges they face? What might you make and how would this non-human audience alter your approach?
…………..Answer Preview……………
In The Dust of This Planet
According to the Radiolab program, In the Dust of This Planet is used to mean the end of the world. It is used to explain that nothing exists and matters in the world. The context further illustrates that the purpose of human existence is not definite. That is, there is no purpose of living. It incorporates a text from the True Detective that states that human existence is an accident.
Most individuals in the world such as musicians, artists, designers, philosophers, and the public and pop culture have incorporated the nature of nihilism…………….
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