In the evening of June 27 2017, the second in a series of seminars exploring the concept of the “Anthropocene” was held at Fukutake Hall. This event was organized by the editorial office of the magazine “5: Designing Media and Ecology” The invited speaker was Professor Andrew Yang of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, whose wide-ranging talk covered such issues as the relation between science and art, modernity, the dualism of nature vs. culture, and human agency.

Geologists are currently debating whether to designate the present as a distinct era in the history of our planet. In this proposed new era of the “Anthropocene,” it is human beings who have come to be the principle determining factor in the earth’s development. Professor Yang discussed how this idea presents a challenge to the prevailing dualisms of Western thought that are all ultimately based on the dualism of nature versus culture. He also showed how it can be used as a powerful metaphor inspiring numerous innovative art projects. Particularly memorable was his work with migrating birds whose frequent fatal collisions with the iconic skyscrapers of Chicago seem to symbolize the Anthropocene. By extracting seeds from the stomachs of this ill-fated birds and allowing them to flourish as potted plants, a new expression of Anthropocenic life is born.

In his reply, Professor Sakura, Dean of the III/GSII, contrasted Western conceptions of the nature-culture dualism with alternative Japanese views, drawing examples from the Japanese reception of Darwinism, the willingness of Japanese primatologists to accept non-human primates as mediators between the “human” and the “animal”, and the parallel acceptance of robots as mediators between humans and machines.

Questions and comments from the audience highlighted further aspects and made for an extremely thought-provoking and memorable evening.

Please also visit Andrew Yang’s website.

This article was written by David Buist (Project Senior Specialist)