Chris Jordan: Confronting our Planetary Consumption
Art for A New Time in Planetary History
As knowledge about climate change comes to a climactic point in human history, “The Anthropocene” is becoming a widely-accepted term in the scientific community to refer to our current place in time. The Anthropocene is the geological epoch in which we now reside, and is influenced by human actions so pervasive that they have crossed a planetary threshold. Although the Anthropocene is a reality for those who are climate-literate, it is seldom recognized as the future of our planet in everyday discourse.In the face of overwhelming evidence of human-caused climate change, there is still indifference and a lack of knowledge in the public. Art is one medium through which implications of the Anthropocene can translate into visual form, offering a powerful representation of what life in the Anthropocene means to a larger audience. Indeed, a powerful tool is needed to bridge the gap between human actions and their largely ignored global consequences.
The Anthropocene art community consists of a growing body of painters, photographers, writers, and others that are relaying messages about environmental degradation and the consequences of a lack of climate action. Their artworks, such as Chris Jordan's photograph (left) embody a greater cultural, political, and economic meaning in the context of climate change and provide a fuller understanding of what the Anthropocene is and how it came to be. Therefore, Anthropocene art can be an important tool for creating meaningful dialogue about the interaction between humans and nature. As I will explore, Chris Jordan’s works qualify as Anthropocene art and provide an effective visual for understanding human-environmental impact.
Defining the Anthropocene
Before we delve into artists of the Anthropocene, we must define what the Anthropocene is and how it manifests in human history. According to chemist and climate scientist Will Steffen et al., the Anthropocene began its first phase during the Industrial Revolution around the 1800s, in which global empires expanded their use of fossil fuels to unprecedented levels (616). Before access to fossil fuels and large-scale economic expansion, Steffen asserts that human “impacts remained largely local and transitionary, well within the bounds of the natural variability of the environment” (615). Carbon dioxide, the byproduct of the burning of fossil fuels, became humanity’s imprint on the world, as “the global-scale transformation of the environment by industrialization was...nowhere more evident than in the atmosphere” (Steffen et al. 616). In hand with industrialization, the second phase of the Anthropocene is the "Great Acceleration" starting around 1945, when global economic growth took on an “exponential character” (Steffen et al. 618) resulting in both increases to human prosperity and a rise in environmental degradation.From both phases one and two of the Anthropocene, we can begin to recognize why this new geological epoch is also described as the “Capitalocene” (Anderson 339) or "Phagocene" (Bonneuil and Fressoz 148); It is through methods to bolster economic growth, such as increased production and consumption, that the Anthropocene has come to be. Historians have observed a causal link between industrialization and consumerism (Bonneuil and Fressoz 151), as economies were capable of producing and consuming more goods once energy extraction was no longer as limited.
Paige West, professor in the Columbia-Barnard Anthropology department, states that “capitalism fundamentally changed what people find to be valuable in society and in terms of the natural world” (Sullivan); therefore, the rise of capitalism and consumerism represents a turning point in humanity’s relationship with the environment and has laid the foundation for our shift into the Anthropocene. Anthropocene art must reflect the causes of our geological transition by confronting capitalism and consumerism, which are the drivers of Western economic growth and a root cause of environmental destruction.
"capitalism fundamentally changed what people find to be valuable in society and in terms of the natural world"
I argue, then, that art of the Anthropocene depicts the permanent and detrimental effects that mankind has on the environment which are primarily caused by the mass consumption integral to Western models of economic growth. By revealing the global and irreversible damage that human systems have caused, Anthropocene art confronts the toxicity of consumerism and its interaction with ecological systems, leading the viewer to understand the scale and causes of the Anthropocene.
Chris Jordan: An Artist of the Anthropocene
Chris Jordan is a Seattle-based photographer and activist born in 1963. Jordan practiced law until 2002 (Guay), at which point he began his photography career by looking for compelling patterns and colors in unusual places, such as industrial waste yards and garbage dumps (Lavars). It was in these locations, the byproducts of America’s mass consumption, that Jordan began documenting the unconscious behaviors of American culture.Jordan is an artist of the Anthropocene because his work emphasizes the global scale of environmental degradation and its foundations in mass consumption and Western economies. He explores the scale of the Anthropocene in many of his collections, demonstrating the extent of our effects on the planet in mass and distance. I will explore two of Jordan’s pieces, one each from his collections entitled Running the Numbers: An American Self-Portrait and Midway: Message from the Gyre. Jordan has produced another collection, Intolerable Beauty: Portraits of American Mass Consumption, which is relevant to his role as an Anthropocene artist and from which the title image is taken, "E-Waste, New Orleans".
“Oil Barrels” (2008)
Jordan’s Running the Numbers is a collection of photographic mosaics, comprising of thousands of images to create a larger, more meaningful picture reflecting immense and shocking statistics about our American lifestyle. While Running the Numbers touches on many aspects of American society, a few of Jordan’s pieces relate specifically to American consumerism. “Oil Barrels” is one such piece that is extremely relevant to issues of mass consumption, and therefore reflects the critical point of the Anthropocene.Jordan’s piece depicts 28,000 42-gallon oil barrels, which is equivalent to 2 minutes of oil consumption in the United States and equals the flow of a medium-sized river. The collection on Jordan’s website allows the viewer to zoom into the image and see the detail of each print that Jordan has arranged on the digital canvas.
This artwork is layered with meaning with regards to American consumption, energy extraction, and how the Anthropocene manifests in everyday life. Jordan’s choice to depict a statistic about oil consumption in the U.S. is significant because fossil fuels have been instrumental in bolstering Western economies and kickstarting industrialization. American prosperity, as well as the American ecological footprint, is found specifically in our use and need for oil. As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels surpass 400ppm (Steffen et al. 618), climate science points toward fossil fuel consumption as a major cause for our geological transition into the Anthropocene.
This artwork is layered with meaning with regards to American consumption, energy extraction, and how the Anthropocene manifests in everyday life. Jordan’s choice to depict a statistic about oil consumption in the U.S. is significant because fossil fuels have been instrumental in bolstering Western economies and kickstarting industrialization. American prosperity, as well as the American ecological footprint, is found specifically in our use and need for oil. As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels surpass 400ppm (Steffen et al. 618), climate science points toward fossil fuel consumption as a major cause for our geological transition into the Anthropocene.
What’s particularly fascinating about this image is that the arrangement of the prints reveal that the American economy and lifestyle are centered on oil. The statistic itself shows our dependency on oil, yet Jordan emphasizes this idea by arranging the oil drums in a multitude of concentric circles that fade into blackness, demonstrating our immense appetite for fossil fuels and the conventional industry belief that energy extraction can continue infinitely. At the center of the artwork is the bottom of an oil drum speckled with rust, perhaps representing the fact that even as oil deteriorates as the world’s primary energy supply, the U.S. is still fixated on its consumption.
Jordan’s hauntingly beautiful mosaic contributes to a greater understanding of the scale of the Anthropocene. As a global phenomenon, the extent of human action can sometimes be unfathomable. Especially to the average American who does not have an extensive knowledge of climate science, the Anthropocene can be an alienating concept because it represents an astronomical amount of environmental degradation. When speaking about Running the Numbers, Jordan states that he hopes to "raise some questions about the roles and responsibilities we each play as individuals in a collective that is increasingly enormous, incomprehensible, and overwhelming" (Jordan, "About Running the Numbers"). By creating a compelling visual representation for one aspect of our environmental impact, Jordan successfully leads the viewer to understand the scale and causes of the Anthropocene, while also provoking self-reflection on how our own actions have contributed to this larger picture.
Jordan’s hauntingly beautiful mosaic contributes to a greater understanding of the scale of the Anthropocene. As a global phenomenon, the extent of human action can sometimes be unfathomable. Especially to the average American who does not have an extensive knowledge of climate science, the Anthropocene can be an alienating concept because it represents an astronomical amount of environmental degradation. When speaking about Running the Numbers, Jordan states that he hopes to "raise some questions about the roles and responsibilities we each play as individuals in a collective that is increasingly enormous, incomprehensible, and overwhelming" (Jordan, "About Running the Numbers"). By creating a compelling visual representation for one aspect of our environmental impact, Jordan successfully leads the viewer to understand the scale and causes of the Anthropocene, while also provoking self-reflection on how our own actions have contributed to this larger picture.
Midway (2009)
Jordan’s Midway collection explores the harm to the Midway Atoll ecosystems from ocean pollution. The collection is comprised of untitled photographs of decaying albatross carcasses, which have died from ingesting plastic products that they have mistaken to be food. The plastic bottles, caps, and miscellaneous pieces are part of a growing problem of ocean pollution and represent a different way of visualizing the scale of the Anthropocene.The image above is one from Midway; all that is left of the albatross in the photograph is its feathers, its skull, and the plastics that brought about its death. In terms of Jordan’s history in photography, this collection represents another unusual place where Jordan has found color and pattern.
This image demonstrates the permanence of human action as well as the scale of the environmental consequences of consumerism and mass production. As the photograph shows in graphic detail, even as the bird's body decomposes, the plastics inside of it remain. This photograph requires the reader to look past the gore and decay to recognize that the natural world deteriorates in unnatural ways because of the permanent effects of human action. The plastics in the photograph, a symbol for mass consumption and consumerism, have a lifespan that exceeds that of the albatross by many years and will remain on the island as a mark of human invasion in the environment. Just as the plastics have created a permanent consequence, the death of a majestic bird, so has human action resulted in a permanent planetary change, the Anthropocene.
Although this photograph depicts the harm to fragile ecosystems in one isolated case, it indirectly represents the extent of human-environmental impact throughout the world. The cluster of islands that make up Midway Atoll lie in the Pacific Ocean 2,000 miles away from the nearest continent, meaning that the plastics with which the birds have been poisoned traveled 2,000 miles or more to get to the islands. Through the location of these photographs, Jordan demonstrates the scale of the Anthropocene in terms of distance; the Anthropocene is not limited to our immediate environments, but instead, extends thousands of miles from the place where we first disposed of that plastic bottle cap. The Midway collection emphasizes the globality of the Anthropocene in a dimension that can be difficult to comprehend, leading the viewer to understand more fully the reach of human impact on the environment.
On Midway, Jordan states that “[t]hese birds reflect back an appallingly emblematic result of the collective trance of our consumerism and runaway industrial growth” (Jordan, "About Midway"). Jordan suggests that just as the wastes of mass consumption have become toxic to thousands of albatrosses, so has consumerism and overproduction become toxic to humanity. Therefore, Jordan’s work prompts the viewer to consider how their own actions have contributed in part to environmental degradation and global climate change.
In his TED talk, Jordan expressed his concern with current American culture and our tendency to be desensitized to destruction. Jordan stated that he aims to speak through his art with “a universal visual language that can be felt” (TED) in order to express important environmental concerns to his audience. Jordan’s artwork serves as a translation for immense statistics and interactions of the natural world, transforming them into a visual representation that the average viewer can understand without extensive climate knowledge.
Jordan refrains from providing a clear solution for any of the environmental problems that he depicts. However, according to artist and educator Kayla Anderson, art does not need to provide a clear-cut solution for the issues it reveals. Anderson states that the purpose of Anthropocene art is “not to prescribe concrete single-track solutions, but to broaden perspectives on how the world is and how it could be in light of the Anthropocene” (338). In fact, art that proposes an oversimplified solution to environmental problems is, in a way, inherently anthropocentric because it assumes that humans currently have the means to “fix” incredibly complex issues. Anderson argues that art of the Anthropocene should stimulate critical thinking about the problems that the Anthropocene represents, not simulate actions which perpetuate the notion of human control over the earth (339).
Therefore, Anderson’s understanding of the purpose of Anthropocene art fits with Jordan’s intention for creating his artworks. Just as Anderson recognizes the Anthropocene as a “crisis of critical thinking” (339), Jordan states that his art reflects his fear that we as a society have “lost our sense of outrage” (TED). Art, therefore, is the means through which ideas evoke outrage and consequently foster engaged thought. As Jordan's collections illustrate, the consequences of indifference are, quite literally, staring us in the face; our continued impact on the environment can no longer be ignored.
As the inhabitants of the Anthropocene, art is imperative to understanding our place in this new geological epoch. Through works like Jordan’s, we can attribute real meaning and consequences to global capitalism, consumerism, and indifference toward the environment. Perhaps once we establish a disconnect between current Western economic goals and the limits of the Earth System, we can begin to address what the future of the Anthropocene will be.
Bonneuil, Christophe, and Jean-Baptiste Fressoz. “Phagocene: Consuming the Planet.” The Shock of the Anthropocene. Fernbach, David ed., Verso, 2016, Brooklyn, NY.
"Chris Jordan: Turning powerful stats into art." Youtube, uploaded by TED, 23 June 2008.
Guay, Abigail. “The Art of Waste: The Photography of Chris Jordan” ARCADE, 14 July 2014. Accessed 25 Oct. 2017.
Jordan, Chris. E-Waste, New Orleans. 2005, photograph, ChrisJordan.com
Jordan, Chris. Midway. 2009, photograph, ChrisJordan.com.
Jordan, Chris. Oil Barrels. 2008, print, ChrisJordan.com.
Lavars, Nick. “Interview: Environmental Artist Chris Jordan Talks Sustainability.” News Atlas, 19 Feb. 2014. Accessed 25 Oct. 2017.
"Portrait of Chris Jordan." ChrisJordan.com, n.d. Accessed 1 Dec. 2017.
Steffen, Will et al. “The Anthropocene: Are Humans Now Overwhelming the Great Forces of Nature?” Royal Swedish Academy of Science, vol. 36, no. 8, 2007, pp. 614-621.
Sullivan, Robert. “When Did the End Begin?” Science of Us, New York Magazine, 18 June 2015. Accessed 1 Nov. 2017
“The Age of Humans: Evolutionary Perspectives on the Anthropocene.” The Smithsonian Institution’s Human Origins Program, 13 Oct. 2016. Accessed 18 Oct. 2017.
This image demonstrates the permanence of human action as well as the scale of the environmental consequences of consumerism and mass production. As the photograph shows in graphic detail, even as the bird's body decomposes, the plastics inside of it remain. This photograph requires the reader to look past the gore and decay to recognize that the natural world deteriorates in unnatural ways because of the permanent effects of human action. The plastics in the photograph, a symbol for mass consumption and consumerism, have a lifespan that exceeds that of the albatross by many years and will remain on the island as a mark of human invasion in the environment. Just as the plastics have created a permanent consequence, the death of a majestic bird, so has human action resulted in a permanent planetary change, the Anthropocene.
Although this photograph depicts the harm to fragile ecosystems in one isolated case, it indirectly represents the extent of human-environmental impact throughout the world. The cluster of islands that make up Midway Atoll lie in the Pacific Ocean 2,000 miles away from the nearest continent, meaning that the plastics with which the birds have been poisoned traveled 2,000 miles or more to get to the islands. Through the location of these photographs, Jordan demonstrates the scale of the Anthropocene in terms of distance; the Anthropocene is not limited to our immediate environments, but instead, extends thousands of miles from the place where we first disposed of that plastic bottle cap. The Midway collection emphasizes the globality of the Anthropocene in a dimension that can be difficult to comprehend, leading the viewer to understand more fully the reach of human impact on the environment.
On Midway, Jordan states that “[t]hese birds reflect back an appallingly emblematic result of the collective trance of our consumerism and runaway industrial growth” (Jordan, "About Midway"). Jordan suggests that just as the wastes of mass consumption have become toxic to thousands of albatrosses, so has consumerism and overproduction become toxic to humanity. Therefore, Jordan’s work prompts the viewer to consider how their own actions have contributed in part to environmental degradation and global climate change.
“[t]hese birds reflect back an appallingly emblematic result of the collective trance of our consumerism and runaway industrial growth.”
The Future of the Anthropocene
In his TED talk, Jordan expressed his concern with current American culture and our tendency to be desensitized to destruction. Jordan stated that he aims to speak through his art with “a universal visual language that can be felt” (TED) in order to express important environmental concerns to his audience. Jordan’s artwork serves as a translation for immense statistics and interactions of the natural world, transforming them into a visual representation that the average viewer can understand without extensive climate knowledge.Jordan refrains from providing a clear solution for any of the environmental problems that he depicts. However, according to artist and educator Kayla Anderson, art does not need to provide a clear-cut solution for the issues it reveals. Anderson states that the purpose of Anthropocene art is “not to prescribe concrete single-track solutions, but to broaden perspectives on how the world is and how it could be in light of the Anthropocene” (338). In fact, art that proposes an oversimplified solution to environmental problems is, in a way, inherently anthropocentric because it assumes that humans currently have the means to “fix” incredibly complex issues. Anderson argues that art of the Anthropocene should stimulate critical thinking about the problems that the Anthropocene represents, not simulate actions which perpetuate the notion of human control over the earth (339).
Therefore, Anderson’s understanding of the purpose of Anthropocene art fits with Jordan’s intention for creating his artworks. Just as Anderson recognizes the Anthropocene as a “crisis of critical thinking” (339), Jordan states that his art reflects his fear that we as a society have “lost our sense of outrage” (TED). Art, therefore, is the means through which ideas evoke outrage and consequently foster engaged thought. As Jordan's collections illustrate, the consequences of indifference are, quite literally, staring us in the face; our continued impact on the environment can no longer be ignored.
As the inhabitants of the Anthropocene, art is imperative to understanding our place in this new geological epoch. Through works like Jordan’s, we can attribute real meaning and consequences to global capitalism, consumerism, and indifference toward the environment. Perhaps once we establish a disconnect between current Western economic goals and the limits of the Earth System, we can begin to address what the future of the Anthropocene will be.
Sources
Anderson, Kayla. “Ethics, Ecology, and the Future: Art and Design Face the Anthropocene.” Leonardo, vol. 48, no. 4, Aug. 2015, pp. 338–47.Bonneuil, Christophe, and Jean-Baptiste Fressoz. “Phagocene: Consuming the Planet.” The Shock of the Anthropocene. Fernbach, David ed., Verso, 2016, Brooklyn, NY.
"Chris Jordan: Turning powerful stats into art." Youtube, uploaded by TED, 23 June 2008.
Guay, Abigail. “The Art of Waste: The Photography of Chris Jordan” ARCADE, 14 July 2014. Accessed 25 Oct. 2017.
Jordan, Chris. E-Waste, New Orleans. 2005, photograph, ChrisJordan.com
Jordan, Chris. Midway. 2009, photograph, ChrisJordan.com.
Jordan, Chris. Oil Barrels. 2008, print, ChrisJordan.com.
Lavars, Nick. “Interview: Environmental Artist Chris Jordan Talks Sustainability.” News Atlas, 19 Feb. 2014. Accessed 25 Oct. 2017.
"Portrait of Chris Jordan." ChrisJordan.com, n.d. Accessed 1 Dec. 2017.
Steffen, Will et al. “The Anthropocene: Are Humans Now Overwhelming the Great Forces of Nature?” Royal Swedish Academy of Science, vol. 36, no. 8, 2007, pp. 614-621.
Sullivan, Robert. “When Did the End Begin?” Science of Us, New York Magazine, 18 June 2015. Accessed 1 Nov. 2017
“The Age of Humans: Evolutionary Perspectives on the Anthropocene.” The Smithsonian Institution’s Human Origins Program, 13 Oct. 2016. Accessed 18 Oct. 2017.
