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• 1 2017-11-13T13:58:57-08:00 Isaac Cordal by Gina Deaton 62 image_header 2017-12-08T10:58:08-08:00

  Who is Isaac Cordal?

  Isaac Cordal is a Spanish sculptor and photographer. He was born in 1974 in Pontevedra, Galacia, Spain. He is very well educated in his craft: he studied at the University of Fine Arts Pontevedra, graduating wth a degree in sculpture. He then studied for five years at the School of Canteiros Pontevedra, a school dedicated to the conservation of stone  crafts. Finally, he trained at Camberwell College of Arts in London (Widewalls).
  
  
  
  Cordal has works of sculpture all over the world. He picks a city that he wants to visit, he puts 30-40 cement figurines (each is about six inches tall) in his backpack, and he goes for a walk with a ladder in hand around the city. If he finds an area that particularly inspires him, he might create a work for that specific location. Thus, the street is his canvas and pedestrians are his main audience. Even if just passing by, one becomes the new owner, or collector, of one of the pieces (Valli 24).
  
  
   

  "Each [sculpture] is different, but they are all the same, a reflection that we are all one" (YouTube).

  
  
  Why is he an Artist of the Anthropocene? What does that mean?

  The Anthropocene is the time in geological history where humans have been the most prominent, and furthermore the time in history which has brought forth the most environmental damage by humans. We are living in the Anthropocene right now. So, if the Anthropocene is this time defined by human negligence towards the environment, what is Anthropocene art? What is its goal? I define Anthropocene art as a type of green art that focuses on the inter-related environmental and social damage caused by Western models of "progress." It is placed publicly, in order to attract as large of an audience as possible, and with the main goal of raising awareness for the particular aspect of "progress" that it critiques.
  
  Thus, Cordal is an artist of the Anthropocene because he exemplifies this definition. His goal, through the strategic placement of his sculptures, is to highlight the detrimental effects of Western civilization on the environment. His canvas is the street, in order to attract as large of an audience as possible, getting people to stop in their tracks and consider the world around them for a second, and the effects they might be having on it. His main goal is just that: to get people to stop and consider his work, raising awareness for the damage they (or their society) is causing to the environment. In fact, he says himself:

  "Many of my works speak about man’s relationship with nature and the side effects of what we call ‘progress’.  I want to reflect on society and give my opinion on issues that affect us today. I’m interested in showing where capitalism has led us.  There is a kind of nostalgia in the scenes because I want to represent the absurdity of our existence and our loneliness, how small we are in the universe" (Kuittinen 46).

  So, let's see some of these works!

  This first sculpture is called "Follow the Leaders", and is in Berlin, Germany. If you were a pedestrian that came across this piece during a walk around town, what might you notice or take away from it? Let's see. First, you might just see some small heads poking out of a puddle. As you look closer, you might notice that they are all men. They are all white men. They are all balding. They are all dressed in business suits. They appear to be in the middle of a debate, and fail to notice that they are being swallowed by a rising puddle, as some men are almost completely submerged and a few heads poke out. Nevertheless, they seem very focused on the debate. So, what's the message? As I mentioned, this piece is called "Follow the Leaders" and Cordal meant to depict a group of politicians debating climate change, making the statement that our action surrounding climate change is all talk and it is going to severely and noticeably effect us before we ever take any action. In other words, he is saying we are too complacent, and this sculpture provokes a sense of urgency; this is an issue that must be addressed as our society is failing at doing so.
  
  This second sculpture highlights, as Cordal put it, "the absurdity of our existence". Stumbling upon this as you might in Malmo, Sweden, you can see three people, likely family members, sitting together on a couch. They are in very close proximity, and yet do not seem to be paying any attention to one another. Each of them holds a phone and stares at it. Then, looking at the scene, you might notice that it's not exactly a comfortable placement. Their feet are in a puddle. Where is their house? It is possible that they lost their home due to urban construction or even maybe due to a storm caused by climate change. Yet, they are entirely oblivious. Through this sculpture, Cordal begs the questions: Are we this oblivious to what is going on in the world around us? Are we this oblivious to the destruction that is taking place? He would say yes, challenging us to do something about it.
  
  
  Cordal mentions how small we are in the universe, and this sculpture in Portugal emphasizes just that. Yet, despite our physical smallness, we have the capacity to cause (and have caused) catastrophic effects on our environment. Furthermore, when looking at this sculpture, you can see that it is different from the past two in that the sculpture does not take up most of the photo. Usually, when he takes photos of his works, he fills the screen with them, making them appear larger than they actually are. Here, he emphasizes how small they are not only by strategically taking the photo from further away but mainly by comparing the sculpture to the backdrop. You can see two large towers creating tons and tons of air pollution. The man is so small, and yet he (humanity) created that. We are small, but we are entirely capable and entirely to blame.
  
  Most of Cordal's works are found in the street, to be encountered and confronted randomly by pedestrians, but he also creates larger works for art exhibits. This work is called "The Noel Forest." Ever heard of it? You're not supposed to! The Noel Forest, Cordal explains, is a forest that does not exist. It is a forest that represents all of the trees that are cut down each year so that homes can be adorned by a Christmas tree for a short month. His sculptures are quite peculiar in this piece; they stand atop platforms overlooking the trees. They're likely trying to get a good view so that they can decide which one they want to cut down for their home. Nevertheless, this work highlights the issue of deforestation, and the irony that we are cutting down trees each year for our own short enjoyment, entirely unaware of the larger effect on the earth that, if not slowed, can have dire effects on humanity itself. 

  Is there an overarching theme here?

  Yes, there is! You might have noticed that all of these sculptures depict humanity in a similar fashion: oblivious, ignorant, naive. Appropriately enough, all of these works are from Cordal's series called "Waiting for Climate Change". When we look at these sculptures, we think, "that's absurd", or, "that's ridiculous; could anyone actually be that ignorant?" His sculptures might be a little dramatic, but he is trying to make a point. We fail to recognize that catastrophic effects of our actions and of Western civilization because it might not be something that affects at this very second; furthermore, he aims to show us what it will look like if we continue in this lifestyle of complacency, of not taking any action to address these environmental issues that are begging for our attention. 
  
  Why are these issues so difficult for us to confront? Why are so many of us complacent while the earth is being destroyed around us? Well, it's because we may not entirely realize it, and even if we do, it isn't all visible to us and therefore we do not deem it a problem worth our immediate attention. Destruction, or violence, is often seen as something that is immediate and explosive, creating casualties on the spot. However, with these big issues like climate change, this just isn't the case. In his book Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor, author Rob Nixon introduces a phenomenon that he calls "slow violence." Nearly invisible, it very well exists:

  "We need, I believe, to engage in a different kind of violence, a violence that is neither spectacular nor instantaneous, but rather incremental and accretive, its calamitous repercussions playing out across a range of temporal scales. In so doing, we also need to engage in the representational, narrative, and strategic challenges posed by the relative invisibility of slow violence. Climate change, the thawing cryosphere, toxic drift, biomagnification, deforestation, the radioactive aftermath of wars, acidifying oceans, and a host of other slowly unfolding environmental catastrophes present formidable representational obstacles that can hinder our efforts to mobilize and act decisively" (Nixon 2).

  Nixon's phenomenon explains what Cordal is trying to show in his sculptures. Humanity is being destructive towards the planet. We don't see the effects every day, but that does not mean they are not there and it definitely does not mean that they will not catch up to us if we continue in this attitude of ignorance. Furthermore, Cordal wants us to see his sculptures in the middle of the street on our morning walk, and to have to stop and confront the issues that they represent. He wants us to realize that these are pressing, prominent issues that cannot be solved by a society that sits around and waits, or that contemplates solutions but never implements anything. Rather, these issues will continue to get worse until they demand our attention, and we finally recognize them. But, by then, it may be too late. Cordal calls us to act now. This is what makes him an artist of the Anthropocene.

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  Works Cited
  • “180 ID Isaac Cordal.” YouTube, YouTube, 13 May 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_RP8IzqoZU.
  • Cordal, Isaac. Cement Eclipses: Small Interventions in the Big City. Carpet Bombing Culture, 2011.
  • Cordal, Isaac. “Works.” Isaac Cordal, cementeclipses.com/works/.
  • “Isaac Cordal.” Widewalls, www.widewalls.ch/artist/isaac-cordal/.
  • Kuittinen, Riikka. Street Craft: Guerrilla Gardening, Yarnbombing, Light Graffiti, Street Sculpture, and More, Thames & Hudson, 2015, pp. 46–51.
  • Nixon, Rob. Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor. Harvard Univ. Press, 2013.
  • Valli, Marc, and Margherita Dessanay. “Isaac Cordal.” Microworlds, Laurence King Publishing, 2011, pp. 24-33.