Pleistocene. Holocene. Anthropocene.
The Pleistocene era lasted 2.588 million years and ended approximately 12,000 years ago. It was succeeded by the Holocene era. Now, a new geological era has been added to the history of our planet. It is called the “Anthropocene” or “The Age of Mankind”.
This trailblazing scientific concept popularized by Nobel Prize winner Paul J. Crutzen, delves into a foreboding question: If nature is created by, shaped by, and controlled by humans, how do we differentiate “artificial” from “natural"? What are the ethical and ecological implications of the dissolution of this difference?
The Anthropocene dilemma was not yet named when Mario Merz first applied his artist’s disposition to his biological training. Nonetheless, his work discerns the grand continuum of nature’s interlocking energies.
Merz is associated with Arte Povera, a radical Italian art movement that resisted the forces in contemporary society that enable humanity’s empowerment. His protest led him to embrace the patterns and rhythms derived from living matter and dynamic ecosystems. This sensitivity is evident in his rejection of perpendicular forms and his preference for circles, domes, and spirals. Merz is frequently quoted for stating: “Space is curved, the earth is curved, everything on earth is curved.”
Furthermore, the integration of biological processes is evident in his gentle forming methods. He carves form by relying upon the manner in which biological matter is reduced – Merz introduces fruit into his installations and then allows it to decay. Likewise, he assembles materials as they might be assembled without human intervention. Twigs are woven, stones are stacked, and glass shards are piled. By creating provisional structures whose materials are capable of being reformed into future artworks, his artworks participate within nature’s cycling currents in which entities are continually being dismantled and reformed.
In all these ways Merz demonstrates how human experience can be revitalized by collaborating with nature’s processes instead of controlling them. He is an artist and a scientist. But he is also a philosopher and spiritual teacher.