The Anthropocene and the Aesthetics of Planetary Abstraction

The notion of the Anthropocene presupposed since its initial formulations the possibility to represent planetary anthropogenic environmental change through methods of data collection and imaging techniques of satellite reconnaissance, remote sensing and data mining, computer simulations and modelling. The popularization of the Anthropocene paradigm has prompted researchers working within the earth system sciences, climatology, geology, and international scientific bodies to evolve and improve existing forms of visual communication and public outreach initiatives. The reception of the Anthropocene paradigm by visual artists, art institutions, natural history museums, design studios, and var- ious other cultural and aesthetic practices has generated – and is continuing to produce – a large and diverse corpus of arts-based and research-oriented visualizations of climate change. In this chapter, the author will introduce the subject of geo-scientific Anthropocene visualizations and will define a working corpus of the most relevant artistic projects that have expanded or called into question the socio-ecological visualizations originating in the geosciences. In particular, the essay will focus on recent works by American painter Diane Burko (Seeing Climate Change, 2021) and by Japanese experimental audio-visual artist Ryoji Ikeda (Data-Verse, 2019). While creatively incorporating the technological and data-driven aesthetics of climate change science, these artists ask us also to reflect on how the ubiquity and pervasiveness of climate data and satellite imagery are effectively re-configuring the way we perceive the planet and the environmental crises today.