Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

Publication Date

4-2024

College

University College

Department

Honors Program

BURS Faculty Advisor

Christine Rogers

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Abstract

The current Age of the Anthropocene marks a recent and rapid transition into a period in climate history that is notably defined by human impact. Modern Western sentiments of grief, frustration, and romanticism as a result of the interplay between domestic and corporate spaces seem to culminate in an overall attitude of apathy and acceptance of the Age of the Anthropocene. Various art forms collaborate to create the current conversation of the causatory and reactionary relationship that humans have with the Anthropocene, offering interpretations of how individuals and corporations view ownership of and responsibilities to the environment. There is a gap, however, in existing artwork that marries the individual and corporate experiences of the Age of the Anthropocene to produce a nationally representative work. “Making the Bed” offers a play on the saying “You made your bed, now go lie in it” in the context of a generation of Americans equipped with tools for change but still stricken with hopelessness and an appetite for power. Several sources of visual and ideological inspiration contributed to a final proposal of an exhibit held in none other than The White House–the nation’s token domestic space and the ultimate overlap of the domestic and corporate spheres. These contributing resources were centered around three main themes: “the ethics of entering a garden”, systems and corporations, and the nonlocality created by an idealistic domestic sphere. In the final piece, these themes are concentrated in not just the location but also the materials, scale, and form of the exhibit.

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