How Do Art and Mythology Relate to Climate Change?

Earth is the only place we can inhabit as humanity. It is not about migrating to other planets; it is about migrating our way-of-being-in-the-world. Learn more about how art and mythology relate to climate change.

How Do Art and Mythology Relate to Climate Change?
Prometheus and Athena create the first man, Museo del Prado. https://commons.wikimedia.org/
Reading time 8 minutes

Greek mythology tells us about the creation of the first human being and who created him: Prometheus. A mythical figure who thought us fragile and vulnerable, but also gave us the possibility to sustain ourselves on the planet.

Thinking of a sustainable world implies a change in the way we relate to the world as it is. If humanity continues in the process of rapacious industrialization and the logic of exacerbated consumption and excessive lifestyles without regard to the environment, there is little chance of guaranteeing the continuity of the human species on planet Earth.

It is crucial to activate our imagination and develop new utopias. “What does not exist but can become?” Imagining new scenarios is possible through the fine arts. What do we want, what are we worried about, where are we going, and how do we see ourselves differently in the world.

The role of utopia in climate change

Examined from its etymological root, the concept of “utopia” derives from the Greek topos, meaning “place,” and its two closest prefixes eu, “the best,” and ou, “negation.” That is, utopia is the best place that does not exist but that “can be” (Bloch, 1986). Utopia is born from dissatisfaction with current living conditions and constitutes an open proposal against the status quo. It is not merely discontent toward the undesirable or what is believed not to be deserved, nor does it come down to being a passive voice. Utopia overcomes selfish visions of one’s interests or empty ideals that are disguised in the discourses of leaders. Utopia has the devastating function of changing reality (Galvez Mora, 2010). It needs a militant optimism; it is not only good wishes but a concrete and determined work, which mobilizes the person and the organizational bodies to work to achieve it (Aguirre, 2007). To generate an open possibility of a sustainable world starting from reality is to ponder the best place that does not yet exist, but that can exist. It is therefore stated that utopia is the objective foundation of what is to come (Krotz, 2011).

“The human presence in the world seems to us infinite, but this is due to the anthropocentric perspective –man as the center of the universe– inherited from the last five centuries. Therefore, we have the urgency of reinterpreting us through artistic expressions, myths, and literary possibilities, of thinking about the planet’s sustainability, as part of it, not outside of it, not on top of it.”


Yayoi Kusama. https://commons.wikimedia.org/

Yayoi Kusama. https://commons.wikimedia.org/

Art and utopia

In the same tenor as a utopia, art anticipates what is not yet, imagining possible futures, containing in its expression a profound human manifestation. From this, the question arises, Are utopias being projected from art? Artists such as Yayoi Kusama (Kusama, 2020) capture our imagination, not only for her works of bright colors adorned with dotted motifs that are repeated playfully but because of her way of being able to place us in infinity. To appreciate her art installation is to live the mystical experience of peering into infinity and from there experiencing an approach to the cosmos, thanks to the play of lights and mirrors (CNN, 2000).


Yayoi Kusama. https://pixabay.com/

Yayoi Kusama. https://pixabay.com/

It could be interpreted from this experience that the human being (the spectator) can stand before infinity and observe it. An open dialogue is generated between the work and the spectator. The images are infinite, and, in a certain sense, also the appreciation of man and woman. Infinity can be appreciated in the exhibition, but perceiving this infinite image requires the human eye. The human figure completes the work. Art not only achieves a utopian effect; it can also be a means of denunciation, of sensitivity to climate change and its impact. In this way, it presents us with an idealized reality of a sustainable planet. Once we have argued how art approaches utopia and is linked to climate change, we can see also that mythology offers possibilities for new interpretations of the human being and his link to climate change.

Mythology, the first human being, and the environment

Greek mythology tells us about the creation of the first human being and who created him: Prometheus. Etymologically, the name of the Titan comes from “Pro,” before, and “Metheus,” care; i.e., care before doing. Prometheus worked carefully on creating a creature who was similar to the gods: the human being. He modeled the human with a mixture of soil and water and set out to make him superior to the rest of the mortal creatures. However, it took him too long to create his great work. When he finally managed to create it, his brother, Epimetheus, had already used all the gifts Zeus had provided. Epimetheus gave claws to the beasts, wings to the birds, fins to the fish. Prometheus, truly desperate because of human suffering, seeing man cold and hungry, moved by his fragility, decided to steal the sacred fire of the gods against Zeus’ will. He drew the fire from Olympus, hidden in a small reed. That is why it is said that it was Prometheus who liberated humanity from the darkness in which he was found. He brought the fire that frees humanity from fear and leads him to progress. The fire is knowledge.

That is the dream from which we were created by a mythical figure who thought us fragile and vulnerable, but he also gave us the possibility to sustain ourselves on the planet.

Nowadays, we question the crisis of climate change, global warming, the contamination of air, water, and land, and the loss of diversity. Where has this progress taken us? What has earned us the compassion and sacrifice of Prometheus, the eternally punished Titan, tied to a rock, where every day the eagle comes to devour his liver? (Flahault, 2013)

Epimetheus’s claim against Prometheus, and COVID-19

The destruction of ecosystems, caused by various human activities, has helped new viruses reach humans. This may be the case with COVID-19 (Valladares, 2020). This virus may have been in the wild, and an impact on biodiversity caused this virus to reach humans. In other words, when there is an adequate balance in nature, some species control others in that relationship between predator and prey. This regulates the population in the animal kingdom and, with it, the possible viruses they carry. If we alter that chain, the overpopulation of a particular species can affect others and thus reach the human and unleash a pandemic. Pandemics, unlike previous centuries, will become more feasible, emerging both due to the level of affecting the natural environment and by globalization and the speed of human mobility, which makes it extremely difficult to control any outbreak. The response to the new health challenges that humanity will face lies not only in technology and medical science but also in the protection of nature. In the words of Valladares (2020), nature achieves integral protection by taking care of biodiversity, the viral load is kept in balance, and the risks of generating zoonosis are limited.

As we have stated in the previous paragraph, Epimetheus represents the creator of nature, in particular the animal kingdom. Prometheus is the creator of man; to him, knowledge and progress are possible. So, the man struggled to conquer nature, which for him, is the unknown and threatening; he did not realize that he was nature. The current pandemic which humanity is experiencing is a claim of Epimetheus against Prometheus, making the environmental disaster its potential impact.

In other words, it is not only the fire of the gods that will protect the human being from future pandemics. The most crucial protection, referring to Greek mythology, is that the creature of Prometheus (the human being) protects or does not affect what is created by Epimetheus. It is imperative to teach new generations the duty to protect the natural environment, to maintain its balance, and not to alter it. Only in this way will we be able to ensure the continuity of the human species.

Didactic exercise

Below, I share an exercise that can be useful for reflecting on climate change through artistic expressions that seek to raise awareness of it.

Exercise: ART AND CLIMATE CHANGE

  1. View this page: https://www.lamonomagazine.com/5-artistas-del-arte-por-la-concienciacion-del-medio-ambiente__trashed/

  2. Look at each photograph and read the explanation of each.

  3. Choose which of them sends the most persuasive message of environmental awareness.

  4. Search for more information related to the problem that the photograph reflects.

  5. Find out more about the author of the photograph.

  6. Explain why you chose that particular photograph. What message does it express?


Migrating our way-of-living-in-the-world

Thinkers like John Gray (2002) give us a blunt warning in the sentence, “The Earth will forget man, and the game will continue.” In other words, human beings are not necessary for the planet to run its course, and the only thing that will happen before its possible disappearance, because of climate change, is that another species governs the Earth. The human presence in the world seems to us infinite, but this is due to the anthropocentric perspective –man as the center of the universe– inherited from the last five centuries. Therefore, we have the urgency of reinterpreting, through these artistic expressions, the myths and the literary possibilities of thinking about the planet sustainability, as part of it, not outside of it, not on top of it.

The damage to the planet is already done. All we have left is the ability to imagine a new world. Until now, the Earth is the only place we have to inhabit as humanity. It is not about migrating to other planets; it is about migrating the way-of-being-in-the-world. It is a new way of thinking that accommodates a world viable for human beings and the diverse species. It is a question of imagining that in the
future, the planet will continue to spin in the game of life and that the human species will remain in it. It is to imagine, despite everything, that Earth will not forget humanity and that the possibility of the human being with it can be seen, if not infinitely, then at least sustainably.

As educators, we are called to discuss these issues with the students, regardless of the level of education. We need to rethink ourselves in another way and reflect on where we should direct ourselves.

About the author

Florina Guadalupe Arredondo Trapero (farredon@tec.mx) is a research professor in the Department of Humanistic Studies at Tecnológico de Monterrey (SNI Level 1), Monterrey Campus. She is also ethics coordinator of the Doctorate in Humanistic Studies program at Tecnológico de Monterrey.

References

Aguirre, J. M. (2007). Razón y Esperanza. Pensar con Ernst Bloch. Hermenéutica intercultural: revista de filosofía, (16), 19-39.

Bloch, E. (1986). The Principle of Hope. Basil Blackwell: Oxford.

CNN(2020). Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms. https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/yayoi-kusama-artist/index.html

Flahault, F. (2013). El crepúsculo de Prometeo. Barcelona: Galaxia Gutenberg, Barcelona.

Gálvez Mora, I. M. J. (2010). Reflexiones en torno a la función utópica en Ernst Bloch y su actualidad (Tesis doctoral). Universidad Autónoma de México, México.

Gray, J. (2002). Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals. Editorial Granta Publications, Londres.

Krotz, E. (2011). Introducción a Ernst Bloch (a 125 años de su nacimiento). En-claves del pensamiento, 5(10).

Kusama, Y. (2020). Biografía. http://yayoi-kusama.jp/e/biography/index.html

Valladares, F. (2020) La vacuna del coronavirus ya la teníamos, y nos la hemos cargado.

Soto, J. (2020).”La vacuna del coronavirus ya la teníamos, y nos la hemos cargado”. El confidencial. https://www.elconfidencial.com/tecnologia/2020-04-28/entrevista-fernando-valladares-coronavirus-vacuna_2569143/

Editing by Rubí Román (rubi.roman@tec.mx) – Observatory of Educational Innovation.

Translation by Daniel Wetta.

Florina Guadalupe Arredondo Trapero

This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0