Professor talks with artist about Anthropocene

Professor Leah Joseph and artist Laura Moriarty met in the first of a series of conversations to be held at the Berman Museum as part of the “A Stratigraphic Fiction” exhibit. Drawing on her work as a geologist, Joseph discussed Moriarty’s sculptures and how art and science reveal unexpected perspectives on the Anthropocene (see also here). The conversation touched on Moriarty’s and Joseph’s joint wonder of the complex geologic patterns that appear in particular places and the struggles artists and scientists face in interpreting human impacts on these landscapes. In doing so, the discussion highlighted the ways in which the liberal arts–the blending of science and art–can offer new perspectives on what it means for humans to so profoundly reshape the Earth’s environmental systems. The next discussion in the series will be Thursday, September 29th at 7:00 pm in the Berman main gallery.