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Concrete buys time : art and anthropology in the Anthropocene

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Irvine_2022_Worldviews_Concrete_buys_time_CC.pdf (11.21Mb)
Date
19/10/2022
Author
Irvine, Richard D. G.
Bevan, Anne
Keywords
Concrete
Cement
Geology
Anthropocene
Sculpture
GN Anthropology
3rd-DAS
MCC
NCAD
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Abstract
Recent engagements with deep time within anthropology have urged an expansion of our time horizons in order to confront the contemporary ecological crisis. Here, we explore this theme by considering concrete’s material properties as a substance that reveals the troubled relationship between the present and deep time. We combine discussion of the life cycle of concrete in Orkney, Scotland, with reflection on sculptural interventions that seek to capture concrete’s character as both solid and fluid—the pouring of concrete has the potential to congeal a fleeting moment in time. Yet, recognising the impact of the production of concrete, understood at the geological level, we see a pernicious feedback loop: attempts to secure the land/water boundary contribute to the climatic changes which threaten those very environments. The task of tracing concrete’s place within the geological record illustrates both the challenge and the necessity of recognising humanity within deep time.
Citation
Irvine , R D G & Bevan , A 2022 , ' Concrete buys time : art and anthropology in the Anthropocene ' , Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology , vol. 26 , no. 3 , pp. 179-195 . https://doi.org/10.1163/15685357-02603009
Publication
Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1163/15685357-02603009
ISSN
1568-5357
Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © Richard D.G. Irvine and Anne Bevan, 2022 doi:10.1163/15685357-02603009 This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license
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  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/26325

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