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Photographs of the changing environment: Anthropocene, over 150 thousand visitors in Bologna

la Repubblica

The exhibition at the Mast was also visited by 15 thousand students

BOLOGNA - It was supposed to remain open for 4 months, it closed on January 5 after eight months of extraordinary turnout. Anthropocene, the exhibition of photographs on the changing environment hosted by the Mast of Bologna, since May 16 has been visited by 155 thousand people, impressed by the project of the international group of scientists Anthropocene Working Group which has documented the changes that man has imprinted on earth and the effects of human activities on natural processes through the combination of art, cinema, augmented reality and scientific research.

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This Stunning Exhibition Examines Humankind’s Impact on Earth

Anthropocene, a radical multisensory media exhibit, runs through January 5 at MAST Foundation.

By Gabriella Golenda
Metropolis Magazine

In the exhibition Anthropocene, there are aerial photos of a snow-dusted open-pit coal mine in Wyoming, a sawmill cutting its way through deteriorating lowland rainforests of Nigeria, and heliostat mirrors in a sublime formation at a solar plant in Spain. Sinister yet strangely beautiful, these obscure scenes lend us a view that we might not otherwise have: a vantage point to start to understand how profoundly the planet has been altered by humans.

As the story goes, Anthropocene, which opened May 16 in Bologna, Italy, is the result of a collaboration that began in 2014 with three Canadian artists: photographer Edward Burtynsky, and filmmakers Jennifer Biachwal and Nicolas de Penciler, and was first shown at the National Gallery of Canada. The trio spent the years leading up to the exhibit trying to answer a prompt now written in the introduction of the exhibition catalogue: “…how to give compelling aesthetic form to the evidence that has aggregated in the geological record through persistent and globally interconnected human activity.” This work closely follows the research of an international group of scientists, the Anthropocene Working Group, who are investigating the effect of human incursions, that, in their own words, are so immense in their scope that they will “endure geological time.”

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September: 5 photographic exhibitions not to be missed in Italy

Vogue Italia

For those who have already returned to the city after the summer holidays but have no intention of stopping to travel, even if only by thinking, we would like to point out 5 photography exhibitions not to be missed. From Milan to Nuoro, passing through Genoa, Bologna and Spilimbergo, there are many proposals to learn about distant and close worlds, discover exciting stories and reflect on the health of the planet through the lens of photographic language.

BOLOGNA

Anthropocene - Mast Foundation

Until January 5, 2020

In these times when we witness powerless, poised between anger and disbelief, some questions become more and more pressing to the fires in the Amazon: what are we doing to our planet? How did we get to this point and what future awaits us? Photographs of Edward Burtynsky and movies of award-winning filmmakers Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier on display at Mast Foundation in Bologna could help us find some answers.

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The Anthropocene Project at the MAST Foundation in Bologna: A Wake-up Call to Save the Planet

By Nicolò Gallio

When was the last time you felt mesmerised and guilty at the same time, while looking at a piece of art? It happened to me last Saturday more than once when I was visiting the Anthropocene exhibition at the MAST Foundation in Bologna. I knew I was going to experience an impactful show given the topics – pollution, deforestation, mining, climate change, urbanization – but did not fully realise the beauty that came across the powerful images captured by the cameras of world-renowned photographer Edward Burtynsky and award-winning directors/producers Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier.

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Envisioning the Anthropocene

By Esther Hershkovits
Good Trouble Magazine

Over the last five years, three visual artists documented the staggering state of our current geological epoch - ‘The Anthropocene’ - collaborating with a research team of scientists to investigate our indelible signature on the planet.

The Anthropocene Project is a multidisciplinary body of work from world-renowned artists Nicholas de Pencier, Edward Burtynsky and Jennifer Baichwal. Through September 22, 2019, Fondazione MAST showcases their collaborative work. Good Trouble spoke to one of the artists, Edward Burtynsky, about the philosophy of the project/exhibit and its implications for the future.

How do you define the Anthropocene?

As part of the Anthropocene book, we wrote a glossary of terms that we had approved by the Anthropocene Working Group. “Anthropocene” is defined as follows: the proposed current geological epoch, at present informal, in which humans are the primary cause of permanent planetary change.

“Our mission would be to evangelize the word ‘Anthropocene’, raise awareness for the issues it presented, and bring both the word and its implications forward in people’s consciousness.”

When did you first hear about the term “Anthropocene” and what was your initial reaction? 

We have been aware of the word and concept for well over a decade, and it was when we were wrapping up Watermark that Jennifer suggested that this is what we should title our next project. I wondered if a project titled with an unfamiliar term could be successful. It was then that we decided our mission would be to evangelize the word Anthropocene, raise awareness for the issues it presented, and bring both the word and its implications forward in people’s consciousness.

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Anthropocene, L’impronta Umana Sulla Terra

By Daniele Del Moro
Green Planet News

Alla FONDAZIONE MAST [Manifattura di Arti, Sperimentazione e Tecnologia] di Bologna arriva in anteprima in Europa la mostra che indaga l’impatto dell’uomo sul pianeta attraverso le straordinarie immagini di Edward Burtynsky, i filmati di Jennifer Baichwal e Nicholas de Pencier e le esperienze immersive di realtà aumentata

Anthropocene, la mostra multimediale, foto, video e quant’altro, che vuole documentare la traccia umana sul nostro povero pianeta. Ci sarà da ridere? Oppure da piangere? Sarà una messa in stato di accusa col dito puntato sul famigerato bipede o forse una mano tesa tra umani pensanti che ancora hanno a cuore le sorti di Base Terra?

Di certo, la mostra Anthropocene, a ingresso gratuito, curata da Sophie Hackett, Andrea Kunard, Urs Sthael, per la prima volta in Italia, a Bologna al MAST fino al 22 settembre 2019, costituisce una seria base di riflessione per farci tutti una domanda: amiamo la vita e dunque il terreno su cui calchiamo i nostri consumati passi?

La mostra, esplorando gli effetti delle attività umane sul Pianeta, si inscrive nel progetto artistico dellaFondazione MAST che dal 2013 conduce una riflessione approfondita sul rapporto tra l’uomo e il mondo del lavoro attraverso esposizioni di fotografia [tratte dalla collezione di Fondazione MAST o provenienti da musei, archivi e raccolte private], che raccontano il settore produttivo, le comunità dei mestieri e l’occupazione in genere.

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Burtynsky con Baichwal e de Pencier al Mast

35 fotografie, 4 enormi murales, alcune videoinstallazioni e 3 installazioni di realtà aumentata

By Monica Poggi | Il Giornale dell'Arte numero 397, maggio 2019

Bologna. Siamo nell’Antropocene, vale a dire: stiamo distruggendo il nostro pianeta. Ce lo ripetono scienziati e ricercatori, lo urlano le proteste giovanili in piazza e da qualche anno lo sottolineano  anche gli artisti. Nello specifico il fotografo internazionale Edward Burtynsky e i documentaristi Jennifer Baichwal e Nicholas de Pencier con una mostra al MAST intitolata «Anthropocene», curata da Urs Stahel, Sophie Hackett e Andrea Kunard e organizzata dalla Art Gallery of Ontario e dal Canadian Photography Institute della National Gallery of Canada in partnership con l’istituzione bolognese.

Dopo aver debuttato in Canada lo scorso settembre, l’esposizione arriva per la prima volta in Europa negli spazi della Fondazione bolognese dal 16 maggio al 22 settembre. Il progetto nasce dalla collaborazione quadriennale dei tre autori e si basa sul lavoro dell’Anthropocene Working Group, un gruppo internazionale di scienziati impegnato a dimostrare come l’uomo sia diventato la forza più potente in natura, in grado di modificare con le proprie azioni il corso delle ere geologiche.

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The Anthropocene Project

By Daniel Nash
Billionaire

A highly-anticipated multimedia project documents the indelible human footprint on the Earth.

From concrete seawalls in China that now cover 60 percent of the mainland coast, to the biggest terrestrial machines ever built in Germany, to psychedelic potash mines in Russia’s Ural Mountains, to the devastated Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and surreal lithium evaporation ponds in the Atacama desert, from the marble quarries in Carrara to one of the world’s largest landfill sites in Dandora, Kenya, humans' impact on Earth is unmistakeable and ubiquitous.

A new photography exhibition comprising four years of scientific research into this global phenomenon, is about to make its debut in Europe at Fondazione MAST, in Bologna, Italy, from May 16th - September 22nd 2019.

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'Anthropocene,' the Groundbreaking Exhibition With Thought-Provoking Imagery and AR Installations, Will Travel From Canada to Europe

ARTFIXdaily

Breathtaking photographs and films, immersive augmented reality experiences, cutting-edge technology: Anthropocene ends Friday in Ottawa

This groundbreaking exhibition explores human impact on the planet through large-scale photographs by Edward Burtynsky, film installations by Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier and, new from the artists, augmented reality installations. A 236-page exhibition book is available.

The show will travel to Fondazione MAST, in Bologna, in the spring of 2019 for its European premiere.

Anthropocene, the multimedia exhibition on view at the National Gallery of Canada until February 24, 2019, is the result of an ambitious four-year collaboration between the renowned artist Edward Burtynsky and award-winning filmmakers Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier. Using the most cutting-edge technology of our time, combining film, photography, augmented reality (AR) and scientific research, the exhibition offers a spectacular panorama of the enormous impact humanity has had on the planet.

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