The American artist Agnes Denes is recognised as a pioneer in Conceptual, Environmental, Ecological, and Land Art. Since the 1960s, Denes’ political objectives have been made explicit in her multi-faceted body of work that assumes the form of drawings, sculpture, photographs, and monumental public installations and that are grounded in ecological issues driven towards a post-Anthropocene future. In the over six metres long mono-prints Introspection I—Evolution (1968–1971) and Introspection II—Machines, Tools & Weapons (1969–1972), Denes diagrammatically visualises systems of knowledge. The first print traces the evolutionary developments of early man from ape to the present on an encyclopaedic scale. In the style of etchings and illustrations drawn from medical and engineering books, the print features anatomical studies and taxonomic tables. The latter print maps technology from the first manmade tools to the machines of the 20th century. Denes’ intersectional approach of expanding the field of science through the visual demonstrates her efforts in redefining abstract analytical notions to form new systems of language and knowledge that dissolve barriers between realms. In this way, Denes paves the way for new associations and understandings, reimagining the relationship of humans with the Earth.
Liv Cuniberti
