until the end of the world? biocentrism and traces of

JournalofEcocriticism7(1)Summer2015

"Biocentrism and human presence in the paintings of Josh Keyes (1-13)

1

Untiltheendoftheworld?BiocentrismandtracesofhumanpresenceinthepaintingsofJoshKeyes.

PeterBengtsen(LundUniversity,Sweden)1

AbstractThis article considers the paintings of the contemporaryAmerican artist JoshKeyes from an ecocritical point of view and discusses the importance ofbiocentrismandtheaffinitybetweenhumansandnatureintheartist’swork.ItarguesthatalthoughKeyes’ imageryalmostnever includeshumanbeings,hispaintings still relate a sense of human presence through the depiction ofculturalartefactsandtheuseofanaxonometricperspective.Thelattercreatesconnotations to scientific sampling and technical drawings and is therebysuggestive of the continued presence of human beings in the depicted post-apocalyptic future. The article proposes that Keyes’ projections of the future,where cultural landscapes and artefacts have been reclaimed by nature,constitute a critique of an anthropocentric ethics and its related practices.Further, thearticledemonstratesthe importancegivenbyboththeartistandhisaudiencetothebiocentricagendaoftheartwork.This isevidencedbythemixed reception of some of Keyes’more recent works which neither containcultural artefacts, nor make use of an axonometric perspective. The articleargues, however, that these paintings also inscribe themselves in the centralthemeofbiocentrismandadvocatetheaffinitybetweenhumansandanimals.Theydosobyinvokingempathyintheviewertowardsanimalsthroughtheuseofanthropomorphism.

Introduction

1999wastheyeartheIndiannuclearsatellitewentoutofcontrol.Itsoared

abovetheozonelayerlikealethalbirdofpreyuntilitwasshotdownby

AmericanmissilesandexplodedabovetheAustraliancontinent.Wewerecut

offcompletelyfromtherestoftheworld,ifindeeditstillexisted.Wehadno

1PeterBengtsenisanarthistorianandsociologistworkingattheDepartmentofArtsandCulturalSciencesatLundUniversity,Sweden.ThisarticleisaresultoftheresearchprojectVisualEcocriticismwhichhasbeenfundedbyTheErikPhilip-SörensenFoundation.


BiocentrismandhumanpresenceinthepaintingsofJoshKeyes(1-13) 2

wayofknowingifthecatastrophewaslocalorglobal.(EugeneFitzpatrickinBisansEndederWelt).1

Popular culture has long been marked by a fascination with the prospect of an impending

apocalypse.MichaelHaneke’sfilmLetempsduloup(2003),RobertKirkman’songoingcomicbook

seriesTheWalkingDead(firstissued2003,adaptedtotelevisionin2009),RolandEmmerich’sfilm

TheDay After Tomorrow (2004), CormacMcCarthy’s novel The Road (2006, adapted to film by

John Hillcoat in 2009), the video game The Last of Us (2013) and Christopher Nolan’s film

Interstellar (2014) are but a few recent examples of the numerous cultural products that in

different ways deal with human life and the notion of humanity in an apocalyptic or post-

apocalypticworld.

The cause of the apocalypse in fictional narratives like the onesmentioned above is often left

ambiguous.However, it iscommonlyinsinuatedthathumanbeingshaveplayedacentralrolein

theeventsleadinguptothepresentedscenario,whetherthelatterbearesultofanuclearwaror

accident,biologicalexperimentationoroverspendingnaturalresources.Whilethefaultofhumans

suggested in these recent cultural products is likely based on the idea of anthropogenic

environmentalproblemslikeclimatechange,itisalsoacommontropeinmucholdermythsofthe

deluge.Here,theearthisfloodedandcivilisationdestroyed,oftenbyadeityaswayofrestoring

balancebycleansingtheworldofthecorruptculturehumanshavedeveloped.2

Thefascinationwiththeapocalypsefoundsoabundantlyinpopularcultureisalsoprevalentinthe

world of fine art. This article considers the paintings of the American contemporary artist Josh

Keyesfromanecocriticalperspective.AgraduateoftheSchooloftheArtInstituteofChicagoand

Yale University School of Art, Keyes is best known for depicting post-apocalyptic scenarios of

“animal subjects in [...] peril, displaced from their natural ecosystems into dioramic fantastical

situations”.3 Through the publication of prints of some of his paintings, the artist has in recent

yearsfoundanaudienceinartprintcollectingcommunities,includingcollectorsofso-calledurban

art.4

EventhoughthevastmajorityofKeyes’artisticoutputiscompletelydevoidofexplicitdepictions

ofhumanbeings,manyof thepaintingshave– at leastuntil recently – related to the viewer a

senseofhumanpresence in twoways.First, theartworksoften incorporateartefactsofhuman

civilisation, typically in the form of elements of urban infrastructure. Second, Keyes frequently

usesanaxonometricperspectiveinhiswork.Thisperspectiveischaracterisedby“theprojection

ofobjectson[a]drawingsurfacesothattheyappearinclinedwiththreesidesshowingandwith

horizontal and vertical distances drawn to scale but diagonal and curved lines distorted”.5 It is

commonlyusedintechnicaldrawingsandalsocreatesconnotationstoscientificsampling.Avery

earlyexampleoftheartist’suseofthisperspectivecanbeseeninthe2001drawingSnow(Figure1).

As will be argued in this article, the depiction of human artefacts and the particular use of

perspectiveinmanyofKeyes’artworksreferencehumanpresencedifferently.Ontheonehand,

theimagecontentshowsthathumanshavebeenpresentatonetime,buttheircurrentabsence

alsoinsinuatesthatthisislongerthecase.Theaxonometricperspective,ontheotherhand,may

be seen as an indication that human beings are still present and are observing, sampling and

analysingthepost-apocalypticworldfromtheoutside.



Anthropomorphism – the projection of human traits, interests and emotions on natural

phenomenaandnon-humanentitiessuchasanimals–isaprevalentphenomenoninKeyes’work.

Whileanthropomorphismisoftenseenasanexpressionofanthropocentrism,itcanbeconstrued

differently.6DrawingonEdmundBurke’snotionsof theSublimeandtheBeautiful, inastudyof

JosephMallardWilliamTurner’swatercolourSunsetat Sea,withGurnets from1836-40,Mandy

Swann (2014) argues that theartist’s anthropomorphicportrayal of two fish represents “a shift

away from conceptions of marine animals as sublime alien entities towards the recognition of

their fragilebeautyand inherent connectionwithhumanity” (1).Turner in thiswaybreakswith

the then governing “aesthetic and ideological framework of the sublime [which] sanctions the

human domination and exploitation of the sea” (4), and which portrays marine animals “as

sublimelymonstrous,orastherawmaterialsfor industry,study,sportorsupper”(1).Ascanbe

seeninforexampletheworkofArchibaldThorburnandBrunoLiljefors,sinceTurnercreatedhis

artworks in the first half of the nineteenth century, the representation of animals in art has

evolved in amore empathetic direction. Animals are now frequently portrayed less as being at

odds with, or serving as resources for, humans and more in a way that corresponds with the

biocentric notion that they are sentient beingswith inherent value.An important point to take

awayfromSwann’sanalysisofSunsetatSea,withGurnets,andonethatwillbereiteratedinthepresent article, is that while human interests and feelings are still being projected on animals,

anthropomorphicportrayalsmaybeusedinaconsciousmannerbyartiststopromoteabiocentric

attitude in the viewer.7 In the following, I will conduct visual analyses of a selection of Keyes’

paintings to show how they can be construed as critical of an anthropocentric ethics and its

relatedpractices. Iwillalsodrawonstatementsfromtheartistandmembersofhisaudienceto

discuss both the biocentric agenda that can be read into the artworks and that agenda’s

importanceasperceivedbymembersoftheartworld.

Figure1:JoshKeyes,Snow(2001).Pencilonpaper,11x14inches.

Thevisualprojectionofecologicalconcerns

There is no doubt that Josh Keyes with his work is addressing the human place in – and

responsibilitytowards–theecosystem.ThisisobviouswhenconsideringforexampleGuardianI,apaintingfrom2008ofapartlyopenhumanhandfacingpalmup(Figure2).

Ratherthanworkingwithnaturalskintonesinhisdepictionofthehand,Keyesuseshuesofblue

andgreen.Thegreen,predominantly foundonthepalmside, iscombinedwitha texturingthat

gives the impression that there isgrassgrowingon theskin.This interpretation is supportedby

thedepictionof treesgrowing in thepalm,on some fingersandon thewrist.Additionally, two



deeraregrazingonthetipofthemiddlefingerandfourbirdsaresoaringinthewhitespaceabove

thehand.Sincethehandisnotcompletelyopen,itformsahillyterrain.Theblueisusedonthe

posteriorsideofthehandandthecolour,alongwiththeruggedappearanceofthenumerousskin

foldinglines,createsconnotationstocold,hardbedrock.

Figure2:JoshKeyes,GuardianI(2008).Acryliconbirchpanel,18x24inches.

GuardianIcanberelatedtothecentralecocritical issueofbiocentrism.Asdescribedabove,the

humanhandhereconstitutesthesoilandsolidrockthatmakeupthefoundationofthelifeofthe

depictedplantsandanimals.Thevisualfusionofthehumanbodywiththenaturallandscapecan

beconstruedasacontentionthathumansdonotstandoutside–or,indeed,above–nature,but

rather are a fundamental part of it. The fusion can be taken as an expression of the basic

biocentricpointofviewthatalllivingthingshaveinherentvalueandthathumansthereforehave

aresponsibility toact in the interestof theentireecosystem,ratherthanoutof immediateand

short term anthropocentric interests. From a slightly different perspective, it is significant that

Keyesliterallyplacesanimalandplantlifeinthepalmofahumanhand.Bydoingso,healludesto

the essentially anthropocentric notion of the privileged position of human beings and their

potentialroleasprotectorsordestroyersoftheecosystem.Theimportancegivenbytheartistto

the former role is emphasised in the title of the artwork. Also, the imagery can be seen as a

reference to thenotionof theAnthropoceneas thehumanhand fusedwith thebedrockof the

landscapemaybeanindicationofthedeepimpactthathumanshavehad–andcontinuetohave

–onthebiosphere.

In addition to what can be deduced by looking at the painting, Keyes has also discussed the

purposeoftheartwork.HestatedthefollowingabouttheGuardianseries:

SomeofthenewpaintingsIamworkingon[,]titled“Guardian”,arebranching

alongtheideaofstewardshipandconsciousaction.Theyarebothaselfportrait



[sic]andarealsointendedtobeaportraitofhumanaction.Eachoneofuscan

haveapositiveornegativeindirecteffectonpreservingtheworlds[sic]fragile

ecology. We can do this by being mindful throughout our daily routine of

shopping,eating,andchoiceoftransportation. Iwantedtoexpressasenseof

empowerment and also caution and fragility, [t]he basic idea being that the

preservationofasustainablefutureisinourhands.8

Thisstatementdiscussestheresponsibilityofhumanbeingstopreservetheecosystembasedon

the notion thatmany environmental problems are anthropogenic. From this it is clear that the

artistwishestoinfluencetheviewersofthepainting.Notjustsotheybecomeawareoftheeffects

of theirconsumptionofnatural resources,butsotheytake“consciousaction” intheireveryday

livesandworktowards“asustainablefuture”.

The theme of the relationship between humans and nature that is made so explicit in the

Guardian series also lies as a strongundercurrent inmuchof Keyes’ otherwork.Asmentioned

previously,insomeofhispaintingsthisrelationshipisrepresentedbythejuxtapositionofwildlife

and various cultural artefacts, frequently inwhat seem to be scenarios froma post-apocalyptic

world. This way of representing humans was addressed in a letter accompanying the painting

LandscapeManagement(2005).Inthetext,Keyesexplainsthathehasabandonedthestyleofthispaintingandinstead“turned[his]attentioninthedirectionofusinganimalsandelementsofthe

urbanorcity landscape tosignifyhumanpresence”.9LandscapeManagement isone inanearly

seriesofpaintingsinwhichhumansarerepresentedascolourfulamorphousblobsthatresemble

bacteria.Thisvisual likenesscanbe seenasa commentonhumanbeingsasan infection in the

ecosystem,anotion that is corroboratedby theartist’s statement that theserieswasmeant to

“poke fun at the relationship and impact humans have had on the environment”.10 While the

theme of possible anthropogenic effects on the environment is a common denominator for

LandscapeManagementandGuardian I, theartworksaddress the issuedifferently.The former,

despite arguablybeing themorehumoristic of the two, takes a ratherpessimistic viewwith its

portrayalofhumansasapathogen.11Thelatter,conversely,hasamoreempoweringmessageasit

highlightsthegoodhumanscanpotentiallydofortheenvironment.

Theabove-mentionedartworksbothportrayhumanbeingsdirectly,thoughatdifferentlevelsof

abstraction. In this respect they are different from the vastmajority of the paintings forwhich

Keyes is most famous. These generally depict scenarios where human beings are no longer

present. The following sectionwill take a closer look at a selection of these paintings, someof

which can be interpreted as visions of what the future holds if amore biocentric ethics is not

achieved.

Biocentrismandtracesofhumanpresence

Theaxonometricperspective inKeyes’workhaspreviouslybeenexemplified in thisarticlewith

thedrawingSnowfrom2001.Sincethatdrawingwascreated,theartisthasrefinedhisuseofthe

perspective,ascanbeobservedinforexamplethe2007paintingSlice2(Figure3).

Inthispainting,theboundariescreatedbytheaxonometricperspectivearevisiblenotonlyinthe

soil,revealingtherootsofthesparsegrass,butalsoinarunningrabbit.Sinceitisnotfullyinside

theconfinesoftheoutlinedcross-section,theanimal’shindpartiscutoffanditsinsidesarelaid

bare. The slicing of the rabbit, echoed in the title of the painting, creates connotations to the

microtomesectioningofbiologicaltissue,andgivesemphasistoascientificpointofviewwhichis



alsoinherentintheaxonometricperspective:inadditiontoitspreviouslymentionedcommonuse

in technicaldrawings, thearealdelimitationachievedwith theperspective is reminiscentof the

areasamplingusedbybiologiststocountanddeterminepopulationsofplantsandslow-moving

animals.12Thevisual sectioningofa living rabbit inSlice2 canbeconstruedasacritiqueof the

anthropocentricreductionofanimalsandothernon-humanbeingstobiologicaltissue.Itcanalso

beseenasaproblematisationofthequalityoftheknowledgederivedfromareductionistrelation

tonatureas anobjectof study. Thepaintingmakesevident that sucha relationmay leaveout

somethingimportantandtherebyimpedeaholisticunderstandingoftheecosystem,includingan

insightintothehumanbeing’splacewithinit.

Figure3:JoshKeyes,Slice2(2007).Acryliconbirchpanel,12x12inches.

Anotherinterestinguseoftheaxonometricperspectivecanbefoundinthenumerousartworksby

Keyesthatincludedepictionsofwater.Liketherabbit inSlice2,thewaterisusedtoextendthecross-section’s visible limits beyond the soil level, making them more tangible. This is further

emphasisedbytherefractionofobjectsintheimagery,asifthescenariowereseenthroughthe

glasssidesofanaquarium.OneexampleofthisisthepaintingDriftingfrom2009(Figure4).

Driftingispartofaseriesofpaintingsinwhichanimalsandculturalartefactsarejuxtaposed.The

artworkfeaturesarabbitandacrowsituatedinafloatingwhiteboatthatispartiallyovergrown

withweeds. Immediatelyabovetheboatare twobutterflies,and in thewaterbelowasealand

three fish are swimming. In addition, at the bottom of thewater are standing a United States

Postal Service mailbox and a stop sign. As explained previously, such cultural artefacts are

commonly used by Keyes as signifiers of human presence. However, their submerged state in

Drifting,alongwiththeweedsgrowingintheboat,suggeststhatwhilehumanshavebeenpresent

atonetime,thismaynolongerbethecase.Thewaterwashingoverelementsofcivilisationmay

beareferencetoanthropogenicglobalwarming.Onthisbackgroundthestopsign,whichappears

quitefrequentlyinKeyes’work,canbereadasawarningagainstcontinuingdownapaththatwillendinanapocalypticdelugeandthedemiseofhumancivilisation.



Figure4:JoshKeyes,Drifting(2009).Acryliconbirchpanel,30x40inches.Althoughthemailboxandtrafficsignareunderwater,theircleanappearancemightindicatethat

not much time has passed without maintenance. Such lack of biofouling and wear on the

remnantsofcivilisationisacommonfeatureinKeyes’paintings,althoughthereareexceptions.In

Island(2009),apartiallyinundatedstatueofthreesoldiersistosomeextentcoverednotonlyin

graffiti, but also green plants. The inscription on the base of the statue reads “United We

Conquer”.Giventhecontext,thisstatementissuggestiveofthehubrisandinevitabledownfallof

thehumanraceasaresultoftryingtomasternature.Thisinterpretationissubstantiatedbythe

factthattheheadofoneoftheproudsoldiersisnowbeingusedasanestingspotbyapredatory

bird.

As discussed previously, while humans are absent from the image content, the axonometric

perspectiverepresentsadecidedlyhumanpointofview.Theuseofthisperspectivecouldindicate

thathumansarestillpresent in thedepicted futureandareobservingandanalysingsamplesof

the post-apocalyptic world from an outsider’s position. Alternatively, if the paintings are

understoodascontemporaryprojectionsofscenariostocome,theperspectiveusedmaynotbe

an indicationofa futurehumanpresence.Rather, itcouldbe intendedto lendascientificair to

theartisticrenditionoftheconsequencesofananthropocentricethicsanditsrelatedpracticesin

ordertoencourageashift towardsbiocentrism.AsJoeLeesonSchatz(2012)puts it,apocalyptic

imagery “provides a self-motivating reason for people to change their behaviour to avert

extinctionevenwhenconfrontingthosewhorefusetorecognizetheintrinsicvalueofnon-human

animals” (24). It is interesting to note that while Schatz here refers to the function of

representationsofomnicidalscenariosofthefuture,Keyes’paintingsoftenshownon-humanlife

thriving in the post-apocalyptic environment. Rather than detracting from the call to self-

preservation,thisemphasisonthelong-termdamagingeffectofananthropocentricethicsandits

relatedpractisesspecificallyonhumanlifeactuallystrengthenstheartworks’petitionforchange.



Figure5:JoshKeyes,Island(2009).Acryliconbirchpanel,30x40inches.ExpandingthelandscapeAswith the situationdescribedby the fictional characterEugeneFitzpatrickat thebeginningof

thepresenttext,theaxonometricperspectiveusedinpaintingslikeDriftingandIslandaffordstheviewer only limited contextual knowledge about what they are seeing. It is impossible to

determinewhether each depicted flood is local or part of a global deluge. Nevertheless,when

takingintoaccountthelargenumberofpaintingsoffloodedscenariosinKeyesoeuvre,itiseasy

toseethemasindividualrepresentationsofaglobalanthropogeniccatastrophe.

Paintingsthatcombinetheuseofanaxonometricperspectivewithpost-apocalyptic imageryare

arguably themostpopularamongKeyes’artworks. Ina recentseriesofpaintings,however, the

artisthasmovedawayfromthisuseofperspectiveandhasalsoreducedhis inclusionofhuman

artefacts in the imagery.The2014paintingTheForest (Figure6) canbe seenasamiddle stage

between Keyes’ established style and this new direction. Here, references to human presence,

throughtheinclusionofartefactsofcivilisation,areretained:thepaintingcontainsanelectricpole

withoutwiresaswellasthefamiliarmailboxandstopsign(thelatterseenfromtheback).Atthe

top of the sign are two street names. Although the painting is ofwhat looks like an old forest

landscape,thestreetnamesactuallypinpointanintersectionincontemporarysuburbanPortland,

Oregon.13Thedepictionofthesign,mailboxandelectricpoleinaforestlandscapecouldsuggest

that thepainting showsa future scenario.This idea is substantiatedby thestateof thecultural

artefacts. Unlike in Drifting, these look weathered, which indicates that it has been a whilewithoutmaintenance.Thepassingoftimeisalsovisibleintheplantgrowthingeneralandthesize

ofthetreesinparticular.Thelatterareclearlymucholder,andofadifferentkind,thanthetrees

foundatthepresent-daylocation.14



Figure6:JoshKeyes,TheForest(2014).Acryliconbirchpanel,18x14inches.

WhilethejuxtapositionofnatureandculturalartefactsisstillaprominentfeatureinTheForest,amajor difference is that the axonometric perspective has been discarded in favour of a classic

centralperspective.15Thisaddsbothdepthandwidthtothedepictedscenariosinthenewseries

of paintings, although the vertical orientation of The Forest limits the expansive view of the

landscape.

Keyes also uses a central perspective in another 2014 painting, entitled The Sleeping Woods(Figure7).Thisperspective,alongwiththehorizontalorientationofthepainting,affordsamuch

wider view than in the previously discussedworks. The painting depicts a forest settingwith a

number of animals that, except for one, appear to be sleeping. Some have grown into the

landscapeandarepartlycoveredingrassandmoss.UnlikeinTheForest,thisimageryfeaturesno

humanartefacts.

The use of central perspective in Keyes’ recent paintings means that they miss an important

elementthatcontributestotheimplicithumanpointofviewofhisolderaxonometricworks.This,

oftenalongwiththelackofanexplicit juxtapositionofnatureandculturalartefacts,takesaway

part of the artworks’ immediate ecocritical edge. It is a change that has been noted by Keyes’

audience, as exemplified in the following excerpt from a post by a collector on the online art

forumUrbanArtAssociationin2014:

IknowitwasdiscussedbeforebutKeyes'new"direction"doesnothingforme:

itfeelslikehelosttrackcompletely.Hisolderprintsandcanvasesaddressedthe

"clash" between wildlife/nature/environment/... and civilisation and/or its

remains.Theygottheirartistictension(andmessage)fromthatcontradiction.



These new pieces are just (pretentious) kitsch. Common [sic], it's sleeping

animals in an idyllic green forest. What's the difference to 18th century

landscapepainters?16

Figure7:JoshKeyes,TheSleepingWoods(2014).Acryliconbirchpanel,8x10inches.

Leavingasidethefactthat18thcenturylandscapepaintingsareimbuedwiththeirownideologies,

this passage indicates the important role the visual meeting of nature and culture in Keyes’

artworksplaysintheeyesofasignificantpartofhisaudience.Itisasentimentthatisalsofound

ina2008featureontheartblogArrestedMotion.Thetext,whichwaswritteninconnectionwiththeexhibitionMistatOKOKGallery,observesthatKeyes’latestshowsatthetimehad“appeared

less ‘urban’ and more ‘environmental’”, and it calls for the artist to “continue to explore the

juxtapositionsofurbanlivingandnaturethathehasworkedwithinthepast”.17

Theabovereactionssuggesttheartist’saudiencemayhavelittle interest indepictionsofnature

as such. Rather, the allure of the artworks seems tomore come down to an attraction to the

fantasy about the impending destruction of civilisation, visually represented in the paintings by

nature’s reclamation of cultural landscapes and artefacts. In this respect, the consumption of

Keyes’ art resembles that of many other cultural products that deal with scenarios of the

apocalypse. It serves as a way for the consumer to critique an anthropocentric ethics and its

related practices that will eventually lead to the downfall of human civilisation. Owning and

displaying a work by Keyes, whether a print or an original, can thus be seen as a symbolic

demarcationofecologicalawareness.Atthesametime,theartenablestheconsumertoindulge

theirfascinationwithdoomsdayscenariosandtoplayalongandwitness inasafewaythepost-

apocalyptic world from a decidedly human perspective. When an explicit human presence –

providedinKeyes’paintingsbyimagecontentand/ortheaxonometricperspective–ismissing,it

appearsthatatleastpartoftheaudiencelosesinterestanddismissesthepaintingsas“kitsch”.

Compared to works like Drifting and Island, the biocentric message in many of Keyes’ recent

paintingscertainlyislessspelledout.However,incontrasttopartsofhisaudience,theartistsees

aclearconnectiontohisolderwork:



I think this [new] vision will compliment [sic] the diagramatic [sic] cross-

sectional work. If it helps, just think of the natural historymuseum content,

there are specimens in boxes and white cubes and there are also dioramas,

thesearethedioramas.Samestorydifferentformat.18

Perhapstoemphasisethelineageandcontinuedecocriticaledgeofhisrecentoutput,Keyeshas

experimentedwithbespokeframesforthenewpaintings(Figure8).Withtheirrivetsandmetallic

surface, the frames resemble submarineportholes that, saysKeyes, add “a contextual frame to

thenew imagery literally and conceptually”.19He explains that he is “thinkingof building these

dystopianframesforallthenewvisionarypaintingstocome”.20Liketheaxonometricperspective,

the frames can be seen as a visual suggestion that humans are observing the post-apocalyptic

worldfromanisolated,protectiveenvironmenttowhichtheyhavebeenconfined.21

Figure8:JoshKeyes,TheRoadI(2014).Acryliconbirchpanel,12x20inches.

Evenwithout the frames,however, thoseofKeyes’ recentpaintings thatdonotcontainexplicit

visual references to human presence can inmore subtleways be related to the importance of

biocentrism.Asmentionedpreviously,MandySwannhasarguedthatTurner’santhropomorphic

depictionoffishinSunsetatSea,withGurnetscreatesempathyinhumanstowardsanimalsand

invokes thebiocentricnotion that theyaresentientbeingswith inherentvalue.Asimilaruseof

anthropomorphism can be observed in some of Keyes’ paintings. As a case in point, in TheSleepingWoodstheartistrelatestothevieweravisionofabenevolentpost-humanenvironment,

a veritable Garden of Eden, where predators and prey rest peacefully together. The scenario

demonstratesasocialgraceamonganimalsthatisnormallyassociatedwiththeidealsofhuman

civilisation. InspiteofthecriticismraisedbypartsofKeyes’audience,thispainting–alongwith

otheroftheartist’sworkswhereanimalsareportrayedinasimilarway–underlinestheaffinity

betweenhumansandotheranimalsand inscribes itself inthecentralthemeofbiocentrismthat

runsthroughtheartist’soeuvre.



Endnotes1Openingvoice-overfromWimWenders(1996),BisansEndederWelt.DieTrilogie(3.Teil).Ashortercutofthefilmwasoriginallyreleasedin1991.2Awell-knowndelugemythisthebiblicalstoryofNoah’sark(Genesischapters6-9).Oneofthelatest

representationsofthisstoryinpopularcultureisDarrenAronofsky’sfilmNoah(2014).3http://www.joshkeyes.com/about(accessed13January2015)

4Forafurtherdiscussionofurbanartandstreetart,pleaseseePeterBengtsen,TheStreetArtWorld.Lund:AlmendrosdeGranadaPress2014.5http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/axonometric(accessed13January2015).

6AsLawrenceBuell(2005)pointsout,although“[a]nthropomorphismimpliesananthropocentricframeof

reference,[…]thetwodonotcorrelateprecisely”(134).Anthropocentrismishereunderstoodasthenotionthat

“theinterestsofhumansareofhigherprioritythanthoseofnonhumans”(Ibid).Fromthispointofview,then,

humanbeingsareprivilegedandstandabovetherestoftheecosystem,whichprimarilyexistsasanobjectof

categorizationandresourceforhumanstoexploitandcontrol.7Biocentrismishereunderstoodasthenotionthathumanbeingsarepartofanecologicalcontext,whichisnot

subordinatetohumans,butrathermust“constrainordirectorgovernthehumaninterest”(Buell2005:134).8JoshKeyesquotedin“Teaser:JoshKeyes@OKOK”.ArrestedMotion,24September2008–

http://arrestedmotion.com/2008/09/teaser-josh-keyes-okok/(accessed17December2014).9QuotefromlettertoacollectoraccompanyingthepaintingLandscapeManagement(2005).

10Ibid.

11TheuseofhumortodiscusstheissueofanthropogenicclimatechangeisalsofoundintheworkofAmerican

artistBruceConkle,who,likeKeyes,isbasedinPortland,Oregon.Inhison-goingCaptiveSnowmanseries(startedin2002),Conkledisplayssnowmeninlarge-sizefreezers.Theseserveassubstituteenvironmentsforthe

snowmen’sshrinkingnaturaloutdoorshabitat.Problematisingananthropocentricethicsanditsrelatedpractices,

apressreleasefortheartist’sDecember2014showTheWoodenCarrotatfrosch&portmanninNewYorkCity

describedthiskeepingofsnowmen“onlifesupportasasignifierofman’s‘triumphovernature’.”12Areasamplingentailsdemarcatingoneormorerandomlychosenlimitedsampleareaswithaquadratand

countingthespecimensfoundwithin.Subsequently,thepopulationforthetotalhabitatcanbeestimatedusing

thefollowingformula:Population=countedspecimensinsample*(totalareaofthehabitat/areasampled).13ThesameintersectionisalsofeaturedinKeyes’paintingMutation(2011).

14GoogleStreetViewwasusedtofindtheintersectionSE30

thAveandSEDivisionStreetinPortland,Oregon.

15Motivatingthisstylisticchange,KeyeswroteonFacebookthatthe“animalsaskedtobesetfreefromtheir

earthandcementpedestals,andarenowoffhavingadventures!”–PostbyJoshKeyeson23February2014on

Facebook.16Postby”someonesbrain”on27August2014onUrbanArtAssociation–

http://banksyforum.proboards.com/post/1249059/thread(retrieved25October2014).Asimilarcritiquewas

broughtforwardinadiscussioninJanuary2014onUrbanArtAssociation–http://banksyforum.proboards.com/thread/99539/various-josh-keyes-news?page=3(retrieved25October2014).17“Teaser:JoshKeyes@OKOK”.ArrestedMotion,24September2008–

http://arrestedmotion.com/2008/09/teaser-josh-keyes-okok/(accessed26November2014).18PostbyJoshKeyeson31August2013onFacebook.Keyesalsoreferredtotheuseoftheaxonometric

perspectiveashis“diagrammaticstyle”inanemailtomeon31October2014.Inaddition,theartistmakes

referencetohis“diagrammatictechnique”inalettertoacollectoraccompanyingthepaintingLandscapeManagement(2005).19PostbyJoshKeyeson30August2014onFacebook.

20Ibid.

21Afurtherindication,albeitonethatisoftentakenforgranted,thateventhenewerdepictedscenariosare

experiencedthroughhumaneyesisthefactthatallofKeyes’artworksarerenderedincoloursthatcorrespondto

thoseperceivablebyhumanvision.



WorksCitedBengtsen,Peter,TheStreetArtWorld.Lund:AlmendrosdeGranadaPress,2014.Buell,Lawrence,TheFutureofEnvironmentalCriticism.EnvironmentalCrisisandLiteraryImagination.Malden,Oxford

&Carlton:BlackwellPublishing,2005.Schatz,JoeLeeson,“TheImportanceofApocalypse:TheValueofEnd-Of-The-WorldPoliticsWhileAdvancing

Ecocriticism”inJournalofEcocriticism4(2),July2012:20-33.Swann,Mandy,“ReplenishingtheVoid:Turner’sSunsetatSea,withGurnets”inJournalofEcocriticism6(2),July

2014:1-17.

until the end of the world? biocentrism and traces of

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