Terracene: A Crude Aesthetics

by Salar Mameni

In Terracene Salar Mameni historicizes the popularization of the scientific notion of the Anthropocene alongside the emergence of the global war on terror. Mameni theorizes the Terracene as an epoch marked by a convergence of racialized militarism and environmental destruction. Both the Anthropocene and the war on terror centered the antagonist figures of the Anthropos and the terrorist as responsible for epochal changes in the new geological and geopolitical world orders. In response, Mameni shows how the Terracene requires radically new engagements with terra (the earth), whose intelligence resides in matters such as oil and phenomena like earthquakes and fires. Drawing on the work of artists whose practices interrogate histories of settler-colonial and imperial interests in land and resources in Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Kuwait, Syria, Palestine, and other regions most affected by the war on terror, Mameni offers speculative paths into the aesthetics of the Terracene.

240 pages, Hardcover

Published August 31, 2023

Reviews

[Michael Godwin]

Terracene: A Crude Aesthetics is a bold and intellectually engaging work that offers a fresh way of thinking about the relationship between environmental crisis, political violence, and contemporary art. Salar Mameni presents an original framework that moves beyond conventional discussions of the Anthropocene, encouraging readers to reconsider how ecology, militarism, and colonial histories intersect in shaping our world.

One of the book's greatest strengths is its interdisciplinary approach. By connecting critical theory, aesthetics, environmental humanities, and the cultural legacies of the global war on terror, Mameni provides thoughtful readings of artistic practices from regions deeply affected by conflict and resource extraction. The result is both philosophically rich and politically insightful, inviting readers to see the earth itself as an active participant in historical and cultural processes.

Overall, Terracene: A Crude Aesthetics is an important contribution to contemporary critical theory, environmental studies, art history, and political philosophy. It is a rewarding read for scholars, artists, and anyone interested in exploring the complex relationships between aesthetics, ecology, imperialism, and global politics.

[Elizabeth Bloomfield]

Mameni pulls together threads from a vast ocean of theoretical work to make something profoundly moving in a genre that is often dry and dense to read. This book is an intellectual and artistic feat with something important to say.

[Bella Burcsak]

In the rare times I voluntarily read theory I am glad I read this one