Fifteen Contemporary Creatives: Unleashing Images of the NEw Apocalyptic Paradigm

We are facing potential disasters that threaten to destroy life on earth. Alongside fears of nuclear proliferation and climate change there is a rise in apocalyptic imagery. Fifteen contemporary creatives in many different fields; theater, dance, the visual arts, music, technology and writing, are producing disturbing images of collapse, and planetary destruction. Yet, the work of these fifteen: Bill Burns, Amy Casey, Robbie Conal, Chris Doyle, Al Farrow, Scott Green, John Langan, Alex Lukas, John Maccabee, Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, Lori Nix, the team of Shana and Robert ParkeHarrison, William Pitt Root, Deborah Slater, and Orville Stoeber, is significantly different from apocalyptic art of the past which focused on the Christian, messianic “end of days”.

This new work, while alluding to a cataclysmic shift on the planet, affirms the cyclical nature of biology and evolution and ultimately, the resilience of nature. Interviews with these creatives as well as a discussion of their creative output, suggests a new narrative taking hold in society, “the new apocalyptic paradigm,” which is healing, not only for the visionary artists who are producing these images, but also for their audiences and potentially the planet.