Eighteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

This lecture performance focuses on continued development of a song cycle exploring the climate change crisis. How does the creative artist evoke the enormity of the disaster and reimagine a way forward? Inspired by “Erysichthon” from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, this song cycle tells the story of a man whose greed leads him to cut down the great tree in Demeter’s sacred grove. Enraged, the goddess of grain and sacred law curses him with infinite hunger. To satisfy his insatiable need, Erysichthon sells his daughter, Maestra, over and over again. In the end, he literally devours himself. In the imagined reality of this performance, Maestra’s children are the inheritors of Erysichthon’s’ hubristic legacy; Demeter’s fertile earth has been deeply harmed. But this is no myth–our future is in peril. The presentation will feature two new original songs that deconstruct Ovid’s story. “When the Wind Whips the Fire” depicts climate change as spectacle; Demeter’s ancient rage manifests as today’s choking droughts, extreme firestorms, and megafloods. “Maestra’s Children” departs from the mythic tale. The song tells the story of multi-generational arrogance and neglect, and the consequences we face as a result. It speaks to the human capacity to face the unthinkable and is a call for collective action. Drawing on the field of Performance Studies, the artist/scholar will discuss this project in relation to: Timothy Morton’s theory of hyperobjects; Shawn Wilson’s indigenous interpretation of capitalism and concept of relationality; David Graeber’s and David Wengrow’s critique of accepted historical narratives and rationale for reconstructing society.