Absurdity in art creates bizarre juxtapositions that expose, and question conflicted, even dangerous, aspects of life which have become normalized. Absurd art appears in troubled times, subverting moments of extreme contradiction in which it appears impossible to think differently. For example, Dada (1917–1923) used nonsense to reflect the nonsensical brutality of WW1. The power to unsettle in this form of art rests in disrupting the world of the viewer and positioning them as interlocutors in a new framing. Absurdity in art reveals the absurdity that is inherent in life and its institutions, breaking the illusion of control. It can help us to comprehend the ‘incomprehensible’ in other species and spheres of life. In the challenge of anthropogenic climate change, how might the absurd capture the strangeness of current times in which a gap is widening between the earth we live ‘in’ and the earth we live ‘from’? This article explores qualities of the absurd in art as a possible way in which to grasp and reimagine ourselves beyond the anthropocentric, focusing on the work of the artists John Newling (b. 1952, UK) and Helen Mayer (1927–2018, US) and Newton Harrison (b. 1932, US), known as ‘The Harrisons’.

中文翻译：

---

给予荒诞形式：当代艺术在环境危机中的地位

艺术中的荒谬创造了奇异的并置，暴露和质疑已变得正常化的生活中相互冲突、甚至危险的方面。荒诞艺术出现在动荡时期，颠覆了极端矛盾的时刻，在这种时刻，似乎不可能以不同的方式思考。例如，达达 (1917-1923) 用胡说八道来反映第一次世界大战的荒谬野蛮。在这种艺术形式中令人不安的力量在于扰乱观众的世界，并将他们定位为新框架中的对话者。艺术的荒诞揭示了生活及其制度所固有的荒诞，打破了控制的幻觉。它可以帮助我们理解其他物种和生活领域中的“不可理解”。在人为气候变化的挑战中，荒诞派如何捕捉当今时代的奇怪之处，我们生活在其中的地球与我们生活在其中的地球之间的差距正在扩大？本文探讨艺术中荒诞的特质，将其作为一种超越人类中心主义来把握和重新想象自己的可能方式，重点关注艺术家 John Newling（生于 1952 年，英国）和海伦·迈耶（Helen Mayer，1927-2018 年，美国）的作品和牛顿哈里森（生于 1932 年，美国），被称为“哈里森一家”。