Introducing the Analog Anthropocene Project

What is the Anthropocene?

The Anthropocene is a new (albeit unofficial) term for the geological epoch in which we are currently living. The previous epoch, the Holocene, spanned over 12,000 years, but with the dawn of the Anthropocene, we have begun to see evidence of how human impacts on the climate have been irreversibly etched into the planet’s geological make-up. There is much debate over when exactly the Anthropocene began – some scientists argue that it started with the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, while others date its beginning to about 1950, around which time nuclear bomb tests sent radioactive particles across the globe. Yet regardless of its start date, conversations about the Anthropocene and its implications for the past, present, and future will only increase over time. 

What is the Analog Anthropocene?

Much as the analog process of continuously imprinting light onto photographic film creates images, the continuous imprint of human activity onto the Earth has brought about not only a new geological epoch but major shifts in our cultural landscape as well. This is what we refer to as the Analog Anthropocene, which helps describe the ways that humanity’s impact on the planet can be traced through and even implicated in the use of analog technology, particularly film. This new concept allows us to explore thematic and material issues such as touch, memory, time, and limits in relation to analog processes and products, while thinking about the environmental impacts of industry and culture. 

What is Ferrania film?

Ferrania, originally the Italian company Società Italiana Prodotti Esplodenti (SIPE), began in 1882 as a factory that produced nitrocellulose-based explosive powders. When demand for this powder decreased following the “Red Terror” in Soviet Russia, the factory turned toward producing celluloid, the strong and flexible material that was the original base for photographic film. Renaming the company Fabbrica Italiana Lamine Milano (FILM), they collaborated with the legendary French Pathé Brothers, who were known for producing photosensitive materials. 

In 1924, FILM Ferrania began to thrive as celluloid-based film gained in popularity over the more fragile glass plates. The factory began producing x-ray film, 16mm film for cinema, and eventually different roll film formats such as 120mm and 35mm. After World War II, some of Italy’s greatest directors – most notably, Pier Paolo Pasolini – embraced Ferrania film, contributing to its growing prestige in cinema. The most legendary Ferrania film stock of the time was the P30 black and white film, which was so popular that Ferrania made 35mm and 120mm variations for non-professionals.  

Ferrania’s history continued into the post-war period as a story of globalization: the company was acquired by Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) in 1964. Although the larger Italian factory closed in the early 2000s as analog film seemed to become obsolete, today a Kickstarter-backed start-up has begun producing P30 again in Ferrania’s old research lab.  

That film – along with expired color film made before production ceased in 2008 – is the material that will support our project. In addition to the concepts laid out above, then, we hope to consider the ways that this specific history of Ferrania film interacts with and affects our project. And, more broadly, we hope to explore questions of how film as a medium, inseparable from the histories of its development and use, contributes to our understanding of the Anthropocene. 

That film – along with expired color film made before production ceased in 2008 – is the material that will support our project. In addition to the concepts laid out above, then, we hope to consider the ways that this specific history of Ferrania film interacts with and affects our project. And, more broadly, we hope to explore questions of how film as a medium, inseparable from the histories of its development and use, contributes to our understanding of the Anthropocene. 

Who are we?

The Analog Anthropocene Project is a public humanities endeavor that aims to bring together the Ferrania story, analog and digital photography, and writing in the service of exploring the concept of the Analog Anthropocene. Our team is comprised of Wayne State University professor Dr. Elena Past and graduate students Alamia Annous, Maddie Henry, and Bailey Meyerhoff, and we are working in collaboration with amateur and professional photographers in the Detroit community and beyond to bring this project to life. 

Using the Analog Anthropocene as inspiration, participating photographers will capture images with film manufactured at the Italian Ferrania factory. This blog will be used as a space to post and analyze those photos, further developing the concept in the process. By combining the work of amateur and professional photographers with that of professors and graduate students, our project seeks to collectively build upon the idea of the Analog Anthropocene and deepen our understanding of the relationship between humanity’s impact on the planet and the technology we use to engage with it.

We invite you to follow along with and participate in our project here on our blog and on our Instagram. We want to know what you make of Analog Anthropocene as a concept for engaging with media and the planet, so leave a comment or post your thoughts on Instagram with the hashtag #AnalogAnthropocene to share what you think.