Under the Influence: A Traveling Library of Books that Inspire Artists

Artist: Jen Liu

b.1976, Smithtown, NY
Lives and works in New York, NY and Bennington, VT

Book Title: Molecular Red: Theory for the Anthropocene
Author: McKenzie Wark

In Molecular Red, McKenzie Wark tells the story of the Anthropocene through the fall of two empires: one Soviet and in ruin; the other American – its ruin yet to come. From these epic narratives, Wark salvages thinkers, writers, and activists who can picture the kind of world collective labor might yet build. From the pioneers trying to transform technology and work during the Russia Revolution to visionaries contemplating cyborg bodies and science fiction dreams in late-twentieth-century California, Molecular Red retrieves from the wreckage stories, concepts, and practices for the emerging struggles ahead.