In creating elaborate alternative worlds shaped by the conflict between opposing moral forces, some artists reference specific literary works, while others simply borrow their ambience and narrative arcs. Contemporary visual artists also create eschatological fictions to grapple with the problem of evil, the alien nature of the ‘Other’ and the inexorability of history. The sweeping historical arc which draws humankind inexorably from creation to the ultimate battle between good and evil has inspired creators as diverse as John Milton, William Blake, J.R.R. The literary canon has been greatly enriched by complex sagas that mirror the breadth and symbolic import of the narratives found in ancient apocalyptic texts. In the following excerpt, Heartney explores the work of video and installation artist Douglas Gordon, whose work since the 1990s has often returned to the theme of the battle between good and evil. In the book, Heartney surveys the history of apocalyptic imagery, from its emergence in the sacred texts of the ancient Zoroastrian Avesta to Cold War–era responses to the threat of nuclear annihilation, before turning to its use by contemporary artists as a means of addressing subjects like ecological crisis, religion, ethics, and political struggle.

Artists, she argues, “can help us understand the continuing hold of the apocalyptic imagination”-and perhaps also point to ways beyond it.

“Is there a way to imagine the End that doesn’t consign huge swaths of the human race to death and destruction? Is there a way to reconfigure Paradise and its promise of regeneration without succumbing to sectarianism and strife?” Heartney asks.

contributing editor Eleanor Heartney’s book Doomsday Dreams: The Apocalyptic Imagination in Contemporary Art, recently published by Silver Hollow Press, considers the various ways contemporary artists have approached the theme of the end of the world, an idea that she describes as “deeply embedded in almost every aspect of Western culture,” including our understanding of time, social upheavals, and notions of perfection and progress.

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