bodies experiencing

Hey everyone-

Here's a delayed post about the book that I talked about during my presentation. It's called The Spell of the Sensuous, by David Abram. I have the library's copy right now, but if you ever run into it anywhere, or have time next semester, I would highly recommend flipping through it a little. He talks about his experiences of re-entering the bland Western environment after having traveled through Asia where he was very stimulated by his surroundings, and his attempt to re-connect to or explore the "reciprocal relationship" that humans have with nature. It's a really delightful read because of his writing, but for me especially because of his discussion of the subjective, emotional daily experience--which is often overlooked in a world where hard sciences and non-subjective truths are prioritized.

Also, congratulations with Feet to the Fire--I was very impressed with everyone's work!

The Earth From Above

While I was avoiding my term paper by googling random stuff in the library last night, I stumbled upon the French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand and was really taken by his work. His series 'La Terre vue du Ciel' [The Earth From Above], is an aerial portrait of the world and is quite striking. Check out his website. He also founded the non-profit organization GoodPlanet.org, an advocate for environmental sustainability. 

plastic ocean

miwa koizumi wanted some pets. so she created PET project, a set photography and installation pieces. She created sea creatures out of plastic bottles
She said: "I love the idea of using liquid containers to make water animals. Contained/containing, trash/not-trash, like the jelly-fish or anemone: Living/non-living"

These really resonated with me in relation to our discussion last week on the levels of plastic accumulating in the ocean.
Now let's enjoy her PETsCheck out more at http://miwa.metm.org/PET_project/

yum yum

In case anyone wanted more information on the Acorn Pig Cinema, Insa Winkler's official website is insawinkler.de. The Acorn Pig project is under the ArtEcology section.

She also has a lot of other cool projects that she's done, or that are in the works, so I recommend peeking around the site.

The F.R.U.I.T project's site is http://www.free-soil.org/fruit. 

Go grow a demonstrator! 

Sloooow

As in, I have been slow to post on our blog. Also, as in "slow prototyping." Tomas Gabzdil over at Studio Libertiny created a clever and beautiful counterpoint to the sudden profusion of rapid prototyping in the form of a simple vase. In order to make a vase, he enlisted the help of thousands...of bees. The results are quite haunting. I first saw a photograph of this work months ago, and I still can't get it out of my head.He created hives in the form of a vase, then let the bees do their work. In one week, he had a set of incredible, unique objects. It makes me think about other ways we might be able to work with animals and natural processes to create art.

Final Project Idea

I want to create a performance piece that consists of me "sleeping" in a "dangerous" environment composed of natural, and perhaps recycled materials. I want to highlight the simultaneous calmness, inaction, and fragility of humanity in the face of dangers posed by the earthly environment as altered through human action. I'm imagining myself laying in the grass closely enclosed with sharp objects (tree branches, maybe glass).

whoa

I'm thinking about doing a piece of living sculpture for my project, and I was just cruising the web and I stumbled upon this guy- Theo Jensen. He builds gigantic skeletal structures that are able to walk in the wind. They are called 'strandbeests,' which means "beach animals," and he eventually wants to build enough for a whole herd that will live there on the beach. It's kind of creepy, but really cool. Here's a good article on him: http://www.artfutura.org/02/05jansen_en.html
I'm not sure how to upload videos directly on to here, so check out the video about him on youtube. It's a little dramatic, but he's actually building these crazy strandbeests!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMqftVhOuTw

-Katherine

Handmade: the DIY movement

"Buying something from an indie craft artist can result in a buyer-seller connection, but it can also make consumption itself feel like a creative act." (from Handmade 2.0)

Okay, I just liked that quote. On Thursday I mentioned some stuff about handcrafted items and the DIY "movement." Here's some stuff to check out:

Buy Handmade: kindof the manifesto of the movement, this website has a bunch of links to various aspects of DIY (including some stuff about "craftivism," which is craft+activism).
Handmade 2.0: this is a NYT article basically describing recent developments in the movement/practice of DIY

Other places to look include CRAFT magazine (I have a subscription if you want to look at a paper copy) and Instructables (a fantastic website on which you can find instructions for pretty much anything). I also love Readymade magazine.

Temporality of Climate Change

For my project I'm interested in the issues of lag time and urgency. Specifically, I want to look at how effects of climate change are manifested in environments and how various groups of people (environmentalists, scientists, other people, whatever) react to those manifestations (or lack thereof). I see climate change as simultaneously a really urgent and fast-moving problem and also as a slow issue spanning multiple generations. I'm thinking of using traditional craft techniques/methods (like embroidery) to construct some kind of timeline, but I think something movement-based might also be appropriate. I also would really like to work with others (Jenn and I are planning to work together but the more the merrier).

The Economics of Environmental Policy

Thinking about what we talked about two weeks ago, I’m interested in possibly exploring the class aspect of environmental policy. I have done a little research on the air quality in the projects of South Bronx. Compared to other areas of New York City, the South Bronx has a much higher rate of asthma among its residents and especially among children. I am interested in either doing a piece of art that represents the problem, maybe a glass structure encasing dust or somehow convey what floats in the air, or the solution. One proposal to help improve the air quality in South Bronx is to install green roofs, a layer of soil and foliage on the tops of buildings. Another idea I had was covering something with the materials that make a green roof. I would love to work with other people if anyone is interested!

Politics & Play

In light of the sweep Obama made in the three primaries today, I just wanted to share this statement of support for Obama, which is undersigned by a slew of prominent environmental leaders, including Bill McKibben: http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/envirossupport/

McKibben was the organizer of Step It Up 2007, a demonstration that put pressure on Congress to enact carbon emissions curbs that would cut global warming pollution 80% by 2050.

Also, check out this really cool blog I found- it's a "community media project [that] features the student and youth leaders from the movement to stop global warming and to build a more just and sustainable future." http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/ . Sweet! Let's get in on the action.

Now, time to play in the snow!

just thought it was interesting to see one way that environmental art can change environmental policy...just by inspiring people to protect something pretty.
check out what's happening with spiral jetty in utah
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/02/oil_drilling_spiral_jetty.php
-andrea

photographic sense of individual in world

Hey everyone-

my friend just sent this to me today. i think it's a really overwhelming visual aids that gives a sense of the individual within the world/society and consumption/use of products. it's especially interesting because of a conversation we had at a CCR (center for creative research) lunch mtg. in which we discussed (artistic) methods of presenting statistics or numbers (more in the sense of war but this works too). anyway, check it out.

http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=7

enjoy,
stephanie

Here it is!

So we finally have a blog! Please post anything you think is at all relevant. I added a link to the sidebar--Dot Earth, a blog I read somewhat frequently. It's written by NYT reporter Andy Revkin and it's really informative/excellent. I also added a list of all the artists we'll be looking at. I'll slowly be adding links to more info about each of them, but in the mean time check them out on your own if you want. If you know of someone who isn't on that list, let me know.

Some things you could post about:

• other blogs
• journal entries
• videos
• news articles
• info about an artist you like
• questions

Have at it! Oh, and suggest other blog titles or color schemes or whatever if you feel so inclined.