Panel 16: Everyday Life
THE WORLD IN 2050: CREATING/IMAGINING JUST CLIMATE FUTURES
A NEARLY CARBON-NEUTRAL CONFERENCE
Panel 16: Everyday Life
Digital Materiality: Petrocentrism and Public Advocacy Rhetorics
Madison Jones, University of Florida
This presentation examines the use of ghost bicycles, a derelict bike repurposed as a marker, designating a place where a cyclist has been injured in a collision with a motorist. This project augments electronic monuments, creating lasting memorials in the space the physical objects may no longer occupy. These haunting digital and material monuments speak to motorists who might not otherwise share a discourse space with cyclists, advocating for a future where non-motorists are no longer seen as obstructions for cars, nor as “alternative” transportation (more).
Scaling Quelccaya
Meredith Leich and Andrew Malone, School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Lawrence University
This talk proposes a novel system for presenting climate change data, designed to evoke a more visceral response through a visual, geospatial, poetic approach of depicting melting ice-caps. Mirroring the collapse of space brought about by cellular technology and social media, this virtual approach seeks a more imaginative, psychologically-astute manner of portraying the sober facts of climate change, by inviting viewers to learn and consider without inducing fear (more).
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Dear viewers,
Thank you for checking out my talk and taking part in this conference! Feel free to let me know if you have feedback or questions. I’m grateful for recommendations on writers studying ghost bikes or other eco-memorials. I can be reached by email (madisonjones@ufl.edu). You can learn more about my research and even preview the project’s webtext on my website: ecopoiesis.com.
Best,
Madison
Hi all,
Welcome to the very last video of the conference, “Scaling Quelccaya”! Andrew Malone and I have been working on this project for a year now, and we would be happy to receive feedback and/or questions of any kind.
Especially given the geographically-dispersed nature of this virtual conference, I am personally curious if viewers find this idea of “collapsing” space to be compelling emotionally and intellectually. Do you find the merging of Chicago and the Peruvian glacier an effective way of capturing change across space and time? Can you envision other pairings that might hit home? How could other technologies like VR expand this?
Thank you for any time and thoughts, and enjoy exploring the conference!
Best,
Meredith
Hi Meredith,
Thank you for the presentation. The idea of ‘this collapsing space’ being ‘compelling emotionally and intellectually’, depends on the level of mutual interactions, a series of feedback loops, and a creative use of cyber-space. You could probably assess the effectiveness of your graphic illustration by disseminating it in schools, community centers, universities, etc. I feel that children and young people would be able to aesthetically appreciate the merging of Chicago and the Peruvian glacie, visualise the scale and think pragmatically about the future.
From my research and practice, I have gathered that interaction in cyber and virtual space have unique qualities and could be very effective in group and team work. I mention it in my talk.
Best,
Lila
Just a quick word of gratitude for raising an issue with such deep existential import, and raising it so well, Matthew. Haunting, powerful, evocative, and shooting straight at the central role that culture, “writ large,” can play in changing the worlds we live in!
with gratitude,
John