Eco Art at FIU

Environmental Art at Florida International University: ART 3820, Spring 2018

[eco-art-fiu]

Project 3

Project 3: G-Carts, The future of FIU’s public transit.

For my third project I wanted to design something, I did not know what the prompts for this project were going to be but I knew a general direction in which I would complete them. I chose to the topic of public transportation. Public transportation not only stimulates a more centralized logistical basis for a city’s civil engineers, it also helps out our planet! The less individual fossil fueled cars on the road causing things like accidents, traffic, and pollution, the less we strive further away from the utopian possibilities of our commutes. Traffic should be a thing of the past like sacrificing animals or witch hunts; it exists only because of the non-perfections present in today’s roadways. Many industrial leaders like Elon Musk and Betchel Corp. are trying to tackle this enormous problem with some pretty radical solutions that both balance the importance of being environmentally sustainable and pleasurable for its users. But instead of tons and tons of boring underground tunnels, I propose a much more visually stimulating and efficient solution. Because I am not a giant engineering firm I do not have the resources to complete an actual working set of plans to construct such a massive project, my piece is a play on both existing construction principals in terms of accreditation and thinking outside of the box for a solution to FIU’s everlasting commuter problem.

I took much of my visual inspirations from the Vizcaya Archive’s Landscaping Architectural drawings by the renowned Paul Chalfin. I was able to gain access to those documents last semester in my Object Design Fabrication class. The drawings are done in graphite, which was the norm at the time of these drawings that are over a hundred years old now. I did the same on my set of three pages ranging from SP-1, M-1, and E-2 with heavy weighted cotton paper (white and grey for the E-2). I varied pencil weights from HB to 2H. I tried to create a harmony within my work between looking like an actual set of plans and having a stylized manner that would act as much more than informative nonsense. I left a two and a half inch border on all four sides with boxes for the pseudo engineering and developmental firms. I have also placed stamps at the bottom of each page to push the sense of accreditation of this design without having the proper calculations (by a long shot). I chose to do three pages as a representation of the different visual forms a set of mechanical or architectural plans has within itself.

My idea is to build tall and skinny, recycled steel towers on opposite sides of campus that are attached to each other by track lines running at a severe downward angle that pickups at exactly forty two percent of the trail. The towers will double as vertical forest of over forty different plant species. The tracks will each have a “G-Cart” that runs individually on each line. The whole thing behind this system and why it would efficient is that the carts at the top of the towers require no energy to complete their trips back and forth, the propulsion generated by the weight of the “G-Cart” will provide enough kinetic energy to glide the cart through the elevating portion of the trip. A power bank registered to each line will twist the track lines in the case of a fall in proportional energy to ensure the cart does not fall back down the slope. The backup plan to a failing gravitational propulsion trip would be a slower climb using solar energy as the main resources to twist and pull the line holding the cart into the loading tower. The towers themselves will be a staggering three thousand feet up in the air to provide the necessary declination. Solar Powered and “Pulley” (meaning when a cart begins its trip down the lines, it would pull an elevator full of future passengers up the tower in a matter of seconds) activated elevators would be the entrance to these loading towers. Each train will have a Counter-Balancing Basin under its frame to adjust for differentiating loading weights (i.e only three passengers board when it is designed for much more). At the front and back of each cart there will also be enormous brake pads to insure the safety of the landing of every trip. No system is perfect and could result in varying docking speeds according to the success of the Counter-Balancing Basin. Each trip will span the entirety of campus (2.3 miles) in about one minute and thirty seconds. All approved product codes will be regulated by the Miami-Dade County Office of Official Building Products (NOA’s).

Another artist inspiration that came in the creation of my piece is the work done by Frank Gehry, his imaginative and boundaryless way of concocting ideas in real-world applications of building amaze me. Which in many ways is the connection of my project to this class, I had an idea which I felt could inspire real-world changes and I did it.

[kingrickart]

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The Future of ecological transit at FIU

  My idea is to set up two solar streetcars around Florida international University main campus. I would make the track a huge circle around the main buildings. I believe by adding streetcars to our campus would make much each easier for students move around the campus. For instance, it may take an average student about 30 minutes or more to walk across the whole campus. If we had street cars my estimated guess, it would take 15mins or less.

Street cars are extremely big in the northern American cities, like Portland, Toronto, charlotte, Seattle and Cincinnati. Another Pro about street cars is that they can hold more people than buses. Which is a good thing because less people would be using their own personal cars. Some street cars can hold up to 85 seats like the ones in Toronto. Streetcars run on electricity. Also, streetcars provide you a smoove ride with no noises, which is also another great quality because it would be located on campus.

Streetcars are also known to calm down traffic, “streetcar rails signal to drivers that the street has more than one function. Streetcar tracks, and streetcars themselves, cause drivers to move more cautiously and carefully, to really be aware as they move through the city. Exactly that traffic calming function was a key reason they were removed in the first place. Whether you ride them or not, everyone benefits from a safer street.” I think there is too much pros, I feel like people not even thinking about the cons.

           Even though streetcars have some many pros, its cons are super expensive. “Streetcars require large initial capital investments namely, laying down rails and buying the cars.” In 2007 Cincinnati had to pay an estimated price of 133 million to 148 million for 3.6-mile track. “In 2009, the city of Portland paid $20 million for six streetcar vehicles. Even an expensive electric bus is cheaper. Seattle in 2014 reported that these buses could cost the city around $1 million each.” Even though the buses are cheaper to fund, streetcars still have my vote because I believe in, you get what you paid for.

           Street cars would be the fastest way and safest way to travel around the campus because the street car would be on its own track. Fiu would have streetcars that would be powered by solar power. Solar panels would be placed on top of the street car which converts sunlight directly into electricity, can be utilized to power a streetcar system. The solar energy that is collected and can be stored for 24 hours. The streetcars will also be equipped with a electric a component so if some

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My current project, “Surrogate” is a sculpture of a bird’s nest and eggs, made from littered cigarette butts and packs. The use of materials in my work is calculated. I spent several days collecting cigarette butts that I came across in my day to day life, from outside my school, local grocery store, and even my neighborhood. I feel the piece came to life, from the beginning of the collecting process. As I rummaged through the grass of my neighborhood, or hunted for cigarettes in parking lots, I would often find myself at the center of confusion for many onlookers. Some of the spectators would ask me what I was doing from time to time. I was able to explain my project and educate a couple of people on the issues caused by cigarette butts, (which I hope my piece will accomplish, as well) before the sculpture it was even completed.

               Cigarette butts are probably the most common, and accepted form of littering. We see it every day. A smoker tosses their cigarette out of their car window or onto the sidewalk as they sit outside of a restaurant. 75% of smokers admit to participating in carelessly disposing of their cigarettes butts. I believe that is because the other 25% of smokers are lying. I come from a family of smokers, and I have several friends who smoke cigarettes as well. I have never seen any of them properly dispose of their cigarettes. An estimated 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are thrown away every year worldwide, and they take up 1/3 of all collected litter. Despite the astounding impact that cigarette butts have on our environment, we have become desensitized to the issue after seeing it happen every day and everywhere.  The sight of someone throwing an old bag fast food out their car window would surely offend anyone who considers themselves an environmentalist .But no one seems to mind when it’s cigarettes. Perhaps this is because cigarette filters are often assumed to be biodegradable, but this is actually a myth. This is a huge issue because cigarette butts contain several harmful chemicals that can be released into the environment.

               Although cigarette butts are harmful to our environment in a number of ways, I chose to focus on one for my project. Following the guidelines for the “Too Much/Too Little” prompt, I found an issue that I wanted to shed light on. I was sad to hear that many animals die from nicotine poisoning after ingesting littered cigarette butts. I’ve found that most people don’t think about the link between marine life and cigarettes. Cigarette butts have been found to contain nicotine, arsenic, lead, cadmium, copper, chromium, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, which is a clear threat to animals. Cigarette butts alone are not the only issue, for example, the plastic packaging around a pack of cigarettes can be eaten after being mistaken for food. This could easily be a fatal mistake for any animal as it can become lodged in the throat or intestinal tract, either causing suffocation or problems with digestion.

               Seagulls are one of the many animals affected by this issue. In my piece I want to draw attention to this ignorance. I created a small- scale sea gulls nest out of all the cigarette butts I had found in preparation for this piece. Apart from butts, I also came across several discarded packs of cigarettes strewn around town. I used the plastic from one of the packs to cover the eggs I used in my sculpture. The eggs in my sculpture are actually quail eggs that I purchased at the grocery store. I used quail eggs because of their speckled shells that resemble seagull eggs. The eggs in my piece are not completely covered by the plastic to emphasize their naturally speckled design and also to show them as being slowly engulfed by the litter. In my pictures, you can see I placed the nest on the ground, as sea gull nests are usually on the ground of on cliffs, not up in trees where most people typically expect a bird’s nest to be.

My project is titled “Surrogate”. Simply defined, a surrogate is a substitute. I wanted my piece to show how these animals are being replaced by these manmade mistakes. If we continue to ignore the issue we’ve created, there will be more cigarette butts than seagulls (and a number of other animals as well). Ash trays will take the place of bird’s nests. I want the viewer to come face to face with this possibility.

[eco-art-fiu]

As the years have gone by the word has continued to advance in almost every way you could possibly imagine. Lifespans have increased, medicine has advanced, and technology has developed so many new applications. The human race has continued to multiply, and as such humans have turned to the earth more, and more, stripping it of its resources, and taking up more of it to provide themselves shelter. While the earth is more than happy to allow us to coexist with it we have been less than kind to it as the years go by. We strip the planet of its fossil fuels, knock down it’s trees to build cities, roads, and developments that keep our way of life moving forward but usually does nothing to the earth except shorten it’s life, disrupt it’s way of living, and drive parts of it towards never existing again.  This can’t continue the way it has if the earth is to thrive. Luckily man people in the world agree. “They may wrap their arms around tree trunks in a defiant embrace intended to silence loggers saws (tree huggers) or drive spikes into tree trunks to damage chainsaws (Eco terrorists)” (To Life). Preservationist see that the world is on a path in which it contains too much artificial development, and not enough natural wildlife. As time has gone by plants, fauna, and nature in general have been removed from the earth, and repurposed purely aesthetic value as opposed to being allowed to thrive, and remain on this earth in its natural, and beneficial form.

This is where the focus of my project falls, as I attempt to give the world back little pieces of itself even in only temporary.  My Project “Reserved For Life” is a simple initiative to bring awareness to just how much the human race has continued to grow, while neglecting the land. The idea is that for a limited time an area of land is returned to/ or reserved for the earth. A number of potted plants is then place in the area of choice with no regard for anything man mad that would usually live in that space of the world. This is simply so a point is made that the earth should not have to make compromises for the human race, it should be allowed to thrive more openly, and naturally as it did long before we took over it, as it still does in many places of the world where it has been allowed to. The idea is to invoke a sense of hope, hope that while the human race can continue to thrive, and develop it can do so without destroying our world, and disrupting nature. Along with the plants there will usually be a sign simply informing those who cross the path of the project why they exist, and why they have taken of residence in the middle of what is probably someone’s walkway, or parking spot. The sign simply states that the world existed before us, will do so after, and as such has had a piece of itself returned/ or served for a short period of time.  This means the project exist in a couple of ways. First in far most the potted plants exist as a form of natural art, and maybe even slightly as “found object art”, there’s a basic element of graphic design in the form of the sign, and then the overall composition falls into the lines of visual/performance, and protest art.  

 The project is inspired partly by the work of artist Alan Sonfist who’s Greenwhich Village Time Landscape was a recreation of land in an historically accurate form that represented what life, and nature would have looked like had it not been overtaken, and developed by the human race. The process it took to get his project approved is such a good example of how the human race has stopped looking at the primary benefits of nature, and only see’s it for personal gain. “ It required thirteen years to persuade city planners and bureaucrats to approve construction  of an art installation on a valuable piece of real estate in the heart of Manhattan” (To Life). The people who had to approve Sonfist’s project only did so because it could provide value, and possibly revenue to the city. Not because they cared about art, or nature, but only to further their pockets.  This is why I felt the need to portray “Reserved For Life” the way I did. The use of plants, and nature in a way that was in no way going to provide monetary value was deliberate, and the obstruction of the artificial world is so that anyone who sees it is forced to observe, and wonder just why there are plants in the way of their way of life.

In this way my target audience falls into the category of anyone who was beforehand oblivious to the impact that our advances in technology, and development has had on the planet. Those who only see nature for aesthetic, and monetary value.  In this way it’ll cause them to measure just how often nature is put to the side, and wonder what it could, or would be like if It were allowed to thrive. Do that, and you can get the wheels turning on the integration of fauna, nature, and plant life into the development process, allowing us to reap the benefits of the world without wiping it out, or disrupting it so badly. That’s how I’ll consider this project successful, if it can start discussion on land bridges, and houses made up partially of trees, or that integrate flowing water to avoid having to divert rivers. The relationship between the human race, and the world around us should be symbiotic both ways, and I hope that “Reserved For Life” can be an entry into that way of life.

[eco-art-fiu]

Project 3: Environmental Justice

Do Not Trust Them. Test Your Water! (2018) Yazmin Phillips

As a twenty-one-year-old female who has been a Pembroke Pines, Florida residents for the majority of my life, this project was very personal to me.

This piece was meant to be an environmental justice platform to open up the eyes of the City of Pembroke Pines residents that their water is unsafe to drink. I composed an awareness poster that will be wheat-pasted on various buildings around the city for the residents to see. I created the piece using multiple sources of materials. I, however, would not call it a mixed media piece since all of the sources were in print form. I used different magazines, online photos, and even images from the instructions of a water testing kit. The background of the poster is a blue water picture. Then at the top, it says “ATTENTION City of Pembroke Pines”. Below that framed with a variety of the color blue watercolor stripes it says “Do Not Trust Them. Test Your Water!” Then at the bottom, there are dirty water bottles in the center, some examples test strips to the right and left sides, and then to left is a water test kit logo. I used the ransom letter style for the text since in a way I am trying to remain mysterious but instill a bit of fear into the residents. This project was meant to be socially engaging (i.e. wheat-pasting the posters all around) but also a social awareness tactic.

My work was created based on the third prompt Environmental Justice. My piece caters to this prompt on the idea that my poster will motivate all the people of the city, the homeowners, renters, even the people who have businesses in the city that rely on the water to drink, cook, etc., to test their water. In 2017 we had been alerted that our water was not drinkable due to high levels of TTHM. After a few weeks it buzzed died down and the city government officials disregarded the whole matter and said the initial testing was faulty. I personally beg to differ. So in the spirit of this project, I went to home depot and purchased an at home water test kit. A little more background information, “TTHM is a chemical used to disinfect water for the purpose of drinking” but too much can be unsafe. The chemical is basically best friends with chlorine. So after testing my water, surprisingly the test came back pretty well except, you guessed it, I had high levels of chlorine. So over a year later my Pembroke Pines water still seems to have high levels of the chemical they warned me about and then assured me not worry about within two weeks. The Local 10 news even verified it - “On Feb. 23 (2017), the city sent a letter to residents claiming the water was safe to drink; however, the Broward County office of the Florida Department of Health said that letter was misleading, accusing the city of claiming the water was safe when it technically was not.” The residents need to see that the issue we had been presented in the past of the water not being drinkable is still an issue and that we must take action to get the problem resolved. I feel like the striking look of my poster will get peoples attention and hopefully enlighten them of the ongoing problem.

This project connects to the lessons in this class in a more overall context. Through this semester this class enlightened me and motivated me to be more environmentally aware and to try spread the awareness as much I as I can. This project is just another way for me to take on those lessons and spread awareness of an issue that not just me, but the 168,587+ residents that live in Pembroke Pines face every day. This is also my take on the mud stencils in a way. I feel like a really cool way to present these posters would be for them to be wet or near water fountains, public showers, even water dispensaries in restaurants (since they do use tap water FYI). Though not made of mud, I want them to eventually be recycled and initially printed on recycled paper. Most of my information on the corruptness of the situation came from the local 10 news article I read and the research I did on TTHM itself.

One of the class eco-artist that I feel I directly related to when designing this project was Rachel Johnson. Her cause was obviously different but her way of battling her cause was similar. Her posters I felt were a bit overwhelming with information though, and not very attracting. That is why I kept mine simple and to the point and I also tried to incorporate colors and pictures to draw people’s attention. Another big influence on the design of my poster was the Zein workshop we attended. I felt very engaged and really enjoyed being there and working on my Zein. I also fell in love with that style of composing art and wanted to collaborate my interest with that with my interest in drinking clean water.

Below I have attached some Images. the first one is the actual poster. The second image is my water test strip. 

[eco-art-fiu]

External Event Review

The Kampong- By Catherine Berendsohn

Going to the Kampong brought something wonderful to me. It was beautiful and inspiring to go to an historic house of Florida. I got to go with women in my family, we walked and listened to the knowledgable tour guide tell us about the plants and history of the site. We saw beautiful exotic trees such as the Madagascan “Fire” or “Phoenix Flower” Tree. We learned about how endangered they are due to population. There was an exhibit on the grounds of large sculptures of extinct birds on the way from the house toward the ocean. The house shows a strong influence of Javanese design. It is situated on Biscayne Bay in Coconut Grove, Florida.

The home belonged to David Fairchild who is famous for creating the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens and who was influential in the founding of the US Department of Agriculture’s Seed and Plant Introduction program. He brought many of the food products that we use in America today and advocated for the diversification of America’s food system. He was an avid writer and horticulturist.

Seeing this was the insertion of a clearer window, a piece in the historic site mosaic of South Florida for me. I had read correspondences of Charles Deering and David Fairchild, who both were working to establish their collecting and classification of plants in the area. Charles Deering was focused on restoring the natural areas on his Estate while David Fairchild brought in more exotic species. The most exciting moment for me was going to the building behind the main house where there was a retreated exhibit called the “Laboratory” that David Fairchild used to write his books. Artist Mark Dion used historic pieces as well as ones he felt exemplified the period to recreate what it could have been like. It was fascinating, and rich with historic detail. I felt greatly inspired as I had done research and archival as well as some other collection for the Deering Estate Museum’s upstairs exhibit of the small bedroom occupied by John Kunkel Small. He was botanist and taxonomist for the New York Botanical Garden who did a great deal of his renowned work on the plants of Florida under the patronage of Charles Deering. I still would like to expand items in that exhibit, finding my fingers twitch to buy historic looking goulashes at a street side market in Philadelphia a few years later. Now going to this example of such a fully realized room at the Kampong was energizing and very well executed. It encouraged looking in corners, at maps and letters and objects and tools. Mysterious and wondrous and different in their agedness, in their capture of an earlier time. Hand-made quality, slow and thorough at the ending of the age before the rise of the cheap, quick, the mass produced.

It is very significant to note the period that this site was established was at the last breath before the “dawn of the grubby Anthropocene” as it states in the field guide. It quotes Fairchild as saying, “ I am glad that I saw a few of the quiet places of the world before the coming of automobiles…” This was the time just after the city of Miami was officially incorporated in 1896. The years 1915 and 1916 being significant for South Florida’s botanical history as John Kunkel Small arrived to South Florida in 1915 at the estate owned by Charles Deering, and David Fairchild bought the Kampong in 1916. This period was before the structure of permits and legislation, the early establishment of plant genetics, when South Florida was still a frontier newly explored and recently accessed.

I got to go back after we finished the tour of the grounds to explore the items further and spoke to the guide about my work and interest. I would like to make a commentary about the relationships of these founders from an earlier Florida and I am looking forward to going back at a later time.

[eco-art-fiu]

External Environmental Event

The event that I went to was “The Contemporary Coast” at the Art Center of South Florida. I really enjoyed this event because there are so many things I learned and also things I already knew prior to attending this event. I heard from two different guest speakers and they dropped some very valuable information that gave me a different perspective on life. I know this is a bold claim but it’s true. For example, a couple having two children rather than three kids can make a huge impact on the environment. This was astonishing considering that one less child can make that much of a difference. It’s crazy but its makes sense if you do the math and see that having too many humans on earth can be the downfall of us all. However, I learned a lot more from the guest speakers and I feel indebted to them because of all the important tips they gave me. One of the things that I would be referring to was that cell phones are causing damage to the environment. I know it sounds absurd but most phone screens are dirty and people don’t bother cleaning them which then affects the environment and possibly the climate change as well. The filth and radiation on your phone can become detrimental to the eco-system if it isn’t managed properly. The radiation amplifies the bacteria that surrounds your phone that is why its suggested that phones should be turned off if it’s not being used and your phone should be cleaned periodically.

This really made me upset because it gave me the impression that we have no hope for the future. Just imagine how many young folks have dirty phone screens and that number will continue to climb exponentially. In addition, the guest speakers mentioned the power of social media and the internet. This was one of the most intriguing topics because I really felt it. The guest speaker described how the internet was created to help unite each other but it actually did the complete opposite. In most cases people attack others on the internet and sometimes disguise themselves with fake profiles. This is sad because it gives cruel people a platform to slander and do wrong instead of using that power for positive thoughts.

She also says that social media might be worse because non-famous people with about half a million followers usually have robots as their followers that are paid for. The people that pay for these followers only do it so they can make their social media page look appealing and have great influence so that people can believe their point of view is correct. This was the part of the event that caught my attention because it made me realize what the world was coming to. Just think about it for a brief moment, if people can be easily manipulated by a social media user with lots of followers, then there might be a slim chance that we can save the earth from global warming.

With that being said, the guest speaker at the event goes in depth about “climate gentrification” and the effect that it has on the real estate market. This is a topic that we’ve covered in class and I remember writing a current event summary about this issue in the Miami Beach area. The speaker talks about how the homes on “high ground” are becoming hot commodities as the sea level rises. The visuals she uses is reminiscent of the poster that Jose used for his recent presentation, I’ll make sure I post a picture of it below this essay. Another topic I forgot to bring up was “migration or retreat”. The speaker discussed how some of the people in South Florida are evacuating or thinking about moving because they know the dangers that are ahead and are trying to avoid it at any cost. Also, the speaker uses examples of watersheds, a subject that we’ve went over in class.

Lastly, the main theme that occurred in the event that relates to our class is the power of environmental art. The speaker says that public murals and street art has helped make strides in spreading awareness of global warming. The imagery that was used in her presentation was so aesthetically pleasing and gives encouragement that are future is bright. Sadly, I wasn’t able to capture a picture of how the street art looked. Some of the street art that was on the event presentation reminded you of the video of the stencil drawings that were made by the boy from Milwaukee. Nonetheless, this event reassured me that we can’t underestimate the power of eco art. This event taught me about real life situations that occur and environmental art masterpieces. Overall, it was a good balance. The event also enlightened me behind the meaning of the Disney film “Wall-E”. Wall-E was an environmental based movie and I had no idea. This caught me off guard and showed me that Hollywood is making an effort to revolve movies around environmental issues. This was a popular film and I’m pretty sure most people didn’t even know the underlying meaning behind it.

[eco-art-fiu]

External Enviromental Event

By Jose Cervantes

For the external environmental event, I picked the sea turtle conservation in Miami Dade county, this event caught my eye because I really don’t know about turtles and it seemed interesting to learn about them, from my first glance at this event I thought that we were hand on going to work with the turtles, but I was really wrong, we did not get to even see a real see turtle but we got to learn a lot about them and what we could do to help them in their natural environment.

The event was held at Pelican Harbor Marina, Wednesday March 7, it was a little far from home and I didn’t want to go alone so I took my friend John with me, we arrived at the marina around 6:45, right after that they invited us to take a seat and get ready for some of the speakers, the presentation itself took around 30 minutes and they explained what type of turtle resided on our beaches and what we could do to help them if we were to come across them, Miami-Dade beaches are home to loggerhead, green and leatherback sea turtles, all of these turtles are protected by local state and federal laws. Miami-Dade County sea turtle conservation program are the people who are mainly in charge of taking care of their nesting at the beach.

Overall the experience I was able to be a part of was really educational. The guy presenting us this research program was able to give me an insight of how would I pitch in my two cents to be able to help with the environment. In this particular case with conserving and monitoring sea turtles. One of the things he mentioned was to not report any crawling or nesting if I witnessed sea turtles crawling on the beach, therefore, I should only report it if I was aware that the sea turtle was encountered in a dangerous situation or has wandered off a beach, such as if I find them on the road or in the parking lot. Moreover, he spoke about staying away from these crawling sea turtles. We are used to getting close to some of them due to fact of our overall curiosity, however, in this case that should not be a motive. Nesting is considered one of the most critical stages for the sea turtles and they should be left undisturbed. Another guideline mentioned was to report all stranded turtles to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, no matter if they are dead or injured and we believe there is no point in reporting it, we have to be aware of the matter and report it right away. To finalize, another important rule mentioned was the fact that we cannot handle by ourselves any hatching sea turtle. As mentioned before we are curious to the unknown, in this case we have to aware that our curiosity can eventually endanger a sea turtle. If ever presented with a hatchling sea turtle we should immediately call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. To conclude, I can honestly say this program made me become more aware of the different species surrounding us and how we play a major role in being able to take care of them.

With out the help of the community, it would be harder for the sea turtles to survive. Some of the things we could do to help the turtles is refrain from walking at the beach at night during the summer this is one of the highest points in which the turtles come to nest, keep bright light front the building on shinning on the shore of the beach, if you see someone approaching a nest or harassing a turtle call the police, also it’s really important to keep plastic bags from the water as turtles might confuse them fro jelly fish.

I think this event relates to the class because it is trying to make a change in the environment in order to protect these animals and their home. I did not notice anyone trying to make a change or having ideas of how to make a difference for these turtles, it made me realize how important it is to have these brainstorm activities that we have in class, they help you gather your thoughts and come up with different great ideas on how we’re going to make a difference and how we’re going to get there. Implementing this to their meetings and presentations could also boost the help to these turtles by not only getting the opinion of the public but also from the experts that are working with them. The presentation was really interesting and I learned a lot about turtles that I didn’t know before, I hope to see them and be able to use what I learned to help them out.

[eco-art-fiu]

External event, Michael Peraza

External Event Review

I chose to go to the conversation of the contemporary coast. I rarely go to Miami Beach for anything so expected the trip to be very interesting. I didn’t hit much traffic on the way there which was surprising for it being the weekend. The day was very sunny and hot. One of the reasons why I rarely go to Miami Beach is it’s lack of any sort of parking. As my GPS led me closer to the event I found myself worrying if i could find parking near the event. The website made the venue seem like it was on a street. I circled around several times without spotting it so I eventually parked. To my dismay the parking was six dollars an hour but at least there were plenty of spaces.

I viewed the FIU urban studios homepage and the pictures showed a large sign in the front of the building. I walked by the shops on lincoln road trying to spot it. I did this several times to the amusement of some onlookers. My GPS kept taking me to an office building. The building had no outside indication that it was somehow affiliated with FIU. After my fourth time passing the building I decided to go in. I was greeted by someone with a clipboard near the front desk. She asked for my name and directed me towards the event. The elevators were broken so I had to go up the escalator and then use the stairs to get to the fourth floor.               

When I got to the fourth floor there was a man sitting behind a fold out table. The table had several pamphlets and a registration form. He looked at me and asked if i came for the event. I said yes and then was told to go through the door next to him. The presentations had already started which prompted me to quickly find a seat. I spied on my left food and drink on tables by the windows across the room. I quietly sighed in relief because I hadn’t drank water in a while. The room was somewhat empty which in my mind made me feel better for being late. The majority of people there were middle aged or older women. I was somewhat expecting that but what was surprising was the amount that were late. The woman in the downstairs lobby had a clipboard with more names. They must have had the same problem I had with parking and then finding the place.

The speaker was a professor at the university of miami. She was speaking about the trouble with conveying facts about climate change. I found many of her takes on communication theory to be very interesting. However after a few minutes I found out why the event was called a conversation versus a lecture or a scientific meeting. She would bring up studies to back up here points but when asked about them it didn’t seem as if she was fully knowledgeable on the details. She also brought up studies with small sample sizes. I don’t claim to be a scientist but I do like to believe i am science literate. There was a decent amount of audience participation which I enjoyed but whenever someone asked a question that person, would for the most part, have an answer and somewhat  guide the speaker to a consensus. With the nature of the talk and the audience in mind I was expecting things to skew more politically left. I believe I’m more in the middle. However something as serious as climate change should transcend the political division we have in the U.S. As the talk went on it was apparent she had an issue with white male republicans. It seemed like she didn’t know south florida has a large population of older minorities that would identify as republican. It was a strange disconnect that made the event seem more of an echochamber. There was a lot of questions I had but I needed to go to work after the event so instead of starting what would have probably been a lengthy discussion, I decided to absorb what I could. Like I said, I genuinely was interested in what she had to say about communicating ideas. It’s just her and the audience’s jabs at the republican party ruined what I thought was going to be more of a talk like Nancy Grimm’s at the beginning of the semester. I believe you could work together toward a common good without focusing on a person’s race or gender. 

I thought the other three speakers did a much better talk in sticking with the issue. They spoke on climate gentrification, extinction events, the organization called AST and much more. Many of the things they brought up made reminded me of the satire project I made.  De La from our class came in during the first lecture. It was good thing to see someone I knew. Eventually more people trickled in as the talks went on. When the talks ended I quickly left to go to work. As I drove back I reflected on the issues discussed. There are many different effects our civilizations have on the environment. To counteract so many centuries of our collective abuse of the earth it will take decades if not centuries of our collective effort to fix it. Miami’s rising waters may force us to move, but no matter what happens we’ll still have to live with each other. Sadly,I think most people are getting worse at that.

[eco-art-fiu]

[eco-art-fiu]

External Event Review

By. Mona Williams

The event that I attended was Drawing the Anthropocene, on Sunday April 8, 2018, by Gretchen Scharnagl at Pinecrest Gardens. Gretchen Scharnagl described herself as a naturalist, artist, and teacher. She focuses on drawing the Anthropocene which is defined as a period when there was significant impact on Earth’s Geology and its eco systems and environmental change/ climate change. In Gretchen’s work are narratives that discuss and address the issues of Climate Change, Sea level rise, and other planetary boundaries that we face during our time on earth.

The painting that I was the most moved by is shown below, Gretchen explained that her motive behind the painting was to depict the different changes that we are facing due to the Climate change. In in the center of the painting is a gold circle, she explained that this was a symbol for the world and the splatters of paint were to symbolize the pieces of earth that were being dispersed and destroyed. The objects around the world, are the different species of plants and animals that are affected by the climate change. Some of the species are American Oystercatcher, Snowy Plover, Florida Scrub jay, Mangrove Rivulus, Frosted Flatwoods Salamander, Florida Bog Frog, Red Rat Snake, Elkhorn Coral, North Atlantic Right Whale, Puffin, Krill, Snowy Owl British Moth. To the right is a depiction of a hurricane and the natural disasters. The beauty of this painting is not just about the Anthropocene demands the attention to the new paradigm shift and randomness that Climate change is exhibiting. The misuse and the mistreatment is being felt through our actions and the world is suffering as a result, the artist in her painting never shy’s away from the issues, such as the rise in water that results in salinization of the ground and the ground water. She also discussed how septic tanks leak when water levels rise and this creates toxic algae blooms that create toxic environments for fish to live in. The compromise of our actions is felt throughout the population of species in Florida and I admire that she made me curious to know which species are affected and the ones that have already been extinct, there is no way to bring them back.

Viewing the art pieces that are influenced by Anthropocene helped me to learn and understand who else is affected by this climate change. The painting “Climate Change” pictured below is also done on recycled paper that Gretchen found in her father’s office, she repurposes paper and creates art and her narratives of the water level rise and climate change. This motivated me to use somethings in my house, repurposed them, and create or put my ideas and art ventures on them.

Another one of Gretchen’s pieces that stood out to me was “Ate Grapefruit,” this painting depicted the acidity of the ocean with that of a Grapefruit. Due to the depletion of the carbonate ions that are present in the water this dangerously creates an environment for the marine animals to calcify and die. For example, if a shell on a crab, or on any calcified structure would experience their protective shell to deteriorate. If this continues to occur this can lead to the death and eventually extinction of for most of the species that live with a calcified structure, which will pull lynchpin from the necessary food chain. This painting taught me something that I did not know could occur, when I am thinking of water and what sustains relative pH for marine animals to live is essential and it did not occur to me that this could be altered by simply depleting the carbonate ions in the water. The parallel of this coincides to the projects that we are making in eco art. My concern is how are we able to halt and reverse the effects of these “climate weirdness” that is occurring. This is what I wished she would’ve addressed. Yes, her paintings show and bring awareness but I am concerned on how can we not just understand what is occurring globally but how are we able to repair what has already happened.

The last painting that I admired was “After Dionysus” spears to be a painting of just grapes and rocks, however this painting addresses through the illustration of the grapes, and its surroundings of sea level rise and the effect of this is felt in Land System Change. An example of this is when sand is taken from one location and place in another, as a result mining of the sand is string to lessen, the white figure to the right to me seemed like an illustration on a sea shell, but it is indeed a plastic bag that Gretchen placed in her painting to show the abundance of plastic bags that are floating in water endangers the turtles that live in the wildlife, and it symbolizes our crazy antics to always place plastic wrapping on everything.

Images : 1st “Climate Change(2015).” 2nd “ Ate Grapefruit.” 3rd “ After Dionysus” By. Gretchen Scharnagl, mixed media , 2018

[eco-art-fiu]

External Event Review

By: Teia Buzone

On Sunday, April 8th 2018, I visited Pinecrest Gardens to see the opening of Gretchen Scharnagl’s gallery showing at noon. Gretchen had visited our classroom last month and gave a presentation which showcased many of the pieces she has worked on throughout her career as an artist. Some of these pieces, she would be displaying at this gallery.

The one I noticed first when I walked into the room was Cauterize (2018). This piece in particular stood out because compared to the rest of the pieces displayed in the gallery, this one was the largest. This piece also the only work in the form of a sculpture as opposed to the rest of the displayed artwork, which was comprised of paintings and drawings. I remembered that originally, this piece was site specific, and was placed previously in the Deering Estate, a local historical landmark that often displays the work of local artists, and hosts an artist in residence program on site.

The piece itself is actually made up of many smaller pieces of burnt, repurposed wood which take various forms in order to represent debris, the decaying, and the decomposers that are found in nature. When this piece was placed at the Deering Estate, Gretchen instructed the maintenance crew to leave the grass growing around the artwork untouched. Within a few months, the entire sculpture was buried in very tall grass. This was an interesting interaction between the art and nature; the art, which came directly from the earth but was no longer living, and the grass, which was rapidly growing and very much alive. The grass growing around the sculpture actually started to break down the organic wood material, hastening the process of decomposition.

I also recalled another piece of Gretchen’s called Extinction of Color (2011). Gretchen had spoken to our class about how this piece had never been shown in a gallery, and this would be the first time. It was a large, standalone piece with the least amount of color of all of her pieces. This large scale pencil drawing depicted shells of the colorful tree snail, which used to be found commonly throughout Key Largo. However, many of these snails were hunted to extinction by humans who harvested these snails to sell the colorful shells at tourist shops and the like. Gretchen had grown up admiring these colorful snails, and was sad to find that there were so many that no longer exist, and out of her sadness drew this sketch completely void of color. This is ironic, since the shells are known for their color, but she draws attention to this issue in a bold way.

Gretchen had four large mixed media paintings, all of the same size, lined up on the wall to the right of Cauterize (2018). I had remembered when the artist presented some of these paintings to us in the classroom, and when I saw the paintings up close, I realized they were painted on some sort of graph paper. Then I recalled that the artist had mentioned that all these artworks were done on recycled paper that she already had in her house. She also mentioned that most of the media, such as pencils or paints that were used in creating these pieces, were also reused and found around her house. Gretchen was very conscious to be taking the least amount of trips to the art store as possible, thus minimizing her environmental impact while creating these works.

The painting that struck me the most was Apocalypse, Apocalypse (2018) because it deals with many issues affecting South Florida due to climate change that we have discussed in class, such as ground water rising in salinity due to sea level rise. The artist also draws attention to the issue of coral bleaching, a topic on which I had done research myself on for Project 2. This artwork depicts a large, blue coral reef at the top that is connected to a root system which seems to be designed to look like the root system of mangroves. This root system is surrounded by a crowd of dead-looking fish, and is interconnected with the bottom level where a crowd of unanimated, anonymous human figures line the seafloor amongst glass jars of salt. The bottom half of the painting is lacking in any sort of color, and it is apparent that the people and the salt are draining the life of the coral reefs. By depicting the coral reef and the dead fish, Gretchen reveals the detriment of the way humans treat these natural ecosystems. The mangroves are also affected by human commercial development, as well as pollution from boats and beachgoers.

Gretchen’s work encompasses a variety of environmental issues, many of which directly affect South Florida. She has done much other work on invasive species in the Everglades, and the impacts of global warming on our oceans. These issue continue to be pressing and deserve the attention of audiences all over South Florida. Seeing all this work in person impacted me personally, and I derived a lot from the experience. These are issues I personally feel connected with and these paintings have inspired me to make sure my art is always environmentally conscious.

[eco-art-fiu]

Hunter Ehlers EXTERNAL REVIEW

Yesterday afternoon I attended the opening of “Drawing the Anthropocene” by Gretchen Sharnagl at the Hibiscus Gallery in South Miami. As a part of the CLIMA: Solo Artist Series I knew it would satisfy the parameters of this assignment and be a pretty cool experience. Having seen some of her works in class, I had an idea of what to expect. Taking several friends with me to the opening, I knew besides what I, myself, would conjure up there would be some interesting interpretations said out loud. On arrival, we were greeted by the actual artist and welcomed into the space to view her works along with the artist Xavier Cortada’s. The scene was quiet and easy to maneuver around opposed to the outside area littered with farmer’s market attendees.

When we pulled into the space, there must have been sixty cars full of people who all looked ready to experience something. I was surprised, I had no idea that Gretchen’s work appealed to so many different walks of life. When entering the gallery though, there must have been about six other people walking around the pieces creating a much easier venue to stop and think about the works presented. Having recognized me from her class visit, Gretchen took the time and explained the first piece we saw “Cauterize”. She broke down her systematic approach to removing beautiful things she see’s out in the natural world with the process it took to perfectly arrange it within the gallery. She even explained some of the dissertations she had for the curators with the second commissioning of the work. During this explanation, a member of my group changed the subject and asked her if she took direct inspirations for her other drawings from the famous Surrealist Salvador Dali. She laughed and said she’s unsure of any contemporary artist who does not take any inspiration from him.

We then came across the set of paintings my friend Sasha was referring to, with its surrealistic qualities. The first of the set depicts a circle of animals which are close to extinction because of things like ocean plastics and other human being errors. That circle is then encircled by a very sad outer ring of already extinct animals, the purpose of this was to bring to attention the idea that as a society we stopped caring about what is in the past, those animals are long gone so our care for their extinction is too.  There is a stop sign on one of the animals which I feel acts as the strongest proponent for the piece’s audience’s understanding of what is meant to be said. As an onlooker of the paintings it is very easily understood that the artist feels that there is a lack of respect being shown to our motherly ecosystem, this idea was most strongly felt when looking at her third painting containing many humans approaching a mothership of a natural world object in danger by its own children.

Her many different pieces throughout the gallery inspired me and my friends to look at the concept of eco-art quite differently. This whole course has changed my general idea, but going to a practicing artist’s event showing the conceptual beauty behind the many decisions made with this approach to a large problem everyone is apart of really sealed the deal on my personal perspective on saving the planet by adhering to the general public’s sensibilities.

[eco-art-fiu]

External Event Review

The Eco-Art external event I attended was the 2018 Journalists and Editors Workshop on Latin America and the Caribbean with its theme of “Climate Change in the Americas” held on March, 27th at the Miami Beach Urban Studios. The event was a conversation of opposing views on climate change from Greg Hamra (Citizens’ Climate Lobby) and James Taylor (The Heartland Institute) while being moderated by Frank Mora (FIU LACC). The moderator was very focused on keeping the conversation from veering into the direction of a political debate as a rather expressive conversation on how journalists should react to information given from such opposing view, especially if both sides claim to have scientific evidence.  The audience filled with supporters of both sides, mostly of an older generation and the college students who are striving to become journalists.

The introductions began with the speakers having five minutes to introduce themselves. They spoke about their careers, where they received their education, and their stance on global warming. Greg Hamra opened with discussing how he claims to be a climate solutionist and is a sustainable advisor in Coral Gables. He went on to say how humans cause climate change and its importance, especially the importance to not debate the science anymore and to take action. James Taylor spoke how he works for Heartland Institute and graduated from Dartmouth and Syracuse. He stated a few claims of why climate change is a hoax using evidence and facts: Earth’s warming happens no matter what, that the evidence of hurricanes becoming more severe is false because the data for this info shows they have declined, and how droughts are less frequent. He stated that the world craves natural gas and for the earth to use more affordable abundant energy with less gas emissions. The introductions were wrapped up with Greg Hamra stating both men are actually friends and made certain to point out one thing they have in common: that they are not scientists.

As the introductions were happening, someone passed around slips of paper for the audience to ask one of the speakers a question. Questions like “Whats your response to the agency having clear position on policy issues?” Hamra stated how it was all political and how the Republican Party rejected legislation on climate change.  Also how it was political suicide for any Republican to have an opinion on climate change. Taylor went on how there is politics on both sides and to compare facts and evidence to common ground solutions. He discussed renewable resources versus carbon and how focusing on renewable resources is not the best way to reduce carbon. Taylor said that solar energy uses 3 times the electricity cost and that natural gas should be the focus to reduce emissions. Hamra then reacted by saying fugitive emissions of natural gas or gas that is released when extract it, are not accounted for. He also stated that “gas is less bad than coal.”

The conversation went on like this and only one question was related to journalism. It was on how journalists are able to cite “experts” from both sides and know what they are reporting is not misconstrued information. They touched the topic lightly and said that they just need to make sure the evidence is true by looking at how information is represented on graphs and that numbers are not being adjusted to persuade its audience to believe it. Also that there needs to be a focus on science versus policy on the topic.

The experience of the discussion was a bit overwhelming. Greg Hamra and James Taylor were both very aggressive when discussing this issue and would just spew out statistics and facts that were difficult to understand without having other sources to research. Taylor did have a power point presentation that he left a stack of on the table in the entrance. The information on the power point made me chug down my wine being titled “Global Warming: Not a Crisis.” His points of agreement claim that he believes “the Earth has been warming during the past century” and that “human activity is a significant factor.” In the slides, he claims that predictions are not scientific when it comes to observing weather and climate change. From his graph on “Temperature Predictions,” he states that predictions by believers are inaccurate because they predicted an 0.3º C warming per decade and then an 0.2º C warming per decade rate. He also has graphs displaying how tropical storms are becoming less frequent, that there is no change in tropical storm energy, tornadoes are becoming less frequent, and that drought is becoming less frequent. He also claims “warmer temperatures saves lives” as conducted in a 2015 study by The Lancet claiming that cold weather kills 20 times more people globally than hot weather.

When it comes to Eco Art, this is where the artist, as journalists, need to read this information and decide what is true to create pieces of art that do not misconstrue our own audiences.

Looking at information, like James Taylor’s graphs, makes one realize how people only want to believe what they want to. They misrepresent information to back up whatever reasoning they have. Global warming is constantly changing and there are too many factors that cause it simultaneously to record. Taylor believes because there is an inaccuracy, that it doesn’t exist. Like Greg Hamra said in his talk, if we are not taking action, guys like James Taylor win.

[eco-art-fiu]

External Event Review

Wayne Roberts

       The External Environmental Event that I attended was the opening reception of “Drawing the Anthropocene” by Gretchen Sharnagl at the Hibiscus Gallery in the Pinecrest Gardens. This exhibit is a part of the CLIMA: Solo Artist Series. The opening took place on April 8th, 2018 from 12-2pm, and featured work from Gretchen, as well as another artist Xavier Cortada. Their art work was split with Gretchen’s work being to the left side of the room, and Xavier’s being set up to the right.

       When i arrived i immediately took notice of the fact that Pinecrest gardens in its entirety was incredibly packed, and at first i thought it had to do with the artist reception. This cause me to worry that i wouldn’t get to really take in the art in a quiet place, but to my surprise most of the traffic there was due to the farmers market being set up.  The Hibiscus gallery was located right before the entrance to the garden, and when i got to the door’s around 11:30 Gretchen was already there waiting. We exchanged hellos, and she showed me into the gallery, and gave a little background information about some of the work.

    Gretchen talked about “Cauterize” which was the first piece displayed, and one we had seen in class before. She talked about how after she removed the first display of it from the wild she was commissioned to remake it a second time but in a way that it would be able to be hung on a wall. She remarked that in this way it wouldn’t really be the same as the original because it lacked the exposure to the natural world. Even then those giant pieces of carved, and shape wood were interesting to look at, and still managed to develop a slight smell. Gretchen did make mention that the wood was not refined, or purchased but instead reclaimed from different falling trees.

       The next set of work featured four paintings/drawings by Gretchen with a variety of subject matter. Gretchen explained to me that in the four pieces she attempted to represent as many of the 9 problem areas in our environment that she could. “After Dionysus” a painting depicting grapes over a beach line, with plastic, and a dying baby turtle represented Land system change, and chemical pollution.  “Drawing The Anthropocene” depicted a ring of colored animals at risk to being on the danger/ near extinction list, as well as a second ring of ghostly rendered animals who were already extinct. The artist made mention of how those animals are rarely thought of by some because they’ve been gone for so long, but also how the environment remembers them because there comes a point where that animal would have performed a certain task in the ecosystem but cannot due to being extinct. This piece represents climate change, and biodiversity loss.

       The third painting in the set of 4 is “Ate grapefruit” which features a smoke filled skyline, sliced grape fruits, drawing of atoms, shelled marine life and the decomposed, dissected, crucified cat seen in Gretchen’s work before. This piece was meant to depict Ocean acidification , ozone depletion, and atmospheric aerosol loading. The final piece my personal favorite is “Apocalypse, Apocalypse which featured large septic tanks, salt shakers, the body, and roots of a giant tree submerged in murky water, and an army of human “offenders”. Gretchen discussed the meaning of the name talking about the way the word Apocalypse has the same definition as omen (a warning of something bad to come), and the end of all time. She said that the double meaning was dude to the “offenders” being their own cause of the coming end. This piece represented biochemical loading, global N&P cycles, and global freshwater use.

    The last set of work i took notice of from Gretchen was a series of about 12-14 pieces of paper drawn, or painting on with vastly different but similar subject matter. The artist described them as being similar to “Ledger Art” a form of at in which someone oppressed inherited items from their oppressor, and turned them into art. She informed me that the papers she painted on came from her father who she described as no good, and down right evil likening him to Donal Trump. There are drawings of water that has developed a green glow to it inspired by work her daughters were conducting with real life water that had been polluted to a similar visual effect. There’s A close up almost marco photography-esque view of plastic which Gretchen describes as odd because she makes plastic “look pretty” Other sheets include work of hooded figures related to gun violence, weapon bans, the human body structure, and so on.  This set of work was probably the widest in scope as far as subject matter is concerned, and was very interesting to see, and hear about.

     After the exhibit i did take some time to walk the actual garden because i had never been there before. The place was huge, but very very relaxing, and visually appealing. Interestingly enough some of the garden a little further in seemed to have suffered from its on miniturzied versions of things happening in the real life environment. Parts were flooded, there was trash in certain ponds, and tried up land/plants in other parts. There were areas that contained empty cages from the gardens time as parent jungle that were vaguely haunting as the lack of birds inside them felt as if the birds weren’t moved but had ceased to exist all together. Overall i enjoyed the gallery, the garden, and even the farmers market, and am grateful for the experience of listening to an artist describe her work in a slightly more 1 on 1 setting.  

[eco-art-fiu]

Event w/John Morales

Erika Williams

ART 3843

3/28/2018

           The event that I chose was with NBC 6 chief meteorologist John Morales on Wednesday March 28th. John Morales is the one of the longest broadcast meteorologist in South Florida. I remember watching him on television as a child quite regularly, so it was an honor to see him talk about climate change live. Morales has guided South Florida viewers through hurricanes Andrew, Irene, Katrina, Wilma, and most recently Hurricane Irma. Morales has broadcasted for a couple of different channels over the years, but in 2009 John Morales became Chief Meteorologist for NBC’s Miami station WTVJ NBC-6, where he still serves today.

          In the workshop Morales starts off by sharing with us that journalist must understand science in order to report on it. He also stressed the importance of gathering information because your obligation is to the truth. You can't just say things fall to the earth because of gravity without factual information to back up that statement. He further explains that the best way to deliver scientific information is to refer to the scientific method first make an observation, think of interesting questions, formulate a hypothesis, develop testable predictions, gather data to test predictions and develop general theories. And the general theories must be consistent with most or all available data and with other current.

           Now, apparently the speaker James Taylor, president of the Spark of Freedom Foundation and a senior fellow for environment and energy policy at The Heartland Institute, spoke the day before and ruffled quite a few feathers because he does not go by the old reliable rule of referring to the scientific method before speaking on scientific things. According to Morales, Taylor does not believe in sea level rising or global warming, and a couple of other scientific discovery that we now know to be true because of the extensive research, even though there is tons of scientific facts that are now very much noticeable even for the non-scientist. For instance, it is increasingly getting hotter each year then it was the year before and the ice in the North Pole is melting daily. Morales firmly believes that Taylor is using a form of rhetoric when speaking to viewers about climate changes in the world. And in the workshop on March 28th you can tell Morales was getting quite frustrated when having to speak about Taylor's opposing views the day before.

           James Taylor is the former managing editor of Environment & Climate News, a national monthly publication devoted to sound science and free-market environmentalism. Taylor has presented energy and environment analysis on CNN, CNN Headline News and Fox News Channel just to name a few ABC and has also done radio outlets across the country. But according to Morales he is not educationally incline to speak on scientific facts. Taylor received his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College where he studied atmospheric science and majored in government. What is Atmospheric sciences you ask? It is the study of the Earth's atmosphere, its processes, the effects other systems have on the atmosphere, and the effects of the atmosphere on these other systems. Meteorology includes atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric physics with a major focus on weather forecasting. You would think that would allow someone to speak honestly and factually on scientific issues but according to Morales, Taylor only studied atmospheric science for one semester in his freshman year and that should not allow him to speak candidly about the recent science discoveries that he knows nothing about.

           Now to fast forward a little bit in the conversation I must mention the workshops conversation got a little heated when it came to questions on how to speak to the general public. At one point Morales said that it's easy to sway a Joe from the Midwest about certain climate changes because they know nothing of the science. This comment offended one of the guest, she went on to say that she's from the Midwest and she's very much informed and how do you go about speaking to the general public about different scientific issues without offending the public. Then others chimed in with their questions and possible explanations to Morales way of explaining how to speak about science to the general public.

           In conclusion what I have learned from this conversation is that it is imperative that you are factual, honest and to try to be as non- offending as possible when delivering scientific information to the general public, which can oftentimes be difficult. Morales summarizes this conversation by stating, “It is difficult to fit the square scientific process peg into a round journalism hole. False equivalence has done enough harm, it is up to us to stop the madness. And most importantly your loyalty is to the citizens first. Serve them with the truth!”

[eco-art-fiu]

CLIMA External Event Review

             I attended “CLIMA,” the solo artist series at the Hibiscus Gallery in Pinecrest Gardens. The show was in a gallery setting and consisted of works by two artists, Gretchen Scharnagl and Xavier Cortada. Upon entrance, the left side of the room was dedicated to Gretchen’s work, and the right, to Xavier’s. The entire theme of the show was directly related to the discourse of climate change (in Gretchen’s) and nature as a dynamic contributor to art (in Xavier’s).

             Scharnagl called her series Drawing the Anthropocene. It consisted of several pieces of different media. The first, “Cauterize,” was a large sculpture made of charred wood. It was a tangle of coral, tree branches, birds, and leaves. The darkened appearance made the shapes seem anonymous or nondescript. The burned wood, while not necessarily the most eco-friendly material, added an air of the kind of fragility that sets in after death.

             The next piece was “After Dionysus.” It was comprised of bunches of grapes, from ripe to spoiled, superposed on a narrow beach coastline covered with what appears to be either coral or concrete blocks. The coast itself is fenced off by a concrete wall and a plastic bag floats in the water, suffocating an organism of some sort. In the distant water, a large barge sits under a rainbow of dead sea life (I think). For me, the drawing was reminiscent of something forgotten; like this wall was put up and everything behind it, all of the life and beauty, was forgotten.

             “Ate Grapefruit” was an industrial skyline filled with smoke with sticker-like products of nature in the forefront. A flayed cat is flayed on a cross, adding a melancholic religious reverence similar to that of Jesus. There are also sliced grapefruits surrounding the scene. Between the grapefruits and the skyline are shelled marine animals, but their shells appear faded. According to the artist’s statement, the drawing abstracts the issues of acidification of the oceans and its detrimental effects on hard-shelled marine animals. Without the statement, it was a bit difficult to interpret this one. I did find it interesting how civilization is embedded in the background, underneath the sticker-like natural things. It culminated in a kind of juxtaposition, like the factories and pollution are natural, and the living things are “added” things.

             “Drawing the Anthropocene” was very eye-catching, likely because there was a gold foiled sphere in the middle and we like shiny things. I found the subject of this drawing to be the best communicator of the current conditions, climate-wise. A few colorful butterflies dotted the scene; nearby, a deer is wrapped with a stop sign and water approaches its hooves. A melting glacier sits opposite the deer. In the center of it all, small animals and insects, presumably those at the bottom of the food chain, sit around the gold foil “sun.” Outside of the small ones, larger animals and insects also go around the sun, but they are white and nearly completely washed out from view. In the distant corner, cars travel across a raised bridge, seemingly unaware of the tsunami crashing towards them. The drawing urgently screams to the viewer that climate change is affecting everything. The food chain is at the foundation of life, and people choose to ignore the signs all around us.

             “Apocalypse Apocalypse” was appropriately named. It was also a drawing with a central, multi-themed figure, surrounded by the offenders. In this case, the offenders were society and our ill-placed septic tanks. The star of the drawing was a large “tree” with leaves of bleached coral and thin roots that strangle fish. A large fig leaf sits defeatedly in the center of the tree and salt shakers surround the roots of the tree and the septic tank, which almost appears to be feeding the tree. In the background, is looks as if there is a large hole ripped in the middle, which creates the effect of a vacuum. The quiet crowd of people and dead fish give an air of finality.

             “Suburban Ledgers” was an aggregate of forty small drawings with varying subjects. This collection was somewhat distant from the overarching theme of the entire show. Some seemed random, but I believe they were actually a quiet discourse on our materialism and short attention spans, which actually contributes to the issue of ignorance and climate change. Nature and death are recurring, as are depictions of guns and violence.

             Scharnagl’s use of old graph paper across the series gives an entomological feel to her works, which is fitting, in a way, since she has an affinity for the carcasses that result from climate change. Her drawings impart a sense of urgency, or even resignation.

In the assigned reading, we learned about artists like Andy Goldsworthy, who made art in conjunction with nature and accepted the temporary nature of the pieces. Xavier Cortada’s execution of his pieces were similar. In his “Water Paintings,” he made a series of painting and enclosed them in nylon mesh bags. He then tied them to each of nine weirs at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. Water, dirt, and wind flowed through the bags and altered the paintings over a sixteen-week period. Scientists also collected water samples and data from the same places over the same amount of time. The project culminated in a display of the paintings, the data, and the results of the tests. Like our own watershed maps, the point was to highlight the importance of being aware of the health and conditions of our watersheds.

I found it interesting that both artists, in response to the topic of the show, incorporated science, albeit differently, into their pieces.