This is the installation work of Tara Donovan. Above: A gorgeous landscape built with more than 1 million 7-ounce disposable plastic cups. "Plastic cups and Styrofoam and most of the other materials employed by Donovan represent cheapness, waste, unbridled consumption, litter. Especially when seen in abundance, and abundance is at the heart of what Donovan does." - Sebastian Smee of the Boston Globe (Quote taken from the blog, Slow Painting)
Melis Agabigum
ReplyDeleteADP III-004
09.21.2010
WC Response 1
Buying Better Food-p.53
In the article, Buying Better Food, I discovered that there are several different ways that I can consume healthy and environmentally safe food. I have always been a stickler for consuming organic food, but after reading the article, I learned that there are several ways that big name companies can try and scam society out of buying true USDA organic food.
The standards that the USDA has set for food to be qualified Organic is upsetting. Local farmers, who have been growing produce and meat for the past few decades, are unfortunately at a loss when it comes to being labeled as “organic”. With the technology that big brands have, along with the capability to now market food as organic under umbrella companies, the need to research the true nature of where your food is coming from becomes a much larger concern. It was disheartening to learn that even though you can fit all the criteria of “Organic” food, many large companies can still continue to use some procedures that are not considered consumer and environmentally friendly.
Another interesting thing that was discussed in this article was about how buying from a famers market is better. It is common sense that the majority of the food that we consume is shipped in for all over the world, but the thought hardly ever occurs to me while I am out buying produce. I see labels such as “California Avocados” or “Bell Peppers from Chile” and not once do I think about how much time it took for those things to travel all the way to my grocery store and into my shopping cart. The notion that we can buy produce from a farmers market, where you are guaranteed that the food you are buying is 100% fresh and tastes better than the food that you can buy in a grocery store is refreshing. While it may be more difficult on your pocket book to buy locally, the end result is a healthier body and a healthier environment. The article opened my eyes to being more conscious about what I am buying. I shouldn’t just buy organic because it says organic. I need to research and make sure that what I am buying ethically fits into the category of being organic and fresh.
Elaine Czech
ReplyDelete21 September 2010
ARTDES 250: SEC 4
Refugees p. 203
Malta is a small island centrally located in the Mediterranean Sea. A recent major issue for Malta is the numerous amounts of African Refugees that have collected on the island over the last six years. I use the word collected because most of the refugees where rescued at sea and brought to Malta by the Armed Forces of Malta1. While Malta desires to help the refugees the main island of Malta, only 94.9 sq miles, is finding it hard to cope2.
Malta is, at least at this point in my life, the first place I think of when I see or hear the word refugee. It was over this past summer on Malta that I was able to see the shantytown that housed the some 3,400 African refugees. Shantytowns look as bleak in person as they do in the pictures. There were very few people outside and it was basically rows of tan tents behind a fence.
Seeing a refugee camp makes the world smaller in a way. It makes it so that even though I have come home to the United States I am aware of the people displaced on the other side of the globe. It makes it more realistic to me now when someone tells me that my actions here affect those there. Although the refugees on Malta were not necessarily displaced because of environmental issues, seeing the camps gives me a greater sense of how horrible it is to be displaced so abruptly from your home and shoved in temporary, makeshift housing. No matter what the reason for the displacement shantytowns make the experience even more unsettling.
1 Ley, Shaun. “Malta struggles with desperate refugees”. BBC News. BBC, 2009. Web. 9 May 2009
2 “Malta- Location, size, and extent.” Encyclopedia of the Nations Online, 2010. Web. 18 Sept 2010
Brooke Adams
ReplyDeleteADP III section 4
9.21.2010
WC Response 1
Buying Better Food- p. 53
This short article pointed out a lot about the stores and corporations from which I buy my food that I never think about. For example, I never realized, until reading this article, that it is odd that food can be bought in virtually any store. I’ve read in recipe books and heard on the Food Network the advice of using whatever produce is in season, and yet, I didn’t think it strange when I’d see a mountain of tropical fruit on display during the winter.
It’s amazing how much in my life has been subject to creeping normalcy. I had never experienced freshly picked fruit until I visited an aunt this past summer who lives out in Pennsylvania near Amish farms. The experience of going to pick up produce directly from the farmer’s hand was an event completely foreign to me. And though I haven’t heard of green washing before, I was aware of the difficulty small farmers can experience in the attempt of gaining organic certification. I had asked one of the Amish farmers I met whether his fruit was organic and he explained to me that, though he practiced organic farming techniques, he was unable to pay for the certification process. His produce goes unlabeled.
Besides tasting better, being fresher, and having less time to lose nutrients, buying local seems to be one of the most important things we can do. However, I realize that buying local and buying organic are two separate things. I wonder which World Changing would deem more important? I personally have been raised on produce sprayed with pesticides, and so it’s something that is normal to me. I think I’d rather support the practice of buying local because less petroleum goes into the process of getting my food from the farm to my table. My bias is also fueled by my disgust that major corporations are able to hide behind different names while still pocketing our money. While information is available online for the public to educate themselves with, society at large would have to be aware and concerned about who really is in power in order for anything to change with who controls the markets and how our food is being produced.
Liz Ritenour
ReplyDeleteADP III
Section 004
World Changing:
pp 99-102, Biomimicry
Last year, one of our lecture series speakers discussed a relatively new concept in the world of technology and the environment: biomimicry. I found the idea fascinating, innovative, and absolutely necessary, and this segment of the book discussed the concept in further detail. Biomimicry is the idea of using conservation and other techniques found in nature (those of animals and plants, mainly) as a basis for human technological innovations. It seems like common sense, yet it has yet to become the norm for technology.
This article brings to light the dependability and unquestionable necessity of biomimicry. The structure of the human lifestyle is so fragile that we often cannot use trial-and-error methods for testing new ideas. By using the methods that animals and plants use to survive and function as a society, and adapting those methods to the technologies that we already have, there is, essentially, no need for trial-and-error. We are using methods that we know work because hundreds of years of adaptation have proven what works and what does not. The possibilities for technological innovations and new methods of conservation are incredibly vast, given the findings of artists and scientists already employing biomimicry. The article references a few examples that are fascinating, and could change the way we make things. For example, spider silk is stronger than steel and tougher than Kevlar, and the spider that makes it does not use boiling sulfuric acid or high-pressure extruders. When we adapt these findings to our own lives, the results can be remarkable. Architects are using qualities of skin in reptiles as models for energy conservation design on buildings, and there are exterior paints that self-clean based on the model of the lotus flower and last longer than existing exterior paints. There is also software being developed to put technological ideas through a virtual model of natural selection, to find what works and does not, without the waste of trial and error. Biomimicry is a fascinating concept and the possibilities seem endless. It is amazing that after hundreds of years of humans trying to make their own technologies, we are just now realizing that the answers may have been all around us – things that we can learn from organisms that have survived as long or longer than we have.
Erica Neumann
ReplyDeleteADP III-004
9/19/2010
World Changing-1
The Solar System: Greens in Space Pg. 529
In a time where Earth’s population is rapidly destroying their home through pollution, CO2 emissions, fuel and oil dependency, city growth, and deforestation, technology is also improving. This could be the beginning of a Space Renaissance, where the Earth-bound inhabitants take full advantage of the solar system in which Earth resides. Space is a huge untapped resource that can aid in both saving Earth, as well as educate on the remaining seven planets.
With microsatellites, scientists can study and research the climate and geography of the planet as well as spot droughts and floods. Sending more technology into space will help people see Earth as a whole. In order to begin to repair the damage done thus far, the Earth must be understood as a whole rather than an abstract concept that is too large to grasp.
Along with monitoring and researching the Earth from a new perspective, new technology in space would also allow scientists to learn more about the solar system. It may answer questions as to how the Earth, out of all the planets, is the only to sustain life; how the other planets’ climates have been changing and affecting their environments; and whether life or water may perhaps exist elsewhere.
In taking advantage of the technology and space we have, one caveat to be weary about is using space as an outlet from the problem. The Space Renaissance should be used as a way to learn how to fix the planet, not abandon it. With a new space age on the horizon it is possible that people will create ways to live in space, leaving their trashed planet behind. Earth should be continued to be preserved and protected using all the technology available to expedite the process. With more and more technology being launched into space, it is creating space pollution. In the efforts to use space to the advantage of the people and the planet, one must do so in a conserving way. The Space Renaissance runs the risk of polluting space by leaving shards and debris speeding around the Earth’s orbit. This debris, as small as a paint chip, can be life threatening to astronauts and satellites when traveling at the tremendous speeds of 17, 500 miles per hour. New technology is continuously being created that will allow for cheaper trips into space, more detailed observation of the planet, and exploration of the others; the Space Renaissance is a creative way to use all the resources available to help save our planet.
Allie Seiler
ReplyDelete9/21/10
ADPIII: Sec 4
Future of the Small Town pg. 502
As someone far-removed from small town America, this article caught my eye. Living in the heart of Silicon Valley and belonging to a family where every member works in the business world, I have never understand the concept of a “small town.” I’m aware but there are far less people living in rural America now than there were 50 years ago. There are fewer and fewer farmers and family owned farms. What I didn’t realize was the “rural rebound” that took place at the turn of the century. However, this rapid growth of population in rural areas post 1990 has not been a return to farming, but a search for new jobs such as information technology, service, manufacturing, and distribution.
I was completely unaware of the growing number of industries in rural America. I’ve known about the energy capabilities of wind, but I did not realize how profitable wind could be. However, what stuck out the most to me in this article was the “Whistler 2020” plan. I have spent a good amount of my childhood in Lake Tahoe and have watched the developments, crowds, and traffic build up around me. It has gotten to the point where every open area is being taken over by luxury condos and homes. Skiing in Tahoe on a holiday weekend is now a painful experience between the insane traffic, parking shortage, and hour-long lifelines. My quaint childhood destination has become a madhouse for city dwellers looking for a weekend out in the wilderness. Frankly, it makes me sad to watch Tahoe being taken over. However, the concept behind the Whistler plan seems not only feasible but a wonderful template to be applied in other wilderness resort towns. Hopefully Whistler will be successful in its efforts to reform the environmental hazards that have grown around such a beautiful city – and America’s other beloved mountain resorts will not be far behind.
Robin Tuck
ReplyDeleteADP III
Section 4
9-17-10
Biomimicry is the process by which designers and scientists are inspired by the problem solving skills of the natural world. Nature has been solving all sorts of design quandaries for millions of years and so has devised solutions that not only work, but also leave no waste and are often recyclable. In addition, the natural world often comes up with many solutions to a single problem depending on the situation or the needs of the organism.
This rich atmosphere of simple solutions to complex problems as explained in World Changing is one that now helps designers and scientist devise new ways to make human life easier and waste minimal. For instance, the article explains how geckos have special footpads that can stick to just about everything, and yet, are easily removed. By examining these intriguing little creatures, a special tape has been produced that mimics the same design as the geckos’ footpads, and thus can stick almost anything together without leaving residues behind, and can also be removed (Steffen, 100).
A key component to biomimicry is technology. We have the ability to create multiple scenarios in a computer program to see if the idea or prototype would work. Technology also allows us to produce new and more sophisticated materials to more accurately mimic the mechanics of the natural world, but with the durability and strength needed for everyday use.
The use of biomimicry is on the rise, and why not, when there is such an abundance of inspiration of everything from the best way to get somewhere; ant foraging techniques, to paint that cleans itself; lotus flowers (Steffen, 101).
James Reich
ReplyDeleteThe article about designing for change touched on a subject that I feel this school stresses a lot. There have been more than a few designers that have come to the Penny Stamps Lecture series that work in this way and some of my professors have also spoken about this with us. It is a great accomplishment of design and can make a big impact, but it seems like in order to engineer a simple solution to a problem, you must face it first hand. To design for the homeless, you must be homeless (or experience their daily life) and to design a water system for a poor African nation you must live there and deal with the water problem on your own. This makes it difficult for me to imagine designing helpful systems for others when I have little to no experience with their hardships.
I have a lot of questions about how designers find themselves designing for these scenarios. How are they employed and by whom? Do they visit the places that they design for and experience the lives of people whose lives they endeavor to change? It is difficult for a student here at the University of Michigan, coming from Grosse Pointe (a culturally stale city in Michigan), to relate and connect or even begin to think of creative designs for radically different cultures.
Tiffany Hu
ReplyDeleteADP III - Section 4
Biomimicry
Since coming to Michigan, I have realized that the university has focused on one thing: how to combine different talents to accomplish great things. I feel like biomimicry is related to the philosophy of Michigan in that sense.
Biomimicry is when designers and scientists use aspects of nature to solve problems in the manmade and technological world. The University, as well, uses this concept of taking ideas from different realms into one field to great interdisciplinary concentrations such as biophysics or bioinformatics. In the latter case, the subject delve further into areas that neither economics, statistics, nor biology, alone do. By intertwining the crucial ideas of all these subjects, bioinformatics is able to derive new ways of solving problems facing the world.
The bottom line is, the combining of knowledge and the exchange of information always leads to something bigger and greater.
Kaiti Marek
ReplyDelete20, September 2010
ARTDES 250: SEC4
After reading the case study “Brands” on pages 339-397 of World Changing, I have begun to wonder how much branding affects my decisions when buying a product. I never considered myself to be very susceptible to advertising. I have no problem with buying cheap clothing that is not a big brand name. As I began to think of what brands I subscribe to, I was a little surprised with how many I could find. For instance, I am a die-hard Canon user, and will only give them my business when it comes to my camera/equipment needs. This is because I trust them to deliver a quality product, but I do not actually know much about their company. A quick google search reveals that they claim to be “environmentally conscious” and have a “goal of maximizing resource efficiency” (www.canon.com), but this information comes strait from Canon’s website, so can it be trusted? After a quick pursuing I have not found articles that would suggest otherwise, but that does not mean they don’t exist.
I now have a goal to be more aware of where my products are coming from and what brands I choose to support with my business. The case study also mentioned a few “brands” that are known for being unbranded. These are quality goods that do not have labels and brand names plastered all over them. This is an interesting concept. It gives the consumer the power to purchase the product that they want without being influenced by a brad name. It practically begs people to become informed about their decisions instead of trusting advertising to tell them what to buy.
Environmental Activities. Environmentally conscious Management System. 2010. 20 Sept 2010
The aspect of the reading that interests me most is the section on biomimicry. Using nature and emulating its models, systems, and processes in new design is a really smart use of resources. Instead of misusing and abusing the world around us, biomimicry encourages preservation and observation. Looking at plants and animals as inspiration for useful products is not a new inclination, however.
ReplyDeleteDesigners have always been influenced by the world around them. Air travel was inspired by birds and velcro was inspired by burrs sticking to fabric. Nature has such a wealth of resources that are largely untapped and by researching plants and animals further we can solve many of the issues that plague us. Whether that be a better way to adhere one thing to another or an alternative energy source, the answer is often right under our noses. One of my favorite examples of biomimicry in design is a series of wind turbines modeled after whale fins. The future of design does not necessarily have to be based on brand new ideas, if we look to the world around us for inspiration great designs will follow.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDavid Jezusek
ReplyDeleteBiomimicry is an interesting and intelligent way to designing things. Emulating the naturally occurring designs in nature in our man made products only makes sense, as nature rarely creates things in an inefficient manner and thus encourages preservation and conservation of nature to locate new, possible usable designs in our products.
Living creatures have developed many interesting natural ways to deal with problems, such as the sticky footpads of a gecko which when studied provided insight on how to create a new and better type of tape that was sticky without leaving behid difficult to remove residue. The strength of a spiders silk is stronger than materials the we create through long, processes, an may provide insight of how to create better protective clothing. When trying to design new products, we should remember that nature has been designing for much longer than we have.