Check out Mark Wentzel's work, as seen at ArtPrize this year: a group of three modified Eames Lounge Chairs, with the original cushions removed and replaced with over-stuffed, "super-sized" versions modeling the human body. "XLounge is a safe and playful analogy to critical contemporary issues of disproportionate consumption and the global obesity epidemic." (from the ArtPrize blog)
I was glad this week to see artists that directly take on the environment. I admit, for a while now I have been wondering exactly how what we have been learning relates to art and our own work, but now its seems quite clear. The work these artist are doing is not only contemporary, but tackles important issues regarding not just the state of our environment, but how we relate to it and how we can improve it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, to see artist working hand in hand with scientists is really exciting. I think that kind of cross focus sharing is expanding and can only lead to fresh ideas and greater understanding of the world we live in. My favorite example, was the litmus river, where the trees where planted along the river to look like litmus paper as the water that ran past them became cleaner and safer.
After so much depressing news about our food and the cleanliness of rivers and soil it was nice to see how people our getting together and bringing awareness and help to these areas. It makes me think that I can make a difference too. We don’t often think, as artists, that we can help on such scientific and cultural issues, but after the lectures it was evident that we have the power to really effect change.
This was probably my favorite lecture, and I hope that there will be more in the future that discuss artists whose work deals with the environment in a new and helpful way.
The video we watched today honestly scared me. I’ve always known about the huge factories that exist in our world and the e-waste that pollutes all over. I’ve watched news specials about ship wrecking yards and have always known how terrible they are for the people that work on them and the environment. Thinking about this movie makes me feel overwhelmed and hopeless. I don’t see how on earth these things can be fixed. I don’t see how all the waste can go away, how all these people can work in healthier situations, and how we are supposed to stop using so much material. We depend on the world to give us everything we need, but we have nothing to give back.
ReplyDeleteI finally understand how design relates to these issues. As designers, we are creating the future. We are trying to make a better, safer place for our children and our children’s children. We are learning about these problems so that one-day we can fix the world. That being said, it seems too big, too overwhelming, too full of problems to jut be fixed. It’s not just about identifying problems and solving them; it’s about understanding problems. Understanding what we do now that’s wrong. Understanding why things are the way they are and why they need to change. As I’m sitting here, writing this on my computer, I can’t help but think about where it will end up some day. When this technology is finally antiquated and I have apples newest addition to the tech world, where will this go? Will a child in China smash this screen and take about the insides to be re-used? God forbid our electronic waste system hasn’t been revised by then. Before this computers expiration date, I want to see change, I want to see improvement, I want to see a better world.
I found the video we watched today extremely interesting. The major premise of the poor jobs these people in other countries have and our sheer lack of knowledge and ignorance of it was amazing to me. The first part based on the issue of E-waste in China was amazing. I could not believe how many piles of trash there were and how children were playing in it and people living by it etc. When the picture of the older Chinese woman was shown with all of the E-waste on her porch it was very hard-hitting as well as when it showed all the children laughing and playing in it. The amount of poisonous and toxic metals etc. in those piles is mind boggling and the fact that the people working with these materials the most are unprotected and maybe even unaware of their effects is a huge problem.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, The silver mines and oil tankers in Bangladesh were also shocking. The photos of the landscape with large clouds of black smoke overhead were very apparent in the narrators black and white photos. I still cannot get over the conditions of the work places and ship assembly. There is so much unwanted waste that people don't know what to do with and I can see how maybe making art addressing these problems could bring more attention to them and maybe taking another step in solving these issues.
It is easy to say all of the things that need to happen but the difference is actually getting out there and doing something about it and I think that is what this class is preparing us to do. We have to have the knowledge of these problems before we get out there and make a difference.
Kaiti Marek
ReplyDelete4, October 2010
ARTDES 250: SEC4
The video today was overwhelming. It is so daunting to me to see these huge amounts of dangerous waste, and how humans really do not have our own situation under control at all. Most of the lectures and readings have been leaving me with a sense of knowing something must be done to change how we treat our world, but this is the first time that I really feel defeated. How can we change a system like this? There is so mush e-waste, and other harmful waste to deal with, and we just have no way to do that safely. It seems like the only way to reduce our waste is to stop mass-producing everything. But without mass production how can our society sustain the amount of people living in it?
It is so easy to talk about changing, but it is much harder to actually do it. I can’t imagine that any of us, if we really think about it, would be willing to give up the conveniences we have. Everyone is attached to his or her technology. There is actually almost no way to function in the world without a computer, but as long as people need computers, there is going to e-waste. I feel like all we can really try to do is raise awareness about the issues presented in this video, but raising awareness does not magically solve problems. In fact, the best way to raise awareness would be to use the internet, which you access from computers and phones, which are major contributors to e-waste. It turns into a cycle, and there seems to be no great place for that cycle to end.
Tiffany Hu
ReplyDeleteADPIII, Section 4
I knew that we must have created a lot of waste over the years, but I never knew just how much waste has accumulated until I watched the video in lecture. It made me a bit repulsed at how ignorant we are, and it was very frightening to see people living with the electronic waste and pollution in Asia, because it seemed that they were either unaware or helpless about their current living situations. As for us, however, we are aware of the effects of pollution, but we still have not changed our ways.
I know it's easy for me to point fingers at other people and say that we should raise awareness to all the ignorant people, but the fact is that it is very difficult to change what has been established for already a very long time. We need technology in order to function as a society. However, we should also learn to be accountable for our own actions, and do our best to change our own ways first before trying to change others.
The discussion in lecture last week about coffee fascinated me, particularly how different each culture views coffee. In America, coffee is a staple of the average person’s morning. Starbucks has been imbedded into the minds of every American citizen, where droves of people will filter into this institution to shell out $3.00 and more of a coffee of specially brewed cup of foreign coffee. In countries where the coffee is farmed, a cup of joe can be as little as $0.25. There, the people do not care what label is on the outside of their disposable coffee cup. Coffee has become so overly mass-produced and the prices have become so low that farmers are struggling to keep up with this growing demand. With this, more and more forests have had to be cut down to accommodate the expanding coffee farms.
ReplyDeleteFish farming has also spun out of control. Fish species like salmon have been genetically modified to create super-sized fish, called “Frankenfish.” These farmed fish compete and beat out the natural fish species, decreasing the number of wild fish in the waters surrounding these farms. Fish species have been rapidly decreasing and changing. The swordfish use to be at least 12 feet long. Today, the swordfish is only 5 feet. As well, there are only 12% of the global sharks left in the world.
After these lectures, I feel a strengthened need to purchase fair trade coffee and other items and local fish. Now that I am more educated on the types of fish to buy, farmed and wild, I need to practice this when buying fish and when going to restaurants. I need to educate myself on the stores and restaurants that serve these fair trade and well produced products. I hope that more people will educate themselves on these issues.
I also thought that it was extremely interesting to learn about Joe Trumpeys home. He is a great example of what one person can do to help the environment. However, I think that his story is slightly discouraging to the students. For the average person, his efforts are far too extreme or difficult. Not every person has the time or the funds to physically design and build their own homes. As well, raising and breeding as many animals as he does it quite difficult. I think that the average person needs to take small aspects of what he has done and slowly incorporate them into their lives.
Paula Schubatis
ReplyDelete10/29/10
Section 4
(Lectures 10/25 and 10/27)
The documentary we saw this week in lecture was a little jarring. Living in the United States, we are disguised from the origin of our objects: how and where they are made. There is a great disconnect which exists about an object and where it comes from. When I buy, for example, a desk lamp, I just think of it as a lamp, and accept that I don’t know where it came from, how it works, where/how it is assembled, or who it was made by. I had no idea that these almost post-apocalyptic scenes existed; huge factories, beached oil liners, waste lands full of trash. The documentary complimented the Culture Jam reading nicely; the media and our distorted forms of representation are ultimately responsible for brainwashing us into an ongoing state of consumerism which reinforces this activity.
I thought that learning about Joe’s personal life was interesting. I can see why he is so passionate about the environment, all of his studies thus far have made him hyper aware of how human activity effects the environment. I thought it was great that he also practices what he preaches. It is amazing to see that his whole house was largely constructed by him and his family, and that he only eats foods that come from his farm. It is a completely different life than most of us live. It is nice to see that some people still are so involved in the cultivation of their own food, and maintain contact with where and how their objects that they use everyday are made.
This past week's focus on mass accumulation of objects while enlightening, does not seem very productive to me. In cataloguing all of my things I realized how dependent I am on essentially disposable items to function in my everyday life. Basically all of the things I own are from outside of the United States and will end up in a landfill. However upsetting it is to think about the origins and fate of the hundreds of items I use and own, I wonder what just thinking about it really accomplishes. Instead of dwelling on what we have, why aren't we coming up with solutions to the issue of consumption.
ReplyDeleteI came across a website started by treehugger.com founder Graham Hill where he tackles this issue head on, lifeedited.treehugger.com. Hill believes that in order to reduce our environmental impact we need to have less stuff and live in smaller spaces. His plan is to take a 420 square foot apartment and is challenging designers to make it comfortable, sustainable, and fashionable too. His goal is to encourage people to propose, discuss and evaluate designs and in doing so inspire people to consider small living spaces. I think actually making changes and challenging the current systems makes much more sense than just thinking about our mistakes.
I was really entertained by Joe Trumpey day this Wednesday. He really stands behind his word of what he speaks about in lecture. That house was an emblem of true dedication, I don’t know of anyone else who has made their own house, putting so much time in to it. It’s great that his house is run completely off the grid, solar power and golf cart batteries. I’m amazed at the tens of thousands of dollars it would have taken for DTE to install power lines in his house, so it’s great that he stuck it to the man and did it his own way. Maybe a field trip is in order for traveling to his house. I think it’s great that almost all of the labor (save the cranes needed to install the pine wood beams) was either from his family or from volunteers. I’m also impressed by how much of his food comes from his own farm. I’m not sure I’d be able to do that for eating meat, as I’d have a hard time eating a cow that I was just getting to know. I think it’s cool that Joe’s wife had an entire cellar donated to canning, but I think I’d get tired of eating canned food. It’s interesting to realize that they have to eat canned food due to the growing seasons, since normally at a grocery store I can get any food at any time of the year due to airplanes. I was also really impressed by all of Joe’s medical illustration work, and I’m fascinated with its volume. I take it that Joe is not one to sit around all day watching television. Inspiring stuff.
ReplyDeleteJames
ReplyDeleteI really like the video that we watched in lecture. On a surface level, I found the large manmade landscapes (especially the tangle of highways) to be fascinating and even sometimes beautiful. I was amazed by the size of the large factory, and community that appeared to be centered around it. I wasn't so stunned at the practicality or reality of such a huge building but rather that so many people came together under that one roof and that it supplied so many jobs to so many people. It seems that in a country with a population as large as China places such as this are necessary to employ large amounts of people and also supply large amounts of the products that they use.
I was a little bit relieved to see that the people who worked the trash & salvage jobs were happy and found ways to enjoy their work. Maybe they were just happy to be on camera but they seemed to be content. While the larger issue at hand is still a problem, I always pictured the people who dealt with it as depressed and sick, and I am glad that I got a different picture form that video.
The large highway was what I found beautiful in that film. I wonder if intersections/entrance & exit ramps couldn't be designed with an artistic purpose in mind. The flow of traffic along the roads adds a great element, and I'm sure that it could be exploited in an artistic purpose, even if efficiency was sacrificed.
Melis Agabigum
ReplyDeleteADPIII-004
30 October 2010
Weekly Statement 4
I was highly impressed by Joe’s lecture on his life and his family. I knew that he was accomplished and qualified to teach us this course, but after lecture on Wednesday, I have a whole new respect for him.
His vast knowledge in art is inspiring and encourages me to explore areas of my life that I have not explored yet. His education and the cultural experiences that he has gained from traveling all over the world makes me have a better understanding about making connections and broadening horizons.
The amount of time and energy that he and his wife put into building their home and making it eco-efficient is so impressive. After lecture, I researched some of the things that he and his wife did: i.e. straw insulation and adobe walls. The dedication that it takes to build a self-sustaining household just baffles me. Living in a garage for over a year to accomplish all that needs to be done shows true dedication for helping the environment. I am inspired to have an energy efficient household. I did not even know it was possible in this day and age to life efficiently without giving up necessities such as heat and running water. After Wednesday’s lecture, I know this is in fact possible and extremely cost efficient.
Elaine Czech
ReplyDelete30 October 2010
ARTDES 250: SEC 4
Edward Burtynsky is an example of the modern artist using his work to make a difference. Burtynsky uses his work to show the destruction that occurs when we over indulge in our desires. Much like other ecovention artists, Burtynsky hopes to bring about ecological change.
With the film-Manufactured Landscapes, Burtynsky’s message is able to reach a wider audience. The film also allows more people to understand the work that he is doing. Manufactured Landscape focuses on China, just one of the areas Burtynsky has photographed. China’s manufacturing, along with its position as a world power, has been rapidly inclining. Of course while there are many good things that come with their growing there are lots of negatives. Burtynsky is able to show many of the downfalls that have occurred. The film shows the awful working conditions that face many of the employees working in the manufacturing industry.
In thinking about this I recall a story I saw in the news about trapped Chinese miners. Even after the wide broadcasting of the Chilean efforts to rescue their miners, China did not even broadcast their own mine collapse on their national news. China is known also for having the most dangerous mining industry in the world (Associated Press). Once word surfaced about the collapse and that the trapped miners where found dead, the media was furious at the government. Chinese mines, unlike the Chilean ones do not have emergency shelters and thus do not have access to food, water or rescue equipment (Moore).
As China moves forward as a country some of the more not so pleasant treatments of their industry workers become more present too. If China hopes to become a leading power in the world they need to improve the quality of working conditions so as not to be putting people in harms path.
Works Cited
Associated Press. China's turn for mine rescue: 16 trapped, but news media silent. 17 October 2010. 30 October 2010 .
Moore, Malcolm. Chinese anger at 37 coal mine deaths. 19 October 2010. 30 October 2010 .
Liz Ritenour
ReplyDeleteADP III
Weekly Statement
The video we watched about e-waste and China was perhaps the most important aspect of lectures this week. E-waste is a term that has come into use more recently. I have encountered it before but I have never really thought about what it is. It is a new concept regarding waste, which is a frightening thing because it means that we now have new ways of polluting the earth. Amid all the frantic efforts to save the planet and slow its seemingly inevitable destruction, we are now inadvertently creating new and detrimental means of polluting the planet, at the same time. E-waste is the remains of electronic equipment after it is disposed of. I have always wondered what we are really supposed to do with broken or unwanted electronics. Personally, it has always seemed odd to throw them away because they are made of so many different materials and they are so expensive that putting them in the trash does not seem to make sense. However, I end up just hoarding unnecessary broken electronics and never doing anything with them. Clearly, most people do just throw them away, and this results in the images we saw in the video. It is shocking how people essentially live with these massive piles of waste. We usually do not have a very accurate sense of waste volumes because our concept of landfills is a fluid one. We know that they exist and we know the statistics of how much waste is in a land fill, but we do not often see them or really grasp their enormity. In this film we were basically seeing un-covered landfills. For the first time, we were really seeing what exactly massive piles of trash look like and how much waste must really go into them. It is especially alarming how often we go through electronics. Many of them are purposely built to break easily or fail quickly, whether for the purpose of getting people to buy more, or because electronics are updated so frequently that consumers will quickly want new versions. Either way, we are producing and consuming electronics faster than we can keep up with, but we do not seem to know what to do with them afterward, and the last thing that the earth needs now is a new form of pollution.
Weekly Statement
ReplyDeleteEliana Gershon
I was really inspired by today's lecture about Joe Trumpey's house, background, and life. At first I did not see the relevancy of hearing about Trumpey's background, but I soon realized that it was incredibly beneficial. Stories of his life and accomplishments caused taught me about the impact one individual can truly have on the world.
Trumpey's house was astonishing. He brought a whole new meaning to the term "environmentally sound" by creating a completely self-sustained house--it really is possible! The house is powered by electricity generated from golf cart batteries, is built out of straw and other natural materials,and his family even eats primarily produce and meat grow on the farm.
Learning about his life experiences and work in developing third world countries and under-privileged societies did not only show once again how one can make a difference, but also how beneficial it can be to understand and appreciate various cultures, lifestyles, and peoples from around the globe. Knowledge like that is what most Americans could use to teach them a thing or two about preserving resources and over consumption.
Overall, the lecture inspired me to spend more time abroad and rethink how I want to perceive my life 10-20 years from now.
Hannah Ryou
ReplyDeleteWatching ‘Manufactured Landscapes’ in class made me horrified at the vast amount of waste accumulating in places that are not within visibility and made me think a lot about disposable or single-use products. What struck me as strange was that the objects that made these mountains of waste (for example, e-waste, tires, film etc.) are not even intended for ‘single-use’. And if there is this much waste from products that are used more than once, I can’t imagine how much more disposable/single-use waste there must be out there. Think of how much packaging, bottles, napkins, tampons, cups etc. there must be accumulating every single day! It’s monstrous.
I remember my grandmother telling me that in her days, all babies used cloth diapers instead of the plastic ones used today. They washed, disinfected, and reused those cloths. It may sound unsanitary and unappetizing, but just the sound of it is much more eco-friendly, not negatively affecting the planet with every use.
Ten years ago, I was allowed to call the spare computer that we had at home, as my own. Compared to our standards today, this desktop was gargantuan, extremely slow, had a limited, obviously synthetic color palette, and fonts that were tacky and ancient. But I loved that thing. Fast-forward ten years, I am writing this response on the newest edition MacBook Pro, which functions as quick as a hiccup and is so convenient that I can’t imagine living without it. And it makes me realize, we as a society, have sacrificed sustainability in the name of convenience and have lost the ability to enjoy simple things in this rush of technological mass production.
Going back to the thought of single-use/disposable products, I am realizing that in our world today, there is little or no distinction between a normal product and a disposable product. Normal products that are intended for multiple to long term use will never be used to their full life potential because newer, faster, better products will replace them without hesitation.
Even a few years ago, having a cell phone meant using it until it died. There was a clear difference between how long one would use a cell phone and how long one would use a disposable camera (long term vs. single- use). Now, that is no longer the case. Everything is disposed quickly, rapidly replaced, resulting in the ‘manufactured landscapes’ that we saw. The future is quite daunting.