Event Post: LASER Boston: Climate Visions
Email Confirmation: Screenshot of Registration. Personal Photograph.
On April 28th, 2022, I attended the LASER Boston talk entitled “Climate Visions,” which focused on art projects aiming to raise awareness as to the pertinent issue of climate change. I found Marie Griesmar’s sustainable coral reef project to be particularly interesting. Griesmar et al. created a human-built coral reef structure out of clay, a material which is highly compatible with the structure of coral reefs found in nature. This artificial reef was completed on 19 September 2021, with a “volume of about 10 cubic meters, this reef already provides ample space and feeding ground for fish, and plenty of settling spots for corals” (Marie Griesmar et al. 1). Currently, climate change and anthropogenic activity have led to the destruction of coral reefs worldwide. For instance, climate change and human activities have led to coral bleaching, destruction of coral reefs through activities (i.e., tourism, clearing of coastal land for urban and residential development), and the endangerment/extinction of species which inhabit coral reefs through rising temperatures and changing weather and climate patterns. Solutions such as an artificial “rrreef” to help restore the habitat for corals and marine life can help mitigate this issue. Coral reef destruction due to climate change is an issue I am passionate about; I have studied this extensively and recently gave a speech on this issue in my Communications 1 course. It was fascinating to learn about a solution to this pertinent issue through art and technology.
Our pilot reef is reality
Rrreefs project design: Our pilot reef is reality. Reference: photo from https://www.rrreefs.com/
High fish diversity after a short time
Rrreefs project design: High fish diversity after a short time. Reference: photo from https://www.rrreefs.com/
I also enjoyed hearing Xavier Cortada’s presentation within this LASER Boston talk. Cortada’s project Underwater HOA “is a participatory art project that depicts South Florida’s vulnerability to sea-level rise” (Xavier Cortada 1). Unfortunately, sea-level rise in low elevation, coastal regions (i.e., Florida) is another detrimental effect that climate change due to anthropogenic activity has had. This is an issue that I have not heard too much about in the global news or media, yet it is an important and relevant issue in the society of today. Cortada’s project Underwater HOA and his murals (pictured below) help to raise awareness of this significant issue through a universal method of communication: art.
Xavier Cortada, “Underwater HOA: Marker 8,” 2018. Reference: photo from https://cortada.com/art2018/underwaterhoa/underwater-hoa-about/
"Xavier Cortada, “Wading Birds,” hand-painted ceramic tile, 2014. A public art project at Stirrup Plaza (Miami-Dade Housing Authority), Miami, FL.” Reference: photo from https://cortada.com/art2014/wading-birds/
Within the LASER talk, Andrea Polli also shared her design of “WindStax,” (Polli 1), devices which can act as mini-wind turbines to power electrical devices (i.e., lights on a bridge). This is an important application of art and technology to climate science and renewable energy, as larger wind turbines may not always be feasible. The talk concluded with Mark Subbareo sharing his visualizations of climate change, which included an illustration of climate change over time as a spiral getting wider and wider. I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to attend this fascinating LASER talk discussing Climate Visions; this is a fantastic example of the intersection between art, science, and technology.
Works Cited
Cortada, Xavier. “Home - Xavier Cortada.” Xavier Cortada, Xavier Cortada, 19 May 2022,
https://cortada.com/.
Cortada, Xavier. “Xavier Cortada, ‘Underwater HOA: Marker 8,’ 2018.” Xavier Cortada Art:
About, Xavier Cortada, Online, 2021, https://cortada.com/art2018/underwaterhoa/underwater-hoa-about/. Accessed 28 May 2022.
Cortada, Xavier. “Xavier Cortada, Xavier Cortada, “Wading Birds,” hand-painted ceramic tile, 2014. A public art project at Stirrup Plaza (Miami-Dade Housing Authority), Miami, FL.” Xavier Cortada Art: About, Xavier Cortada, Online, 2021, https://cortada.com/art2018/underwaterhoa/underwater-hoa-about/. Accessed 28 May 2022.
Email Confirmation: Screenshot of Registration. 28 April 2022.
Griesmar, Marie, et al. “Rrreefs Project Design: High fish diversity after a short time.”
Rrreefs.com: Rrreefs: Rethinking, Rebuilding, Regenerating, Rrreefs, Online, 2021, https://www.rrreefs.com/. Accessed 28 May 2022.
Griesmar, Marie, et al. “Rrreefs Project Design: Our Pilot Reef Is Reality.” Rrreefs.com: Rrreefs:
Rethinking, Rebuilding, Regenerating, Rrreefs, Online, 2021, https://www.rrreefs.com/. Accessed 28 May 2022.
Griesmar, Marie, et al. “Rrreefs: Rethinking, Rebuilding, Regenerating.” Rrreefs, Rrreefs, 2021,
https://www.rrreefs.com/.
Griesmar, Marie, et al. Rrreefs Project Design: Our Pilot Reef Is Reality. Online, 2021.
Polli, Andrea. “Andrea Polli.” Google Sites: Andrea Polli, Andrea Polli,
https://sites.google.com/andreapolli.com/main/andrea-polli.
Polli, Andrea, et al., directors. LASER Talks in Boston: Climate Visions. Leonardo/The
International Center for Art, Science, and Technology (ISAST) Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous (LASER) Talks: LASER Talks in Boston: Climate Visions, Leonardo: The International Center for Art, Science, and Technology/With Arizona State University, 28 Apr. 2022, https://leonardo.info/laser-talks. Accessed 27 May 2022.
Riegl, Bernhard et al. “Coral reefs: threats and conservation in an era of global change.” Annals
of the New York Academy of Sciences vol. 1162 (2009): 136-86. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04493.x
Subbarao, Mark U. “Bio - Mark U Subbarao.” NASA, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA): Goddard Space Flight Center, 2022, https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sed/bio/mark.u.subbarao.
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