An Ecological Focus on Artistic Visualization
Eco Visualization: Aesthetics for Sustainability is the title of an
April, 2013 article by Juliet Helmke exploring eco visualization, a genre of art that aims to educate and influence consumer behavior by presenting ecological data in a manner that can be 'observed' instead of 'read'. The underlying assumption is that interpreting data through color and form, making it kinetic, or giving it physicality can greatly enhance its affecting power. Helmke mentions four artists featured in TO LIFE!: Joseph Beuys, Michael Mandiberg, HeHe, and Mierle Laderman Ukeles.
Visualization is an age-old component of fine art. In the past, artists have visualized the glory of the gods, the brutality of war, the wholesome life of the peasant, the corruption of politics, etc. It is the prefix 'eco' which defines the contemporary 'focus'.
Tiffany Holmes is credited with inventing the term ‘eco-visualization’ in 2005. Holmes’ own project, “7000 Oaks and Counting” makes reference to an iconic remedial art work art by Joseph Beuys in which he invited citizens to participate in the planting of 7,000 oaks, inspiring symbols of resilience and longevity. Beuys paired each tree with a four-foot high basalt stone column. The last tree was planted in 1987, but Beuys intended the project to extend throughout the world to promote urban renewal and awareness of environmental jeopardy.
Holmes’s artwork consists of a touch-screen kiosk situated in the lobby of a campus building at the University of Illinois. An animation of dynamic energy loads is visualized as a circular image that consistes of rings of oak trees. When carbon loads are low, the trees to spin slowly with healthy, lush foliage. When carbon loads peak, the foliage is replaced by hair dryers, toasters, light bulbs, coffeepots, and light switches that spin furiously.