Robert Smithson - decay, renewal, chaos and order

Robert Smithson was one of the founders of the discipline of Land Art.
"Embodied in all of Smithson's endeavors was his interest in entropy, mapping, paradox, language, landscape, popular culture, anthropology, and natural history... Entropy, was a theme that consistently ran throughout Smithson's art and writings. He explored his ideas involving decay and renewal, chaos and order with what came to be known as his Nonsites and Earthworks. Smithson spoke at great length in interviews and essays on entropy and his notion of time. .... Partially Buried Woodshed, 1970, Kent State University, Kent State, was a piece Smithson created on site during an invitational arts festival. He located an abandoned woodshed and poured earth on to the structure until it cracked. This work is a prime example of Smithson's visualization of entropy and time, leaving it to be "subject to weathering, which should be considered part of the piece."
web site

Nancy Holt

Nancy Holt is an environmental artist, Francis found these images about one of her most famous pieces, Sun Tunnels in Utah. These simple pipes have been placed so that they have specific solar alignments and are also pierced to align with stars.

Nancy Holt sun tunnels
images
more images
See this link for further land art

algae, artificial trees and geoengineering

"Artificial trees and tubes of algae on the sides of buildings could absorb most of the UK's annual carbon dioxide emissions"
Some really interesting articles about geo-engineering strategies to absorb CO2 emissions. The Institute of Mechanical Engineers are advocating growing algae in tubes on the sides of buildings and the use of artificial 'trees'.
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers' 'battle plan' for climate change includes geo-engineering
Fake trees, algae tubes and white roofs
Ambitious plan to breed microalgae in greenhouse with the potential to absorb carbon emissions

The Beauty of Detail lecture Thursday 12th at Brookes

Elpida Hadzi-Vasileva is giving a lecture on The Beauty of Detail Thursday 12th November at 12.15 till 1pm in Willow 10, Headington Hill Campus
'She exposes the relationships between human and naturally occurring
landscapes. She develops works which resonate with a particular place, interior or exterior, often using unusual materials linked to the specific environment (butter, fish skins, chicken skins, rice, trees, fir cones, watercress). Research plays an important part in the development of her projects and she creates new methods and procedures for each work.' web site

RCA: Wake Up, Freak Out then Get a Grip

A short film by Leo Murray made at the Royal College of Art about the feedback loops likely to lead to catastrophic climate change.

film script with live links to detailed information

v2 Institute for Unstable Media

'Instead of providing us with an orderly, homogeneous worldview, unstable media present an image of a world that is inconsistent, heterogeneous, complex and variable.'
Some very relevant ideas and fascinating work - particularly interesting transagriculture project.
v2
transagriculture

Christian Moeller

Christian Moeller is an architect and artist working with different technologies to produce interactive pieces.
kinetic Light Sculpture - adaptive facade
audio park
Nosy

Andrea Polli and Joe Gilmore Airlight Taipei

'Airlight is the name given to a visible white smog caused by the illumination of fine dust particles in the air. Airlight Taipei is a networked real-time sound and visual installation using updated data from an EPA air-quality monitoring station in central Taipei indicating various air pollutant levels including sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and ozone. This data is translated into sound and imagery in real time. The result is a rhythmic pulse that transforms throughout the day.'

N. (2005) by Andrea Polli and Joe Gilmore, with weather data modeled by Dr. Patrick Market - weather data translated into sound