Gentry September 2010 : Page 140
giving Pigeon Bloggers and PollutionWaterfalls Nina Brentlinger reports on the 01SJ and their Biennial celebration of creativity, fusing art, technology, and digital culture. exhibits and 20 live performances featured at the 3rd annual 01SJ Biennial, hosted by the city of San Jose and ZERO1, a nonprofit arts organization encouraging creativity at the intersection of art, technology, and digital culture. Curated by Artistic Director Steve Dietz, the 01SJ Biennial is a multi-disciplinary, contemporary fes-tival showcasing art events and exhibits produced by artists, designers, engineers, filmmakers, marketers, data miners, archi-tects, nonprofit organizations, and corporations around the world. From public art and street celebrations to film and symposiums, the vast array of exhibitions at the 01SJ Biennial are unified by the overarching idea that artists can act as change-agents in the world through the use of technologies in their artwork. Many examples of the festival’s focus on the nexus of art, technol-W device on a computer board weighing less than six ounces.When the “PigeonBlogger” was released to return to its coop, the pollu-tion device captured pollution levels and used GPS coordinates to associate the levels with the correct location. This information was sent in real time back to the home base. This year, one of the highly anticipated projects is Andrea Polli and Chuck Varga’s “Particle Falls.” Dismayed by Santa Clara County’s failing grade for air quality in the American Lung Association’s 2009 State of the Air Report, Polli and Varga devised a real time visualization of particulate pol-lution in the San Fernando Corridor using the latest laser projection technology. Modern sensors detect tiny particulate pollution levels in real time using laser light scattering, pro-ducing a waterfall-like effect that is both beautifully intriguing and terribly unsettling. In a world that is reliant on technology, the 01SJ Biennial stands as a reminder that con-What You Can Do: • Attend the 3rd 01SJ Biennial, taking place September 16 – 19, 2010. temporary art’s importance reaches beyond attractive aesthetics.As Steve Dietz writes, “In the face of global climate change, economic meltdown, political instability, and cultural divisiveness, the future is not just about what’s next. It’s about how we,as resourceful,innovative,and knowl-edgeable citizens can build and participate in a desirable future.” The Biennial will take place in various locations throughout • Consider becoming a volunteer docent, or email info@zero1.org for volunteer opportunities throughout the year. 140 GENTRY | SEPTEMBER 2010 | www.gentrymagazine.com Silicon Valley, extending beyond the classic gallery,museum, and typical artistic spaces. The focal point will be housed in the San Jose Convention Center’s 80,000-square-foot South Hall and throughout downtown San Jose.www.01sj.org s ogy, and digital culture find inspiration in pollution.For the 1st 01SJ Biennial in 2006, Beatriz da Costa and colleagues created a “blog-ging backpack” for pigeons comprised of a cell phone, pollution sensor, and a GPS hat if we asked pigeons to blog about their personal experience with pollution levels? What would invisible particulate pollution look like if it weren’t invisible? What if the ripening of tomatoes could be depicted musically? These are just a few of the inspirations behind over 100
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<b>Pigeon Bloggers and PollutionWaterfalls</b><br /> <br /> What if we asked pigeons to blog about their personal experience with pollution levels? What would invisible particulate pollution look like if it weren’t invisible? What if the ripening of tomatoes could be depicted musically? <br /> These are just a few of the inspirations behind over 100 exhibits and 20 live performances featured at the 3rd annual 01SJ Biennial, hosted by the city of San Jose and ZERO1, a nonprofit arts organization encouraging creativity at the intersection of art, technology, and digital culture. Curated by Artistic Director Steve Dietz, the 01SJ Biennial is a multi-disciplinary, contemporary festival showcasing art events and exhibits produced by artists, designers, engineers, filmmakers, marketers, data miners, architects, nonprofit organizations, and corporations around the world. From public art and street celebrations to film and symposiums, the vast array of exhibitions at the 01SJ Biennial are unified by the overarching idea that artists can act as change-agents in the world through the use of technologies in their artwork.<br /> <br /> Many examples of the festival’s focus on the nexus of art, technology, and digital culture find inspiration in pollution. For the 1st 01SJ Biennial in 2006, Beatriz da Costa and colleagues created a “blogging backpack” for pigeons comprised of a cell phone, pollution sensor, and a GPS device on a computer board weighing less than six ounces.When the “PigeonBlogger” was released to return to its coop, the pollution device captured pollution levels and used GPS coordinates to associate the levels with the correct location. This information was sent in real time back to the home base.<br /> <br /> This year, one of the highly anticipated projects is Andrea Polli and Chuck Varga’s “Particle Falls.” Dismayed by Santa Clara County’s failing grade for air quality in the American Lung Association’s 2009 State of the Air Report, Polli and Varga devised a real time visualization of particulate pollution in the San Fernando Corridor using the latest laser projection technology. Modern sensors detect tiny particulate pollution levels in real time using laser light scattering, producing a waterfall-like effect that is both beautifully intriguing and terribly unsettling.<br /> <br /> In a world that is reliant on technology, the 01SJ Biennial stands as a reminder that contemporary art’s importance reaches beyond attractive aesthetics. As Steve Dietz writes, “In the face of global climate change, economic meltdown, political instability, and cultural divisiveness, the future is not just about what’s next. It’s about how we, as resourceful, innovative, and knowledgeable citizens can build and participate in a desirable future.” <br /> <br /> The Biennial will take place in various locations throughout Silicon Valley, extending beyond the classic gallery, museum, and typical artistic spaces. The focal point will be housed in the San Jose Convention Center’s 80,000-square-foot South Hall and throughout downtown San Jose. Www.01sj.org
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