Tiffany Holmes.
Associate Professor, Chair, Department Art and Technology Studies, School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Media Artist, USA
Teaching:
http://www.tiffanyholmes.com/Teaching/
Academic Affiliation:
http://www.saic.edu
Eco-visualization: Designing Software and Technology to Promote Sustainability through Resource Conservation
About the Research
Can media art trigger more ecologically responsible behaviour? In
the proposed dissertation, the author will provide a theoretical argument
that the philosophy of sustainability, when combined with media art,
which visualizes the real time usage of key resources, offers new
strategies to improve attitudes toward nature in urban work environments.
The author suggests that daily visual feedback from site-based media
art can elevate understanding of resource consumption patterns and
possibly increase conservation behaviour in resident populations in
the workplace. As proof-of-practice, the author will design a dynamic
animation to display the amount of kilowatts of electricity being
used per minute, hour and day in the National Centre for Supercomputing
Applications (NCSA). The author will also track the amount of chilled
water and steam used hourly and daily in the NCSA building as these
variables add to the overall amount of electricity consumed. This
data-driven animation will be sited in the central lobby; the target
audience is the NCSA building residents and visitors. A public display
offers a new alternative to the remote electricity meters concealed
in dark basements or utility closets. Through analysis of practical
information collected over the course of eighteen months as well as
theoretical research into the psychology of consumption and attitudes
toward nature, the author will determine whether data-driven visualizations
of resource usage can improve attitudes toward environmental stewardship
in the workplace or perhaps even increase the residents’ conservation
behaviour.
About the Researcher
Holmes’ installation work explores the potential of technology
to promote positive environmental stewardship. She lectures and exhibits
worldwide in these venues: J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, Digital
Salon ’99, Viper in Switzerland, Next 1.0 in Sweden, Siggraph
2000, World@rt in Denmark, Interaction ’01 in Japan, ISEA Nagoya.
A recipient of the Michigan Society of Fellows research fellowship
in 1998, Holmes recently earned an Illinois Arts Council individual
grant and an Artists-in-Labs residency award in Switzerland. Holmes
is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Art and Technology
at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she teaches courses
in environmental art, interactivity and the history and theory of
electronic media. More information: www.tiffanyholmes.com
In cooperation with
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