Climate Clock Proposal
submitted May 2008
THE ENVIRO-ELEMENTAL ARCHIVE
Lead artist Danielle Siembieda
illustrations by Xiaoqing Jing and Danielle Siembieda
OVERVIEW
The proposed starts out in the form of a vertical X with each side containing 25 palettes built into the structure like a set of drawers. From the start of the sculpture the inside of each palette is not visible. On the winter solstice of each year one palette is opened and exposed to the environment. Throughout the year a random sample of environmental debris is collected such as pollen, dust, insects, bird prints, water, etc…The eve of the following winter solstice the palette is sealed with a semi permanent glass and placed on display on a horizontal structure at eye level so that the audience can observe an archive of the environment for that year. Each year a new palette is opened and shifted to the top of the structure and the above actions take place. The cycle of moving palettes from the bottom to the top is four years. After 100 years all palettes will be laid out on the horizontal X platform completely changing the sculpture from a horizontal to vertical. The end result will be a comparison of the environmental debris in the same location and same height over 100 years. The contents can be opened and analyzed. The ideal location of the piece would be in a nature park area or an area with limited building.
FORMAL DESIGN
The formal design of the proposed embodies the outside structural bronze metal that parallels historic iconic statues. Its monolithic size creates both an alterative space for the audience and serves as a landmark for San Jose that can be seen from satellite images forming a giant vertical X. The birds etched into the sides of the sculpture are silhouettes of local birds species. As the flight up and are removed it is symbolic of the change in the environment.
The horizontal end layout will change the sculpture completely and the formal constant will be that of a museum aesthetic revealing the hidden treasure of each bronze palette. The inside collections will be transient adding to the diversity of the horizontal X. On the shorter side of the outside casing will be engraved the year of that collection. Having the horizontal laid out at eye level changes the perspective of the audience to a more participatory experience.
MEASUREMENT OF CLIMATE CHANGE
This sculpture measures climate change in a similar manner to dendrochronology or paleoclimatology. Each year a sampling of the surrounding environment is collected at random. What comes into the palette can enter by falling, flying, jumping, crawling, landing or being thrown in. The most important function of the palette is the material that is inside of it. Layers of material will be placed to capture different sorts of debris. Some of those layers will be porous, carbon based, preserving and non-toxic. It is assumed that water will fall in. In this case there will be a layer to capture liquid forms. Once the material is a collected archeologist, climatologists, can then analyze it. Since there is no determination to what data will be useful in the future this collection assures at the very least a physical archive of the past.
Other measures of time include the patina and oxidation of the bronze. The daily change is indicated by a cast shadow and the physical change of the surrounding city.
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