Organograph

ORGANIZATION NAME: Chico MacMurtrie Studio

SUMMARY: Organograph is a proposed kinetic public sculpture, which illustrates in a simple manner the mechanisms of climate change. Organograph responds to the critical need for communities around the world to understand the significance of individual action as an important contribution to the solution of this global problem.

PROBLEM SPACE: “Organograph intends to draw public attention to climate change, and inspire a sense of empowerment to alter the dynamics. It illustrates, in a simple manner, the intangible mechanisms that govern the earth’s carbon cycle and displays how humans are changing that cycle, causing the planet to warm.

Organograph combines a model of the earth’s carbon cycle, a long time-frame clock, an incubating plant green house, and an organic global temperature and CO2 graph into an artwork with an impactful message. Organograph is designed to encourage behavior change by empowering people to close the loop in understanding the processes of global climate change and the connection between their actions and the impacts they have on the environment.

Through direct engagement with the sculpture, event programming, an online interface, and educational outreach program, different communities, interest groups, and generations will engage with Organograph, learn from it, and invest in their own future.

One of Organograph’s foundational aspects is to create roots in the community by integrating learning opportunities in schools, outreach programs for adults, and research programs for universities.”

SOLUTION: “Organograph was conceived as a public kinetic sculpture for the Diridon Station area redevelopment in downtown San Jose, Calif., as part of the Climate Clock international public art competition. The 100-ft.-tall mobile sculpture reproduced the carbon cycle using physical, virtual, empirical, and metaphorical elements. Set in a garden, the sculpture would invite visitors to explore various biomes and climate data. The project was awarded “winning design model” in 2010. However, funding for the project stalled, and we have been adapting the vision to different implementation scenarios with room for adjustment for different budgets.
Our desire is to creatively combine science, art, and technology, and education to illustrate the mechanisms climate change and inspire positive action. While Organograph’s creators are based in San Francisco and New York, Organograph can be implemented anywhere in the world. An 11 foot, 1/8 scale model of Organograph will be exhibited in different cities to promote the vision and find partners to build and implement a bigger version. In addition, we propose to develop an interactive web portal with capacity for data modeling, individual behavioral games, social media, simulations, and educational tools.”

CONTACT: http://amorphicrobotworks.org/contact/