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Sensing Change

A yearlong initiative exploring the interconnections between art, science, and our changing environment.

June 2013–July 2014

Sensing Change featured an exhibition highlighting the work of eight contemporary artists and interviews with nine scientists whose work intersects with issues surrounding climate change.

Art

See our environment—its vitality and vulnerability—with fresh eyes. The work of eight contemporary artists in Sensing Change invites us to consider the local, global, and cultural implications of living in our changing world by presenting new visions of the threats, opportunities, and upheavals we face. Inspired by scientific investigation, historical accounts, and direct observation, the art in this exhibition explores not only daily shifts in our environment but also long-term climate change.

Hear the artists behind Sensing Change through video interviews and other media. See their studios and learn how artists work with scientific data and scientists to create art that responds to our changing climate.

Particle Falls

A large-scale, real-time visualization of air-quality data that draws our attention to the invisible particles surrounding us.

HighWaterLine

A performance piece tracing a chalk line through neighborhoods increasingly threatened by flooding.

Estuary/Toxi•City

A large-format book and digital video installation examining the past, present, and future of waterways like the Delaware and Thames rivers.
8 prints of water and glaciers

Waters, Glaciers, and Bucks

A series of eight photographic prints demonstrating the local and global effects of climate change.
installation of dated water bottles

Calendar of Rain

A yearlong visual record of precipitation collected in bottles labeled with the collection date.
illustration of a map of the US

Wind Map

A digital map displaying wind speeds and patterns across the U.S., with updates made every hour.
view of tree root installation

Uprooted

Two papier-mâché sets of roots draw attention to what is usually unseen: the root systems of trees.

Village Green

Suspended greenhouses that allowed visitors to pop their heads inside the structure to experience a worm’s-eye view of the plants within.

Scientists

Our Center for Oral History sought scientists who devote their research to better understanding what makes up our air, how it has changed over time, and how it continues to change. This collaborative group of scientists spans the globe: from Antarctica to Hawaii, their field studies and air-monitoring techniques have shed new light on the worldwide state of the air. These investigators use, modify, and create instrumentation to gain an increasingly precise view of our atmosphere. Like the artists whose work appeared in Sensing Change, these scientists use a variety of techniques and data to gain new insight—and share with a broader public—how our climate is changing.

The scientists interviewed as part of this project explored not only the details of their lives and careers but also their thoughts on how scientific data might be communicated visually, the state of atmospheric research, and what the public should know—and do—about climate change.

Ronald C. Cohen

Sometimes the hardest part of an experiment is designing the instrument. Ron Cohen says a good job means walking away.

Kenneth Davis

Do we have enough of an understanding of how the climate system works to make useful predictions and projections?

Peter DeCarlo

Do you believe in climate change or have we observed climate change? Those are two very different questions.

Jose-Luis Jimenez

What was the 1750, the preindustrial atmosphere, versus now?

Murray Johnston

What’s really important when you get down to thinking of global climate?

Alastair Lewis

We’re trying to make sure that the chemicals that are being controlled from emissions are the right ones.

Deb Niemeier

Why didn’t this experiment work? What do we need to do next? How is this model working?

A. R. Ravishankara

How do you get across that point that something you do today is going to affect somebody farther down the road?

Pieter Tans

You can ask, well, who cares if it gets a little warmer? Personally, I care.

Acknowledgements

Funders: John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Dow Chemical Company, Public Health Fund, Daniel Dietrich Foundation, Crystal Trust, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, and U.S. Trust for companion programming and event sponsorship.

Community Partners: Air Management Services, Avenue of the Arts, Clean Air Council, Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, Philly Rising Collaborative, Post Brothers Real Estate, Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, and Wilma Theater 

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