First Coast Register August/September 2015 | Page 37

TALLAHASSEE ARTIST
INCORPORATES JAXPORT
RESEARCH INTO
MOCA MURAL
by DENIS REAGAN / MOCA JACKSONVILLE

In “Cargomobilities,” a new site-specific work in the “Project Atrium” series at the Museum of
Contemporary Art Jacksonville, a cultural resource of the University of North Florida, Tallahasseebased painter Joelle Dietrick produces a multilayered mural of paint and adhesive fabric to present
a modern day commentary about the interconnectedness of macro economies and micro systems.
Fascinated with geolocation data for cargo ships and shipping containers, the artist employs a glitch
art aesthetic that allows her to analyze, recode, manipulate, and visualize data into a pulsating scene
of cranes, cargo ships and houses. Like the frenzied pace of information flow at the Jacksonville
Port Authority (JaxPort), “Cargomobilities” is a continuous, rapid, networked, and energy-dense
temporary painting.
As part of her research, Dietrick also toured JaxPort, the eighteenth largest port in the nation and
sixth largest port on the East coast when measured in 20-foot containers (20-foot equivalent unit,
or TEUs).
“The scale of the men working set against the boats and containers was extraordinary,” Dietrick
told MOCA Jacksonville. “I was able to see the larger systems at work and their relationships to
individual people.”
“Project Atrium: Joelle Dietrick” opened to the public on July 18 and continues through Oct. 25.
Learn more at www.mocajacksonville.org.

First Coast Register | August - September 2015 37