Aquifer Billboards: An international design
A Water Wheel: The Los Angeles River was once
award was recently presented to artist Richard
a source of water for local residents, but is now just
Vijgen, who mounted an electronic display of
a concrete flood control channel. Artist Lauren
images from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Bon of Annenberg’s Metabolic Studio has received
Experiment (GRACE) in the midst of New York’s
approval to construct one of the nation’s largest
Times Square for an entire month. GRACE consists waterwheels on a section of the river as a tribute to
of two satellites that track fluctuating groundwater
the many waterwheels of the 1800s. In addition to
levels worldwide on the basis of small gravitational
its artistic and historic significance, La Noria will
changes. Perceptions gained from this type of
actually deliver treated water to feed a small stream
public art and graphic design permit people a realand to irrigate a large park located along the river.
time recognition and visualization of how climatic
The waterwheel is part of a revitalization plan to
and hydrologic patterns (both spatial and temporal) restore riverine habitats and to draw attention to
directly influence the water beneath their feet.
LA’s dependence on scarce water resources.
Personal Water:
Planetary Images:
Whereas the use of
NASA’s Applied
patterns and rhythms
Sciences Program
to communicate
displays satellite
art, music, or
images of earth
dance is relatively
in a recent art
straightforward,
book, Earth as Art,
the use of spatial or
prompting people
temporal patterns to
to look more closely
represent scientific
at the earth and to
data is not. Fernanda
ask themselves how
Viegas and Martin
nature was able to
Wattenberg create
create such intricate
data visualizations,
patterns. The colors
such as their wind
in every image are
map, using patterns
spectacular as a
and layers that
result of computer
feature entry points
enhancements that
for viewers, thus
highlight specific
facilitating both
wavelengths of
their interest in
emi