title: Gathering Lore

description: In the great Asian Tsunami of 2004 many animals knew of the impending danger. They were said to possess a sixth sense which warned them of the coming calamity that sent them searching for higher ground. Any trace that humans possess this sense is revealed in folklore:

"Frogs croak before a rain; But in the sun are quiet again."

"If the bees flay away, fine will be the day."

"No weather's ill if the wind be still."

"Catchy drawer and sticky door,
Coming rain will pour and pour."

"When leaves show their undersides, be very sure that rain betides."

Our electronic systems of gathering environmental information are not that different from the weathercocks and Cape Cod glasses of yester-year – only more precise. However, our increasing reliance on electronic sensation is dulling the remnants of our "sixth sense."

This folklore, based on observation and experience, is in essence, a dialogue with nature. It is a conversation in which we are losing fluency, perhaps even affinity for. However, the need to understand and adapt to the changing weather of our world has never been greater.

"Gathering Lore" uses real-time sensor data from a locally installed weather station to interface with a database of imagery, iconography, and text that acts as a bridge between technology and historical, cultural folklore and myth.

format: software/climate

exhibitions:

2009
"Sound in the Frying Pan"
Pier 66 Maritime, Hudson River Park
West Side Highway at 26th Street
New York City, NY

2008
"Off The Grid"
Neuberger Museum of Art
Purchase College, State University of New York NY