School of Art Newsletter Fall 07 vol. 2 issue 1

NOW: Ben Kirkby

Visual Communication Graduate student Ben Kirkby presented the digital project NaturArte: A Bi-National, Interdisciplinary Wetlands Conservation Project in Sonora, Mexico at SIGGRAPH's 34th annual conference in August 2007 as part of SIGGRAPH’s gallery exhibition titled Global Eyes. The goal of the gallery exhibition was to show work that "expands our humanity by extending our awareness of people and nature”.

Kirkby designed and produced an interactive Flash-based multimedia project which uses RSS feeds to dynamically draw itself based on current tidal conditions in the Sea of Cortez. The project features high definition digital video, still photography and audio clips from six estuaries in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico. Interactive maps of the estuaries provide a visual reference for additional information about the natural history, the ecological effects of tourist development, and the role of art in the public’s perception of our relationship to the natural world.

Video featurettes capture the images and sounds of the environment and document oyster farmers, research biologists, and conservationists, as well as UA faculty and students as they work together toward assuring sustainable usage of these wetlands.