Powering A Nation
Here is a project developed by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to both educate the public and to provide a forum for interaction about the interconnectivity of established practices involving the oil industry. I think the Flash-based animation is a very effective way to present this information, most of which we have seen in other text-based formats. It is presented as a way for others to tell their stories as a journalistic initiative.
Comments
And I realized something. People don't need more information. What they need is less information that speaks more powerfully to them.
So, this site about powering a nation was great. It had tons of info and presented so many stories. And yet, I found myself, wondering how this information could be presented in a more powerful way. I'd like to see these ideas brought into interactive spaces much like Woolworth and Davies have done. Or, building off of Morton's Heilig's ideas about inhabitable movies, for that matter.
So, I guess this is a place for artists to step in. They can help people begin to embody experiences that they have previously only read about. Rather than just read about global warming refugees, or even watch videos about these events, how can we make these experiences feel even more real? Is there a way to help people feel more connected to others across the world? People don't need to know all of the facts and figures. They need to have experiences that move them deeply so that they feel compelled to act or recognize their own place within the whole.