Antarctic Animation: Gestures and Lines Describe a Changing Environment
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Antarctic Animation: Gestures and lines describe a changing environment By Lisa Roberts A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy College of Fine Arts, The University of New South Wales. October 2010 Dedication I dedicate this work with love to my children Josef and Katherine, grandchildren Joshua and Benjamin, and to my teachers Lenton Parr, Simon Pockley and Kathryn Yeo. i Abstract The need to engage the public with accurate information about climate change is urgent. Antarctica has become the focus of research for scientists and artists who seek to understand the complex forces at work. Different perceptions of Antarctica are surveyed. These perceptions are expressed through data sets, art works, dances, words, tones of voice and gestures. An iconography of primal gestural forms is iden- tified that has been used since pre-history to make visible expressions of connection to the natural world. The primary research methodology is practice-based. Interviews with expedi- tioners, online responses and improvised movement workshops are used as sources for animations and art works. Animated forms arise from circling, spiraling, and crossing gestures. These ancient choreographies describe the dynamic structures that shape the Antarctic ecosystem and reflect structures within the body through which they are generated. Animations are presented at international conferences and exhibitions of Antarc- tic arts and sciences. An online log is used to display the animations and invite responses. The responses are evaluated. Archetypal gestural forms are found to expand the meaning of climate change data. Recognition of these primal forms (as body knowledge) is found to add a dimension of meaning to scientific information that is an essential component of accurate communication. ii Contents Dedication i Abstract ii Acknowledgments vi Declaration vii How to read the thesis viii Chapter 1. Introduction 1 Imagining a different view 1 Problems of perception 7 An animated response 7 Overview of the study 8 Chapter 2. Perceptions 9 Aesthetic balance 9 Believing is seeing 11 Icons of place and time 14 Images of deception 18 Relationships laid bare 22 Arctic reflections 27 Planar and global geometries 30 Chapter 3. ...towards an iconography 32 We are ourselves nature 33 Desperate flows of methane 36 Changes in the ocean 38 Beauty and biomass 40 Satellite views 43 The body draws lines 47 Imagined space 49 Mapping relationships 58 Oceanic views 59 Chapter 4. Gesture and line 62 Elemental forms 62 Whole making 68 Dual resonance 75 Spontaneous forming 77 iii Table of Contents Chapter 5. Methodology and methods 82 Interviews 84 Online interactions 85 Movement workshops 87 Drawing 92 Direct observations 92 Scientific reflections 94 Artistic reflections 96 Animation 99 Animation interfaces 102 Art works 103 Chapter 6. Antarctic Animation 108 Insights 108 Energies 110 Chapter 7. Discussion 119 Everything and nothing 120 Connectivity 123 Improvised movement 123 Improvised animation 129 Beauty of the data 133 Depths of wonder 137 Reading the ice 140 Chapter 8. Conclusion 145 Reciprocity 145 Impact of the animations 147 Shared insights 151 Next steps 155 Postscript: The journey home 156 Glossary 158 Appendix 160 Appendix 1: Interviews 161 A: Fred Elliott and Jack Ward 161 B: Pamen Pereira 165 C: Dominic Hodgson 167 D: Siobhan Davies 173 E: Steve Nicol 180 F: Jo Whittaker 181 Appendix 2: Science notes 191 Appendix 3: Foundation work 194 A: Beware of Pedestrians 194 iv Table of Contents B: Roget’s Circular 198 C: A Little Skiting on the Side 202 Appendix 4: Effort actions 206 Appendix 5: Movement workshop scores 207 Appendix 6: Production process 210 Appendix 7: Animation interfaces 212 List of Figures 221 List of Tables 230 Bibliography 231 v Acknowledgments This project was supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award and admin- istered by the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales. Foundation work that led to the project was supported by an Australian Antarctic Division Arts Fellowship and funding from the Australia Council for the Arts. I am grateful to my supervisors, Simon Pockley and John Hughes, who inspired and encouraged me. Technical assistance in all aspects of the project was most gratefully received from my partner Ken Wilson, Antarctic expeditioner and tireless explorer of less- known places. His encouragements and challenges helped to make the work more achievable and meaningful. To my family and friends I owe deep thanks for understanding my need to focus fully on the project. I wholeheartedly thank those who contributed: Scientific data and other information: Australian Antarctic Divi- sion: Cathy Bruce, Barbara Frankel, Nicholas Gales, Gómez-Gutiérrez, So Kawaguchi, Rob King, Steve Nicol, Nick Lovibond, David Watts, Peter Wiley; British Antarc- tic Survey: Nerilie Abram, Athena Dinar, Dominic Hodgson; Instituto Antkr- tico Argentino: Rodolfo del Valle; Bernadette Hince, Rob Jung, George Murphy, Cameron Smith, Mark Taylor, Ken Wilson; Artistic insights: Lorraine Beaulieu, Karin Beaumont, Philippe Boissonnet, Bill Burch, Michael Burton, David Carter, Jan Chaffey, Colin Christiansen, Jack Colwell, Rena Czaplinska, Phil Dadson, Andrew Davidson, Siobhan Davies, Aidan Davis, Rodolfo del Valle, Athena Dinar, Stephen Eastaugh, Fred Elliott, Yoris Ev- eraerts, Larysa Fabok, Noel Gieleghem, Michaela Gleave, Gómez-Gutiérrez, Lisa Goren, Peter Gormley, Mircalla Havier, Kim Holten, Hobart Hughes, Tod Iolovski, Megan Jenkinson, Andrea Juan, Bronwyn Judge, Jenna Kelly, Anthony Lucas, Meredith Lucy, Alasdair McGregor, Christine McMillan, Catherine Magill, Bill Manhire, George Murphy, Steve Nicol, Diane Patterson, Pamen Pereira, Cather- ine Ryan, Jonathan Sinatra, John Smith, Rupert Summerson, Hilton Swan, Coral Tulloch, Jack Ward, Joanne Whittaker, Peter Wiley; Peer responses: Carmel Bird, Maxine Blackburn, Margaret Brooks, Sylvia Chard, Peter Charuk, Nina Colossi, Nicholas Dawkins, Arthur Desrues, Dillon Cole- man, Siobhan Davies, Jennifer de Leon, Bryan Fricker, Valerie Grieg, Casey Hand- mer, Caroline Huff, Denis Kelynack, Ben McInnes, Kimberley McIntyre, Sharon Pittaway, Vikki Quill, Elaine Russell, Juanita Sherwood, Robert Stephenson, Kathryn Yeo. vi Declaration ORIGINALITY STATEMENT I hereby declare that the work in this thesis is my own work and that to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgment is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of the thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project’s design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged. Signed Date COPYRIGHT STATEMENT I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dis- sertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I re- tain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstract International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). I have either used no substantial portions of copyright material in my thesis or I have obtained permission to use copyright material; where permission has not been granted I have applied/will apply for a partial restriction of the digital copy of my thesis or dissertation. Signed Date AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT I certify that the Library deposit digital copy is a direct equivalent of the final officially approved version of my thesis. No emendation of content has occurred and if there are any minor variations in formatting, they are the result of the conversion to digital format. Signed Date vii How to read the thesis The work submitted for examination consists of animations and an exegesis. Inside the back cover of this text you will find a data CD that contains 46 ani- mations, associated material and a .pdf of the exegesis. Icons in the margins (for example, the foot prints to the right of these words) will refer you to the same iconography on the CD. The exegesis needs to be read alongside the animations. A computer with a CD slot is essential for accessing the data disk. To view the animations: • Insert the CD into the CD slot • Open the CD (double-click) • Open the folder, ‘animations’ • Open ‘index.html’ Your browser will open the .html file even if your computer has no access to the internet. However, because the CD includes links to website pages, internet access is needed. Most of the material submitted for examination was developed online through the website, http://antarcticanimation.com. While this material is available online, and some links to it are included on the CD, the website itself is not being submitted for examination. The website provides an insight into the complex interactions between people that occurred to develop the thesis. The Adobe Flash Player plug-in and a web browser (preferably Firefox) are needed to access the animations from both the CD and website. If these are not already installed, free versions that are compatible with your system can be selected and downloaded from: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/otherversions/ http://www.downloadfirefoxbrowser.com/ Speakers or headphones will be needed to hear sound. Unless indicated ‘(Silent)’, all the animations have sound. Sound levels vary, so the volume control on your computer may need to be adjusted accordingly. The volume control on most com- puters is located on the menu bar of the Desktop or on the keyboard and is usually indicated by an icon that resembles a loud speaker.