RiverText

A series of text animations tracing out the geography of watersheds, using verbiage relevant to each river's public image. The Russian River version uses materials drawn in real-time from the vast array of regulatory agencies involved in water quality, fish habitat, dams, gravel mining, agriculture, viniculture, logging, flood management and construction. Creeks vary in volume as 'seasons' pass, and new versions also model the attempt of spawning salmonids to navigate upstream.
[2011 Russian River video]

The Czech version, developed for Galerie Califia in Horazdovice, uses materials from scientific discussions, as well as flood histories and literature surrounding the traditional water sprite vodnik.
[2011 Czech Republic video]

A project with other Oakland artists funded by the Open Circle Foundation.
[2011 Oakland Hidden Creeks & Streams video]

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River Palettes

The River Palettes are an attempt to define and classify the richness of nature, imposing a human element in the midst of our environment, and commenting on our frequent attempts to codify and simplify natural systems of immense complexity. Drawing from 193 video clips documenting different parts of the Russian River watershed, each showing a different aspect of water flows and reflections, still images are exported which freeze the dynamic River in time. These are run through software which provides the top 5 colors present in the image, producing their Pantone Matching System number. Each of these colors is entered into a database as it is 'discovered' and given a Russian River reference number. The colors are then named, in a conceptual gesture that combines the absurdity of corporate color-naming as employed by J. Crew and Martha Stewart with an artist and natural historian's genuine attempt to observe, document and classify his surroundings. All about this project here.

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