Aquatic Environmentalists

"We are... America's Aquatic Environmentalists."

My group choose a theme on America's environmentalist movement during 1970s to 1990s, but more specifically, we focused on ocean pollution by oil spills. We took a close look at the environmentalists who were siginifcant, and environmental organizations between 1970s to 1990s.

To represent our ideas, my group put plastic bottle with trash and water in it, and oil bottle on top of the box. The plastic bottle represents the trash and pollution in the ocean, specially plastic materials. The oil bottle on top of the box represent the pollutino caused by oil, it is located on the top because when there is an oil spill in the ocean, the thick layer of oil stays on the surface of the ocean, which can only be cleaned by clothes or any absorbing materials.

My part of this project was to search the organizations that had formed and participated in the environmental movement during the time and to find the photos of the wildlife suffering from the pollution. My part was mostly done by researching on the web, and it wasnt' too difficult. The plastic bottle was found inside a trashcan in campus and the oil bottle was brought to school by a group memeber.

My advice to next year's class about this project is to plan ahead and be ready because I was rushed because i did not plan ahead.

Deukkwon Yoon

Found Art Project: Being Nuclear

The theme we chose for he Found Art Project was the theme of Nuclear Technology during the 1970s and 1980s. This theme included exploring the people, written works, movies, and main events that involved nuclear technology during that time period. As a result, our artwork reflected all those elements of nuclear technology, mainly the fear of nuclear warfare. The specific items we chose highlight this. The most thematic and obvious item is our Nuclear Waste Barrel that we used instead of the normal boxes for the Found Art Project. The nuclear waste barrel reflects the fear of Nuclear waste piling up in the US. The Ronald Reagan quote on our barrel also addresses the issue of fear of nuclear waste because Reagan said all the waste from a barrel could be stored under a desk per year. We also had a number of items, movie posters, that displayed the nuclear fear during the time. Movies such as Silkwood and The Day After, all capitalized on fear of nuclear war to establish their plots. We also showed numerous written works about nuclear warfare during the time. The watchmen cover, the book "Missile Envy", and the article about jobs in the Nuclear industry all showed different aspects of written works regarding nukes during the target era.

We obtained these items through numerous methods. The barrel, book cover, article, and sample missile were all obtained through actual searching and a certain element of luck. For example, we obtained our barrel by going to the scrap metal yard, and requesting a 55 gallon oil barrel to use for our project. We also obtained a book written during the era (Missile Envy) by asking one of our parents to help us out with any old antiques. We also found the newspaper article, and the nuclear chart using the same asking method.
If I had to do this again, I would certainly try and expand my potential sources of found art. We would also have attempted to find experts on the topic to aid us in understanding the topic of choice. I would advise next year's class to definitely start early. Also, picking a manageable topic, with many found art pieces available makes life significantly easier. Furthermore, I would recommend having a plan B if team members go missing, and encourage very effective communication between group members to aid the project.

Found Art Project

My theme is conservation of energy and protection of the environment. The environmental movement really started in the 70's and has continued to exist since then. Through the found art project my group and I wanted to show some of the key events and facets of the environmental movement. We also wanted to show that with just a little effort, much can be accomplished to help protect the environment.
There are several items on our box, but to name a few there is a solar panel, recyclables, organic food boxes, a bird covered in oil, and a windmill. The solar panel and the windmill represent renewable energy sources that are crucial in saving the environment. The recyclables show represent literally the idea of recycling. The organic food boxes are present to show that organic food are better for the environment because they are not exposed to pesticides that disrupt the carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles. The oil covered bird represents the Exxon Valdez incident with the huge oil spill that affects hundreds of birds.
The main way the we got our items was simply by coming upon them. I found the brochure while I was in Seattle, and the organic food boxes were just lying around. We did construct the solar panel and the windmill but they are made of household items.
If I were to do this project again, I would start earlier and always be on the lookout for relevant items. The more time you give yourself to find items, the more items you will get and the better the items will be. My group started early enough, but you could always start earlier. For this reason, my advice to next year's class is to start early.

Michael Starr