The COP15 Conference, the  meeting in Copenhagen for countries party to the United Nations Framework Convention (UNFCC) on Climate Change, has begun in earnest. With it, a flood of foreigners has washed ashore in Denmark, among them NGOs, IGOs (Intergovernmental Organizations), the Press, and delegates from UNFCC signatories. Among them, unfortunately, is not your correspondent, Wilson Dizard, the one writing this blog post from Copenhagen. Others are in a similar position, and not just due to the fact that the they basically accredited twice the number of people the conference center can hold.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of interesting things going down around town that concern the arts of social change. Here are the first photos of the acts at the conference.

Alright, this is a picture of a ice flow in Iceland, where I had a rather long lay over. Iceland’s endangered glaciers are a topic of discussion at the Conference, as you might imagine.

The Bella Center. The world will have to wait to see what kind of substance, if any, might manage to emerge from this building a fortnight from now. Look at the cranes in the background, evidence of economic development chugging along. And then there’s a wind turbine, too. To be sure, Denmark is a land of contrasts.

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Blane De St. Croix:  “My recent body of work explores the geopolitical landscape through drawing and sculptural installation. I conduct extensive research on each project,–through site visits, photographic documentation, interviews, and satellite imagery. Employing a combination of natural and industrial materials, I am interested in articulating humankind’s desire to take command over the earth, revealing distinct conflicts with ecology, politics and ourselves in large-scale installations that utilize architectural space in a distinct, powerful and imposing manner.”

Black and White Project Space in Brooklyn, has unveiled De St. Croix’s massive new site-specific work, Mountain Strip, a monumental miniaturized landscape revealing the impact of strip mining for coal on  West Virginia’s Kayford Mountain.

Image: Etienne Frossard

Submit work online for a design exhibition on Democracy.  There will be no curators in this groundbreaking exhibition: everyone can get involved and the public votes on the submissions.

The Democracy exhibition will take place in Newcastle upon Tyne in October as part of Design Event 09.  It will feature the very best of the work submitted to the website, as voted by you. Votes can continue to be cast on the website and at the exhibition, so the art on display will continue to change, making this the most democratic exhibition ever.

So, create an artwork based on the theme of democracy or vote on your favorites!  The deadline for submissions is September 30, 2009 and voting continues throughout the exhibit.

More here.  And here.

Info graphic by Peter Bell.

Evan Roth’s Graffiti Taxonomy: Paris seeks to discover the stylistic diversity among graffiti characters. The following video  gives a basic synopsis of the purpose and findings of the study, which was made possible with the help of Foundation Cartier.

Over 2,400 graffiti tags from a multitude of different artists and locations in Paris were photographed during a four day period in April, 2009. They were then archived and sorted by letter, allowing Roth to compare not only the diversity of how each character can be represented, but also how many times each letter was used. The ten most popular letters (which were A,E,I,K,N,O,R,S, T and U) were isolated for further study and eighteen tags of each letter were used to “represent the diversity and range of that specific character”. Some of these tags are simple and clean in design, some are almost illegible, some very complex and detailed.

Roth’s project showcases both the diversity in the way we use and represent language and the true artistry behind graffiti. For more information, visit the Graffiti Taxonomy website or Foundation Cartier.

Visual Economics is an online resource for all kinds of  relevant data represented in colorful, easy to understand graphs. From “6 Reasons Why The U.S Economy May Never Recover” (depressing, I know) to “50 Wealthiest People in the World”, if you’re looking for a graphic representation of a major economic issue, it’s likely here.

Aside from occasionally being a bit of a slap in the face by reality, I like this site because it helps people understand typically complex and convoluted issues relatively painlessly. It’s also highly entertaining and exposes some truths you might not find elsewhere. Such as “How Credit Card Companies Have Been Shafting Consumers For Years”, below.

I recommend visiting Visual Economics if you’re interested in exploring the perils of the economy in a fun, visual way. In a weird way, it’s kind of nice mixing something completely and utterly depressing with something a little bit lighthearted and upbeat….even if the ultimate conclusion is that we’re screwed.

The New York Times ran a great article yesterday about the work of artist Damon Rich at the Queens Museum in New York City focusing on putting NYC’s foreclosure woes into perspective. Using a 9,335-square foot Panorama of the city, hundreds of neon pink triangles highlight blocks where there have been three or more foreclosures. Needless to say, there are more than a few pink triangles dotting the map. However, aside from the initial shock of how the sheer number of city blocks that warranted a triangle, his work allows for the problem to be broken down and viewed more carefully. For instance, there are 582 pink triangles in Brooklyn; 551 in Queens; 140 in Staten Island; and 151 in the Bronx. But, somewhat unsurprisingly, only two markers are erected in all of Manhattan.

Rich seeks to not only expose the socio-economic reality of the housing crisis, but also to  begin to explain it and create dialogue on how to change the situation. Having the physical experience of seeing this map not only confronts people with the issue but also helps them understand it better. Rich hopes that by providing a “physical experience, it will in some way… function as strange educational playground for adults”.

Part art work, part urban planning tool, Rich’s work is definitely of the times. Aside from how overwhelming it is, both in size and subject matter, curator Larissa Harris says, “I don’t see how it gives a political view, mapping the facts.I don’t think you can argue with this. That’s why it’s so powerful”. This piece bridges political boundaries while still making a strong case for a reevaluation of the status quo.

María María Acha is political graphic artist in Mexico whose current series of large scale works amplify the contributions of often forgotten or under-recognized women.  Her series is printed on weather-proof banners  for outdoor display and easy transport.

Images.  More from the International Museum of Women.

Thanks to the print-based journal Rain and Thunder whose current issue features María María Acha on the cover.

Today’s New York Times features a link to a March 3  article by David Leonhardt on U.S. unemployment rates with an accompanying interactive map, captioned “Geography of a Recession.” The graphic speaks volumes. Data visualization increasingly shapes our view of the world.

article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/business/04leonhardt.html
map: Geography of a Recession