Week 4: Mike Plett response to viewings

Stephanie Rothenberg and Brooke Singer are both artists with similar aims in raising social consciousness, but they differ wildly in their approach. Of the two, Rothenberg creates works that conform more closely to my preconception of art: Many of them are fictional worlds that audiences can interact with and come away with a different perspective on real-world issues. For example, “The Secret of Eternal Levitation” is essentially an interactive video game that imagines a world where people can create fantastical floating cities. By having people select where to acquire resources, Rothenberg seems to be reminding us that real cities exact a heavy price in labor, steal, energy and water. Another project, “Invisible Threads,” uses the virtual world Second Life to provoke a conversation about the disconnect consumers from First World countries have from the people who make their clothes in Third World sweatshops.

Singer, on the other hand, is an artist in a more unconventional sense: Her works are grounded in science and technology. Instead of creating “fictions,” she explores issues through novel approaches that provoke the same kinds of conversations as Rothenberg’s works. For example, “Sites Unseen” documents the United States’ toxic legacy through photographs of Superfund sites that emphasize their ordinariness. Another project, “Swipe,” examines data collecting practices by putting audiences into a mock nightclub where they swipe their driver’s licenses and learn just how much information they’re sharing. And in “Zapped!,” Singer offers a variety of tools designed to raise awareness of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) devices – everything from a keychain that rings when an RFID reader is in range to a workbook that uses puzzles, exercises and games to teach people about RFID.

One last thought about this week’s viewings: I was initially impressed by Singer’s website, which I find sleeker and more attractive than Rothenberg’s. But you have to click on several of the projects or scroll way down the page to the “about brooke singer” to find out what the site is all about. Your average online viewer wouldn’t spend that much time, which is a shame because I think Singer’s work should find a larger audience.

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1 comment to Week 4: Mike Plett response to viewings

  • Rakhaditya

    From your perspective, which specific elements of Rothenberg’s and Singer’s approaches resonate the most in terms of promoting meaningful conversations and reflections on social and environmental challenges?

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