2006 Rockefeller New Media Foundation Proposal

Stream(ing) is an installation in which data from two rivers, the Chicago and the Illinois, are brought to life through visualization, sonification, and haptic techniques. It heightens the participant's awareness of our intimate connection with nature through immersive interaction with both real time and stored information about the rivers. It also points out the relationship between the flow of information and the flow of water. The participant navigates datasets in an intuitive way, through choosing the role of a central"character" which can be a biological agent (Asian carp, a non-native species; algae, etc. ) or a chemical one (nitrogen, PCBs, etc.). The participant will thus be able to introduce changes in river conditions and experience a simulated, hypothetical result. The experience will elicit not only an intellectual appreciation of the multiple factors that affect the health of a river, but also an emotional connection to the relationship between the health of the environment and that of human beings. The work is unique in that it offers multiple experiential means and uses real time as well as stored information. While Stream(ing) deals with serious environmental issues, it will also be sensually and aesthetically engaging