The Sensorium in the AlloSphere
A Reflection - Newton Harrison (1932-2022)
A Mission
PST 2024 at xMPL, University of California, Irvine (UCI)
The Sensorium in the AlloSphere
A Reflection - Newton Harrison (1932-2022)
A Mission
PST 2024 at xMPL, University of California, Irvine (UCI)
Reshapping how we comprehend & address the repercussions of climate change on the world ocean.
What would it be like if we could ask the ocean a question. If we could ask it? How it's feeling? If it could answer us in ways that are beyond the simple level of data that we normally look at... What would it be like if we could put that question and the answers in a three-dimensional space. (By Joshua Harrison)
Sensorium for the World Ocean is a work of art and science, a multi-sensory immersive installation that sets out to directly address the survival problems the world ocean faces as temperatures continue to rise.
Sensorium is part of the Getty's Pacific Standard Time PST 2024 exhibition "Art &Science Collide” at the Experimental Media Performance Lab (xMPL) at University of California, Irvine (UCI).
Sensorium is a partnership between The Center for the Study of The Force Majeure at UCSC, the AlloSphere Research Laboratory at UCSB, and the Beall Center for Art and Technology at UCI.
Our content partners include Virtual Planet Technologies and Almost Human Media.
From all the staff, volunteers, and collaborators at CFM, we would like to thank you for your support as we continue our efforts to bring Sensorium and our other on-going projects into the world.
All donations to The Center for the Study of the Force Majeure are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
Please contact Director Josh Harrison for more information.
Sensorium seeks to illuminate the intricate dynamics contributing to phenomena such as sea level rise, ocean acidification, and the degradation of coral reefs and fish populations. By harnessing state-of-the-art data from diverse sources, Sensorium crafts a mesmerizing 3D experience, empowering attendees to reimagine our collective response to climate challenges. Our work is built on 14 pivotal climate stressors identified by the Ocean Health Index at UCSB, integrated with data from public sources including NOAA and a growing number of international sources.
A Vision
A work by the Center for the Study of the Force Majeure Inspired by its late founder, the great artist and creative thinker Newton Harrison
Sensorium is both a work of art and science that sets out to synthesize the survival problems that the world ocean faces in our emerging heat shocked future. We believe that new and creative answers to questions regarding the ocean’s ability to regenerate and return to ecological well-being will emerge from integrating core artistic concepts and creative strategies with current scientific resources and modeling, generating a new synthesis that builds on the strengths of the underlying science and the perspective of the artistic experience. These thoughts underpin the design and the work of Sensorium.
Sensorium is not a computer game nor an entertainment medium. Sensorium will start as an educational tool and continually develop to become a communication laboratory, one that challenges its visitors to investigate phenomena by asking questions to listen and heighten their awareness. In so doing we hope to exercise a new way of thinking and acting in response to the requests from the Life Web that is in crisis.
»Everything is interrelated«, as Alexander von Humboldt phrased it, and this interrelation includes ecosystems, humankind as well as the arts and sciences – natural sciences, ethnology, information technology and architecture.
Sensorium follows this holistic approach as a matter of principle providing the means for new thinking, insight and action: Sensorium takes a generalist approach scanning the whole in all cases, becoming a specialist as circumstances require.
This work is inspired by the late Eco-Art Pioneer, Emeritus Professor Newton Harrison (UCSD) & Research Professor (UCSC) and conceived by the Center for the Study of the Force Majeure, based at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
The team implementing and developing the project includes Distinguished Professor JoAnn Kuchera-Morin Ph.D., Director, The AlloSphere @ UCSB, Juliano Calil Ph.D., Virtual Planet Technologies, Center for Force Majeure Director Joshua Harrison, Co-Director Kai Reschke and Petra Kruse Ph.D. (both also Directors of the European Center for the Force Majeure).
Sensorium | | Detailed Explainer 2023
Sensorium | | World Data
Sensorium | | Design Development
THE TIME OF THE FORCE MAJEURE After 45 Years Counterforce is on the Horizon
Helen Mayer Harrison, Newton Harrison, edited and designed by Petra Kruse & Kai Reschke
To learn more about the history and the main issues of the Center of the Force Majeure read the book on Helen and Newton Harrison’s work.
As it is out of print now we are making the book accessible as a donation to everybody who is interested.
Copyright Center for the Study of the Force Majeure 2023