Follow-up from meeting with Marina

I had a positive and generative meeting with my mentor, Marina, this morning. We spent a lot of time discussing Bird University and playing with that thought experiment. We talked about the system of higher education — a system of education, knowledge possession, knowledge production, with implications on class, race, and privilege. We discussed different ways that higher education shows up in different places, from Reed College to ASU to the Ivy League . She mentioned Tagore, a poet who started his own university, something I need to look into.

We then talked about what Bird University might be a system of. It’s not FOR birds —  birds have already graduated. Is it a missionary school, set up to re-educate humans? Does it play with Dartmouth (my alma mater)’s messed-up history of education for Native Americans?

Lots to dig into here. Who are the teachers at BU? Who are the other students? Where is bird university? Does it follow a migration route? What do the birds get out of it?

We applied similar systems thinking to nests. Nests as fitting into things that birds need — shelter, food, families, babies. Birds that walk, swim, fly. Birds that migrate, birds that dont. Nests as collection of materials — spit and dirt, or sticks and leaves and plastic, or cobwebs and down.

I have been thinking about material sourcing for my maquettes that I have been making, and for the Jamie Nest I have been building. I have asked my family to give me their singleton socks so that I could use them for material. Disposability of the current fashion industry as a rich source for materials that serve similar purposes to what a nest could do.

Marina also gave me a long list of people to look up:

Tagore – poet started a university

Elizabeth gross – Chaos in Territory

Alphonso Lerus

Gordon Hampton Dawn Chorus

Antenna magazine, a multi-species art magazine – did a piece on the recording of Dawn Chorus. 

Africam – network of high-res camera/audio set up at watering holes. 

Jill Haefele

Climate clock Andrew boyd

Jennifer Monson, iLand – biology and dance, followed migration routes, several species.

Richard Long – walking movement. 

Hamish fulton – walking

Francis Alÿs – the green line. Line by palestine and isreal. 

Suzannah Sailor and Ed Mars Canary Project