Succession: A Visual Score

Video, 2 minutes 00 seconds
Cedar Point Biological Station of the University of Lincoln, Nebraska, Ogallala NE, 2019
Dye made from locally-sourced cedar and Lake Ogallala water with graphite on paper, with digital overlay of 1 minute of MIDI biodata recorded from an eastern red cedar (red) and mixed prairie grasses directly below its canopy (blue). 3’ x 4’.
In collaboration with composer Shari Feldman and cellist Julia Marks.

Link to video of visual score here: https://vimeo.com/364586006

Because of increased human settlement and resulting changes in our fire regimes, eastern red cedar is increasingly outcompeting mixed prairie grasses in the Ogallala, NE area. The tree is a pioneer species indicative of the beginning of forest succession. This shift from grassland to forest poses a particular problem for species such as the Sand Hill crane, since the Big Bend area of the Platte River (near Ogallala) is a pinch point in its migration path. Succession depicts a series of mixed prairie grasses found on site at Cedar Point Biological Station within the shape of one large cedar. Tension between figure and ground is meant to evoke the tensions between these two groups of plants in the ecosystem.

Some photos of the process: