Julian Teaching with Tartans - ERICJ. Julian, Teaching About Climate Change with Tartans 2 Teaching About Climate Change with Tartans Landscape and Culture Exhibition: Expedition Art

TeachingAboutClimateChangewithTartans

JuneJulian,Ed.D.

LandscapeandCultureExhibition:ExpeditionArtoftheScottishHebrides

ChashamaSpaceforArtistsNewYork,NewYork

April4–May4,2019

Copyright2019

AllRightsReserved

J.Julian,TeachingAboutClimateChangewithTartans

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TeachingAboutClimateChangewithTartans

LandscapeandCultureExhibition:ExpeditionArtoftheScottishHebrides

JuneJulian,Ed.D.

Abstract

AnexhibitionofpaintingsfromanArtandArchaeologyresearchexpeditionintheOuter

HebridesofScotlandmayseemtobeunlikelyteachingmoment.Yetthatcollectionofimages,

andtheideasbehindthemformthecoreofanovelapproachthatusestartandesigntoteach

abouttheclimatecrisis.Youngpeopleareanxiousaboutclimatechangeandyoung

environmentalactivistslikeGretaThunbergaregivingpresenceandvoicetotheirconcerns.Yet

whatcanteachersdotohelptheirstudentstounderstandclimatedata,topersonalizeitandto

makeitreal?JuneJulianhasdevelopedamethodthatusestartandesigntovisualizeclimate

data.


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TeachingAboutClimateChangewithTartans©JuneJulian,Ed.D.

AnexhibitionofpaintingsfromanArtandArchaeologyresearchexpeditionintheOuter

HebridesofScotlandmayseemtobeunlikelyteachingmoment.Yetthatcollectionofimages,

andtheideasbehindthemformthecoreofanovelapproachthatusestartandesigntoteach

aboutclimatechange.

Inher2019exhibit,LandscapeandCulture:ExpeditionArtoftheScottishHebrides,heldat

ChashamaSpaceforArtistsinNewYorkCity,JuneJulianinterspersestensmall,delicate

watercolorpaintingsofidyllicremotebeacheswithfivelargerenigmaticones.Butdon’tbe

fooledbytheruseofthepicturesque.Beneaththepaintings’poeticpresenceliesacatastrophic

reality.Theysetthesceneandclimatechangedeliversthepunch.

Uninhabitedvaststretchesofwhitesugarsandsandtransparentturquoisewaterflashundera

momentaryfissureinthedarkwindsweptcloudinsome.Otherswilljoltyououtofasweet

hypnoticreveriewithfragmentingfamilytartansthatarecharacteristicoftheirdepopulating

ancestralislands.

HumanshavelivedontheshoresoftheseremoteislesoftheOuterHebrideslocatedoffofthe

mainlandofScotland,forthousandsofyears.Justlikeus,theylovedtobuildtheircommunities

onwaterfrontproperty,closetomaritimeresourcesforfood,transport,andqualityoflife.The

ruinsofNeolithicandBronzeagestructurescrumbleintotherisingtidesthere.Whatwashes

outarefragmentsofveryearlypottery,bone,pins,Vikingknives,swords,ironshipfittings,the

flotsamandjetsamoftheireverydaylives.

ThegallerywalltextdescribedhowtheartistparticipatedinarecentArtandArchaeology

projectthatreceivedtwosuccessiveExplorersClubFlagExpeditionAwards.Withherwork,she

isfollowinginthereveredtraditionofArchaeologyExpeditionArtmadefamousbyiconic

practitionerslikeCarlAkeleyattheAmericanMuseumofNaturalHistory.Beforetheadventof

photography,artistswerestandardparticipantsinArchaeologicalfieldwork,andcontributed

copiousdocumentationofthephysicalresearchenvironmentandoftheartifactsthatwere

found.ItfurtherdescribedthatthedistinctivepatternsofScottishtartansarecodedfamily


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identifiers.Theyarefrayinganddisintegratinginsomeoftheartworkstosignifythe

depopulationoftheancestrallandsduetosocioeconomicandclimateimpacts.

ThisArtandArcheologyresearchisabellwetherfortheeffectsofclimatechangeoncoastal

culturalheritageworldwide.(Julian,MacLennan2017).Risingseas,morefrequentstorms,and

intenserainfalldisruptarcheologicalevidenceandcontemporarylives.TheNorthernlatitudes

providepropheticindicatorsoffuturethreatstoshorelinecitieslikeNewYork.

Intheexhibit,theNewYorkCityTartanpainting,thecity’sofficialtartan,whosecolorsinthe

officiallyregistereddesignsymbolicallydepictCentralPark,therivers,thecity’senergy,andthe

fallenTwinTowers,seemstobedisassemblinginplaces.UnderapasticheofMichelangelo’s

imageofTheCreationwheredivinepowerisconveyedbythetouchingofhands,and

illuminatedbytheglowofthecitylightsandtheEmpireStateBuilding,somethingmaybe

amiss.

TheLandscapeandCultureexhibitisacautionarytale.Atthesametimebothbeguilingand

unsettling,thebackstoryiswaterandlotsofit.Theseasareeatingeverything.

YoungpeopleareanxiousaboutClimateChangeandyoungenvironmentalactivistslikeGreta

Thunbergaregivingpresenceandvoicetotheirconcerns.Yetwhatcanteachersdotohelp

theirstudentstounderstandclimatedata,topersonalizeitandtomakeitreal?

BasedontheconceptthatthetraditionalScottishtartanelementsofcoloredbandscarry

meaning,JuneJulianhasdevelopedamethodthatusestartandesigntovisualizeclimatedata.

Sheinsertsthedatafromherexpeditionreportsfromeachofhertwoyearsoffieldworkinto

twoseparateverticalandhorizontalbargraphsandoverlapsthemtoformatartan.

Thefinaltartandatavisualizationofalltheresearchdataisquiteextensiveandlargeinformat.

Toclearlydemonstratethemethodthatsheused,theexamplesbelowshowerosiondatafor

onlyonesiteperprojectyear.

Color=ErosionTypeLightBlue=SeaErosionGreen=IntertidalGrey=WindErosionRed=GoneCompletelyBarLength=AmountofErosionX=2015site1Y=2017site1


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Figure1showstheverticalExceltemplatethatsheusedforthe2015researchsites,andFigure

2showsthehorizontalExceltemplateforthe2017researchsites.Shecopiedthesetemplates

soshecouldtheneasilyadjustthelengthandheightofthebarstoreflecttheerosiondatafor

eachofthe47archaeologysitesinthestudy.Figure3isanexampleofhowthearchaeology

researchdatalooksforonlytwoexamplesites,oneoverlappingtheothertoformatartan.

Studentscanresearchclimatechangesubjectmatteroftheirchoiceandenterthedatainto

Excelspreadsheetstomaketheirownbargraphcharts.Thentheycanassigncolorsandwidths

tothebars,andfinallylayertheirgraphstocreatetheirdistinctivetartandesign.Like

traditionalScottishtartansthattellthestoryofpeopleandplace,theonesthatthestudents

createcanvisuallycommunicatethestoryoftheirchangingworld.


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Figure1©JuneJulian,Archaeology/ClimateChangeExpedition2015–VerticalSiteTemplate


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Figure2

©JuneJulian,Archaeology/ClimateChangeExpedition2017-HorizontalSiteTemplate


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Figure3©JuneJulian,Archaeology/ClimateChangeExpedition2015&2017–ExcelTartanforTwoSites


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©JuneJulian,SeaPinks,Vallay,Watercolor,9inchesX12inches,2015

©JuneJulian,Hougharry,NorthUistUK,Watercolor22inchesX30inches,2017


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©JuneJulian,NYCTartan,22inchesX30inches,Watercolor2019


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References

Julian,J.HardRealitiesSoftlyVoicedorWatercolorsontheVergeofaNervousBreakdown.2019,November.http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/41m3-ca98

Julian,J.,&MacLennan,R.B.(2015).TheIsleofVallayArchaeology/ClimateChangeExpedition.

Lambert2016.

Julian,J.,&MacLennan,R.B.(2017).TheIsleofVallay/NorthUistArchaeologyClimateChange

Expedition.Lambert2016.

LandscapeandCulture:ExpeditionArtoftheScottishHebrides.2019,November.

https://chashama.org/event/landscape-and-culture/

TheScottishRegisterofTartans.2019,October.https://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/index

Documents

Julian Teaching with Tartans - ERICJ. Julian, Teaching About Climate Change with Tartans 2 Teaching About Climate Change with Tartans Landscape and Culture Exhibition: Expedition Art