Greg Niemeyer

Instagram: gregniemeyer

Website: http://www.gregniemeyer.com

Bio: Greg Niemeyer is a data artist and Professor of Media Innovation in the Department of Art Practice at UC Berkeley. He's the former director and co-founder of the Berkeley Center for New Media. He started out with studies in Classics and Photography in Switzerland and switched to new media when he moved to the Bay Area in 1992. He received his MFA from Stanford University in New Genres in 1997. Since childhood, Niemeyer was fascinated with making mirrors, and he still makes mirrors: media which allow us to see things from a new point of view, a point of view that is not our own, revealing both things we want to see and things we don't want to see. We need such mirrors, he maintains, to make better decisions about our lives in context with other humans and with the fragile environments we depend on. Niemeyer exhibited around the world at ZKM, SFMOMA, San Jose, Amsterdam, Cairo, Zurich, New York and received grants from the MacArthur Foundation, NEA, Intel, Pro Helvetia and many others. Notable works include icecorwalk.org, Tsar Bell, Oxygen Flute, Network Paradox, Quantopia and the most recent Water Panoramas.

Statement: Greg Niemeyer presents his most recent endeavor, "Sacramento River Paradox". He states that globally, overcapitalized regions extract more than their fair share of resources from undercapitalized regions. Water, the most vital resource after air, is no exception. Most residents in these regions go to bed thirsty every night, only to face a new fight for water in the morning. Conversely, most residents in overcapitalized regions need only take minimal notice of where their seemingly inexhaustible water supply comes from (so far). With the "Sacramento River Paradox" Niemeyer seeks to direct our attention to the awesome Sacramento River, which quenches the thirst of 1/3 of all California residents, grows their food, and washes their bodies. In a set of three images, Niemeyer visualizes the river's flow and water level throughout the Winter 2023 season. Flow and level are the result of snowmelt, temperature, wind and rainfall, connecting the most remote regions of California with the most densely populated urban centers. The images show this data through novel data visualizations. The left image in the triptych shows an AI forecast, the right image shows actual measurements, and the middle image shows the difference between the two. These nuanced representations of what we think will be and what actually is direct our attention to the life of the Sacramento River, the vital resource in our midst. He intends for the images to serve as a portal of respect and gratitude for what lifelines the Sacramento River throws us every day. Only solid respect for local resources can inform equal respect for similar resources in other regions around the world.