Computer Science Program Presents

Feeling Data: Art in Pursuit of Social Change

Feeling Data: Art in Pursuit of Social Change explores the intersection of science, data, and visual art as a means of confronting the climate crisis and inspiring collective action. Drawing from personal experiences in the Pacific Northwest and the American Southwest, Tyler W. Green’s practice transforms data sets, climate records, and mapping tools into conceptual frameworks for photography and installation. By pairing empirical evidence with emotional resonance, his work exposes the hidden scars of industrial logging, intensifying wildfires, prolonged drought, and the loss of old-growth forests. Projects such as illuminating ancient stumps, creating artificial dust clouds, and painting climate data onto fire-scarred landscapes bridge measurable realities with felt experience, translating scientific knowledge into human terms. This fusion of art and science not only documents environmental change but also creates a space for grief, empathy, and reflection, making complex issues more accessible while challenging audiences to engage in difficult conversations. By embedding scientific data into artistic practice, Green demonstrates how art can humanize abstract information, expand the reach of science communication, and serve as a catalyst for awareness, trust, and meaningful social change.

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Tyler W. Green (b. 1985) is an American artist whose work concerns the relationship between humans and the natural world. His photographs confront the tension between human activity and ecological impact, challenging the notion that humans exist apart from nature. With a background in journalism and data analysis, Green approaches art through both observation and science. This foundation refines his emotional response to environmental crises, allowing his work to bear witness — not only to personal experience, but to what research reveals — communicating complex ideas and provoking earnest reflection. Concerned with humanity’s dominance over nature, Green examines the altered landscape. Using artificial light and intervening directly within the landscape, his photographs take on a conceptual form, responding to the emotional weight felt while confronting climate change and ecological devastation. Green extends this dialogue through materials using the photogravure printing process. Using inks crafted from pigments gathered at the very sites he photographs, his prints form a physical bond with the land itself — an echo of what has been lost and a reminder of what remains at stake. Green has exhibited at the University of New Mexico, Blue Sky Gallery, Ocotillo Arts Center, Corvallis Art Center, Fraction Magazine and internationally at Casa Regis in Italy. He is a 2025 Durham Arts Council Artist Support Grant recipient and, in 2023, received a Fulcrum Fund award from 516 Arts. His news photography has been recognized by the Associated Press, the New Mexico Newspaper Association, and the National Press Photographers Association. Green earned an Associate degree from the Art Institute of Seattle in 2005 and resides in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

For more information, call 845-758-6822, or e-mail [email protected].

Time: 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

Location: RKC 111

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