1) What does it feel like knowing that so much ice used to be here, but is now gone?
Is it hard or easy to imagine this site being so different?
It’s quite hard to imagine this site being so different with the glacier period. Though I was sitting on the geological evidence, I couldn’t imagine what happened before 12000 years. Children were all over the rock, and there is a playground nearby. I was wondering who or which animals were here hanging around just like us, mammals? There is no doubt why the American Museum of Natural History is near the central park. I want to do more research on the creatures in the ice age.
2) What sights, sounds, smells, structures and materials around you provide evidence of
the Anthropocene?
When I looked up and just out of the park, I saw the “concrete jungle.” I was here before because there is a material texture museum just crossing the street. I saw the view in that building to central park at that time. But when I sat on the bedrock and view in the opposite respective, it was subtle and emotional and different. It’s hard to believe just one street can separate the natural and Anthropocene scene. I guess one of the charms NYC has. When people leave NYC, they might miss all those hard working days, but they will miss one morning running or one afternoon picnic in Central Park.
3) Do you feel like you have contributed to material realities that indicate the arrival of
the Anthropocene? How/why/when?
Before I stepped into Central Park, I had been part of the Anthropocene evidence. I grabbed coffee and croissant and enjoyed them during my tour in the park. It has been kind of the habit to buy some snacks before entering the park. All those paper cups and plastic bags were quite ironic for trying to be close to nature.
4) Do you think the public should be aware of the Anthropocene?
Living in a metropolitan, people can be easily aware of Anthropocene just by the population. Take the Central Park as the example; I find there are roughly 40 million visitors flocking to Central Park every year.The trash bins can be the proof. Sometimes it takes me a while to find a non-over whelming trash bin in the park. So the public should cherish and protect the opportunities to be close to nature.
5) What kind of climates do you think are possible in New York City’s future?
The study says the floods will occur every five years in NYC by 2030, which is quite shocking for me. It’s only about ten years later. And just by reviewing on the weather these days, we can find ourselves are suffering in the global warming. Everyone is complaining the unstable weather. It’s true that the scientists forecast the precipitation will go up to 8 percent by the 2020s and 15 percent by the 2080s. NYC will be next London in a worse way in a few years.
The final project
Since my major is fashion design, I’m thinking to make a garment which can be worn for 50 years. By reaching this goal, there are some factors my garment should have. First, it should be durable. So it has the quality or possibility to last a long time. Second, it should be zero-waste as much as possible. One of the reasons our school is focused on the environment issue so much is that the process in fashion industry costs so much waste. Just by cutting the fabric out of the pattern, the industry is throwing tons of the fabric every season. So for my garment, I want it can be “green” from the very beginning. Not only the result of lasting 50 years, but also the process of being zero-waste. Third, it should be multi-functional. Either it can be worn both sides in different occasions or it can be worn by different size people, it needs to show its function in various ways, which can value the garment more.
So I have two ideas for my final project so far. One, a garment that can be worn by my boyfriend and me and in a zero-waste cut. Two, a croche collection based on recycling the leftover T-shirts. I think both of them have the potential to last for 50 years and deliver the sustainable messages.
