kristingupta Annotations

What does this visualization (including caption) say about toxics?

Wednesday, February 26, 2020 - 5:33pm

I really appreciate the historical contextualization provided in the choice of visualizations and captions here. It almost seems to write against spectacle... or at least, its general privileging in discourses on toxicity and disaster. Slow violence is certainly relevant here, although I don't feel like that fully encompasses the phenomemon you're getting at in Flint. 

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What kind of image is this? Is it a found image or created by the ethnographer (or a combination)? What is notable about its composition | scale of attention | aesthetic?

Wednesday, February 26, 2020 - 5:16pm

Unclear, although I assume it is created by the ethnographer. It’s centering of the drain, which lies under some kind of road or overpass, seems to underline the forgotten nature of the pathways of chemical toxicity. (Especially in relation to the first image, whose depiction of the former factory site also feels lonely and abandoned). The choice of season also enhances this aesthetic, depicting the landscape as barren in a particular way.

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Can you suggest ways to elaborate the caption of this visualization to extend its ethnographic message?

Wednesday, February 26, 2020 - 5:07pm

Based off the graffiti in this image, I wonder - who travels near the storm drain? Where is it located in relation to the city of Flint? Does any graffiti refer to the water crisis or other issues you describe?

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How does this visualization (including caption) advance ethnographic insight? What message | argument | sentiment | etc. does this visualization communicate or represent?

Wednesday, February 26, 2020 - 5:01pm

This image of a storm water outflow underlies the way toxicity travels - a toxic “site” or “place” is never fully static, rippling and flowing in sometimes unexpected ways. National stories on Flint have so often focused on certain imagery (pipes, sinks and bathtubs filled with brown water), so it’s fascinating to see how toxicity in this context constitutes much broader social and ecological ecosystems.

 

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