h J a n P i r i b e c k h 62 p o r t l a n d monthly magazine Arts an Piribeck is a professor at USM, where she helped establish the digital art program. Her art takes its lead from geographic information science and specifically seeks to engage the community about the effects and echoes of sea level change. Whatsocialgoalsareyoutryingtoreachwithyourart? Society would be much healthier if it didn’t ignore environmental change. I’m trying to accomplish the goal of informing people about sea level rise using art as a medium of communication and expression. My vision is for artists, community members, entre- preneurs, city planners, and government of- ficials to work together toward “no regrets” decisions that impact the long-term future of the environment. Generally,whatisyourworkabout? The subject matter of my work is sea level change, which I think of as a metaphor for change in general. Isartaneffectivetoolforsocialchange? Of course! Some artists believe social con- tent corrupts the purity of aesthetics, but as Laurie Anderson said, quoting Lenin, “Eth- ics is the aesthetics of the future.” That fu- ture has arrived. Tellmeaboutyourwork’ssocialengagement? I’m the founder of an artist collective called the King Tide Party. King Tides are the high- est tides of the year, and they pose a frighten- ing reality to the future of Casco Bay. We’re a collective of socially engaged artists whose mission is to develop new and imaginative ways of communicat- ing the reality of sea level rise. We’ll make something, a sculptural object, a reading–a process in which people participate by writ- ing something and reading it in public. The process will punctuate and embed into the memory of the people who participate. Howdoyoursocialorpoliticalgoalsrelatetotheobject- natureofart? I believe in the well crafted idea. I believe in letting the idea take form. For me, that’s generally installation, prints, and a process of digital journaling. Jan Piribeck installs BlueWrapWave,a collaborative project done with Christo- pherWright as part of ‘Meeting Place East Bayside,’ a project of Art At Work, The City of Portland,and the East Bayside Neighborhood Organization. IlulissatGlacier:AerialView