Situated Systems

San Francisco has its military history written across its bones. Its motto Gold In Peace, Iron in War sites the materials of warfare within civic prosperity. Situated Systems, a sprawling, multifaceted art, journalism and research project explored this industrial and military history, and its role in shaping the region’s contemporary technology industries’ culture and practices. Located in Donna Haraway’s notion of situated knowledges, this work interrogated land use, environmental impact, and re-appropriated use of heavy machinery in military innovation.

Drawing and reflecting on the practices and affordances of digital fabrication and additive manufacturing, we created a complex collection of objects, publications, tools, and installations as artworks, exhibitions, journalism, and learning resources. These included:

Mare Island Extension Kit: Models of heavy industrial machinery original used in military shipyards, now repurposed for civilian use; and their new operators. Captured through photogrammetry and created with additive manufacturing.

This work was created through the inaugeral residency at Experimental Research Lab at Autodesk’s Pier 9, San Francisco; and was a collaboration between myself, Ingrid Burrington, Deb Chachra, and Sherri Wasserman.

• http://situated.systems