Parkfield Interventional EQ Fieldwork

Parkfield Interventional EQ Fieldwork

The Parkfield Interventional EQ Fieldwork is a neat earthwork science/art project along the lines of the Lighting Field or the Roden Crater.

The Parkfield Interventional EQ Fieldwork (PIEQF) is a geologically
interactive, kinetic earthwork that will take place in the township of
Parkfield, Central California between the 28th June and 28th September
2008. Located approximately 190 miles from San Francisco and 210 miles
from Los Angeles, this machine controlled, earth intervention
converges a USGS reported Californian earthquake list with the near
real time control of a hydraulically actuated earthquake simulator.

This example of seismic art is a feedback loop between the seismicity
of California and a physical and mechanical representation of all
Californian seismic events that occur during the 93 days of
intervention. Each time an earthquake occurs, an array of 1/2 inch and
5/8 inch steel, earth extension rods attached to the earthquake shake
table will oscillate and resonate, reflecting the dynamic nature of
the Californian landscape.

They have a ton of neat ongoing projects such as a webcam, site tours and etc. This is a uniquely Californian installation, where else can you find dozens of earthquakes to track over a small period of time?

image via Parkfield Interventional EQ Fieldwork

Simone Davalos
Simone Davalos