Mapping Infrastructure / Mapping Agriculture

Stemming from his experience of growing up in Detroit, Michigan—a city where the loss of manufacturing had a devastating impact—Viviano developed a deep interest in understanding the effects of climate and historical issues on communities and populations. Through significant research with experts in many fields, he has developed an artistic practice that delves into these concerns to reconcile what has happened in the past with what may occur in the future.

He employs multiple methods of data collection and mapping from GIS (Geographic Information System), LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), photogrammetry, and more, to inform his 3-D computer modeling and printing. Viviano then merges the imagery into 3-D prints used to create the final sculptures through traditional methods of glass blowing and casting, engaging the past with the future.

The exhibition includes "Manufacturing Cities," blown glass population graphs examining population trends as they connect to manufacturing in U.S. cities over approximately 400 years. The "Recast" series combines imagery from each city's manufacturing past with the current architecture of the urban landscape. "Cities Underwater" visualizes the dramatic loss of land predicted to occur in the next 500 years in areas that some 127 million Americans call home. Using existing LiDAR data and scientific projections, the installation shows projected loss of land mass due to sea level rise in eight coastal cities.