Rescue Dog Adoptions vs. Pet Store Purchases
Pet store puppies are in the forefront of our minds because they tend to be more accessible and convenient, but 2.7 million dogs are being euthanized in shelters each year and are often forgotten.
Limited Resources
An average of 3% of displaced material in copper mines is 'usable'. Stress is to Us as Mining is to Nature. Attitudes of overexertion and greed result in our limited resources' untimely squandering.
"Inadequate" K-12 Arizona State Education Budget
Arizona’s K-12 education system is inadequate. Our state currently ranks 48th out of 50 for the amount of money granted per student. The outer circle of my clock shows that ranking and the inner circle communicates the inadequacies.
Pornography
Despite evidence that pornography negatively alters the chemical makeup of the brain, views are increasing at alarming rates. This social issue is depicted at large, as each dot represents a portion of the 68 million searches for pornography each day.
“Limits” is a visual demonstration displaying the chemical dependency and overdose of opioid substances.
Groundwater Overuse
Groundwater is the largest source of usable fresh water in the world. Arizona has grown reliant on sustained groundwater pumping, leading to overuse and diminishment of land, surface water, and water quality.
Effect of Screen Time on Child Development
Red, green, and blue pixels constitute the increasing amount of screens that surround us every day. In turn, these screens have an effect on the development of children, whose exposure increases as they age.
Psychedelics are a class of drugs that alter consciousness and perception in the brain. Though these effects are temporary, they have shown to assist in lasting psychotherapeutic changes in patients struggling with mental illness and addicitons.
Objectification of Women
As we are constantly bombarded by sexualized images and words, objectification of women has become normal and subliminal. The words on this clock are taken directly from current magazines, internet article titles, and social media posts.
Welfare of Livestock
When purchasing meat it is important to consider its source. The animal’s quality of life–including its delivery routes–directly impacts its nutritional effect on your body. Shopping locally means shorter transportation time, happier animals, and healthier people.
College Tuition
In 2002 the ASU in-state tuition increased by $2,000 - the spike that led to an exponential incline towards this year’s $9,484. Splitting through the clock’s face is the line graph charting our rising cost of college.
Child Abuse
Every ten seconds a case of child abuse is reported in the United States. Of these cases, one third of these children will grow up to abuse their own children in a ceaseless cycle.
Sustainability
‘Reuse’ is one of the three part sustainable practice; reduce reuse recycle. The bottle forms’ gradually losing shape is metaphorical to the concept of change from depleting our environment of raw material and energy.
Gun Control
Among the 90% of people in the United States who own guns, 1 in every 14 will cause a gun related incident. This clock highlights the relationship between gun ownership and the gun incident types in the U.S.
Almost half of the illegal immigrants in the US enter through Arizona. They come hoping that prosperity is on the other side, but often they do not make it far from the border before dying.
Homeless
Without home, every moment becomes uncertain. Where will you go? What will happen to you? Thousands of men, women, and children in Arizona live today without sure answers, fighting with the pains of life displaced.
Urban Sprawl / Poverty
Defined as uncoordinated growth; the community expansion is characterized by an unplanned and uneven pattern of growth. They may present benefits, such as short-term economic boost, but urban sprawl also leaves a financial burden in America.
Gun Control
Shots ring out. Damn, the endless violence. We the people cry out! Tears and a moment of silence. Evil delights in pain. Bullish drive to see red. “Blame the guns!” they exclaim. We’ll still kill without lead.
Stress in College Students
Today’s college students experience far more stress than students in previous decades, and the numbers keep getting higher. The words on the clock describe different situations that causes stress.
State Education
Accounting for dropout rates, multi-curriculum test scores, pupil-teacher ratios and spending per student, Arizona ranks 48th in the United States. Furthermore, Arizona is 47th in school system quality and 33rd in school system safety.
Mexican American Studies
This clock is representing the structure of the school system falling apart due to the fact Mexican American Studies were taken away from the Tucson School District in 2010, resulting in worse test scores and graduation rates.
Eating Disorders
“An estimated 25% of college-age girls resort to bingeing and purging to manage their weight.” In a world where image is everything, eating disorders are increasing in number, distorting the way the body is viewed and valued.
Mass Surveillance
Fueled by fear post-9/11, American intelligence agencies conduct dragnet data collection on global communication. Perhaps the visual noise of farmed data will settle, but who under total surveillance is inseparable from the noise? Who stands out?
Student Loan Debt
Despite how other countries combat increasing costs of higher education through government funding, the United States largely shifts this encumbrance onto the students. The clock’s background is composed of articles pertaining to this issue of student loan debt.
Expansion
The city of Phoenix is rapidly expanding every year. In 2010, more than 100,000 homes alone were unoccupied, mostly due to the recession, yet we continued building out. Today, many structures remain occupied. What will happen when we sprawl too far and run out of land?
Beef Industry
In the past 15 years the rainforest has suffered more than it has in decades due to the increase of beef production. The beef industry causes 1.5 acres of rainforest to be stripped away and destroyed per second.
Organ Donation
What if someone had to die for you to live? The emotional state while waiting for a new heart is explored in this altruistic timepiece. Save a life. Become an organ donor today.
Every sixty-six seconds someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer's in the United States. When my grandmother was diagnosed, my family experienced the stages of deterioration first hand. As we watched her fade away, she took her memories with her.
Water is becoming more of a common worry. Whether it's about the amount of use or trade - the amount of water left is kept secret. If we continue to head in a careless direction, what will be left?
Phoenix Climate Change
How hot is too hot? Phoenix's rapid expansion has resulted in concrete sprawl retaining heat for longer periods of time. Unless Phoenix invests in reversing this effect, 130 degree summers could be the new normal by 2100.
Model Minority
Stereotypes against Asian Americans are common in education. Being dubbed as a model minority brings more pressures than celebration. In 2011, according to the American Psychological Association, 18.2 percent of Asian students had serious thoughts of suicide.
Mental Health
Arizona has one of the highest rates of mental illness due to various factors, including income and racial inequalities. This clock reminds you to be mindful at each hour as an approach to better mental health.
Animal Rights
Dolphins in captivity have become a topic of growing international debate. With the opening of Dolphinaris, Arizona is taking a huge step backwards in regards to animal rights. Our climate is hot, dusty and unsuitable for dolphins.
Social Media and Self Worth
You make a post on social media. Like, comment, no like, no comment -- your followers are reacting. You are reflecting. Unaware, your self image is being altered, and your self worth ... Does it increase or decrease? You decide.
Sandstorm
Because of climate reasons and landscape position, Arizona is facing a terrible air pollution problem—sandstorm. The particles in the sandstorms can reach as high as 20,000 feet. It can decrease air visibility, cause desertification, and induce respiratory disease.
Homelessness
As a city, Phoenix is ranked 16th in homeless family population. This clock will be auctioned off at the ASU Poster Show and the winning bid will be matched and donated to the Central Arizona Shelter Services.