The Mann Library Gallery's November/December exhibit, "Earth Pattern," features what Trumansburg artist Jay Hart calls "terrain art." Starting with GIS (geographical information system) elevation data, Hart creates sharply detailed images of places both exotic and familiar, including polar landscapes and deserts, low-relief terrain and major ranges, and the scatter of mankind's markings, sometimes adding color to emphasize changes in elevation or overlaying satellite imagery. The results are rendered as large-format inkjet prints showing areas of the Earth's surface ranging from 100 to 1,500 kilometers across.

To challenge people to teach themselves in the purest data-free sense, Hart says, the pieces are as unlabeled and nearly as un-symboled as is the Earth's surface. The intent is to nudge viewers into a wider sense of their domain, offering them a psychological zoom effect connecting their personal experiences with the worldly. More information on Hart and his terrain art may be found online at http://www.earthpattern.com.

The exhibit runs Nov. 8-Jan. 10 in the gallery on the second floor of Mann Library. A reception with refreshments will be held Tuesday, Nov. 13, 5-6 p.m. The exhibit and the reception are free and open to the public. For further information, call 255-5406.

GIS Day celebration

In connection with its Earth Pattern exhibit, Mann Library will hold a GIS Day celebration Wednesday, Nov. 14, 1-3 p.m., during National Geographic Society's Geography Awareness Week (Nov. 11-17).

GIS (geographic information systems) technology allows data ranging from census reports to soil chemistry to be identified with precise latitude and longitude, and can be used to build maps on the fly or for statistical analysis. Applications range from geology research and urban planning to disaster recovery and political science.

Campus organizations and departments using GIS will present displays about their work; at 3 p.m. keynote speaker Jonnell Allen will describe her work as community geographer in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. Using geospatial technology, Allen produces maps that identify underserved areas for particular resources or services, highlight the locations of existing community resources, inform service providers about where their clients are located and the barriers clients may encounter trying to access services, and address relationships between the natural, built and social environments and human health.