Happy to be a new Yasminer! And sorry to be so late in jumping into this
discussion - I have been busy writing a very long paper. Finally done. I
hope I am not introducing too much of a non sequitur with this comment.
Roger wrote:
whats not clear to me is whether these kinds of work
can really change our behaviours or relationship
to the world= to the extenthat they occupy our
mediated spaces they can perhaps "re thicken" our
connection to phenomena that we only have
abstract awareness of) but without embodiment
do they remain un=intimate ? that boundary
between the virtual and physical is multi layered
I wonder:
What about the phenomena that we only have abstract awareness of that lies
right in plain view and sensible without aid or "visualization," yet resists
quantification or reduction to mediated representations? Do mediated
overlays of data sets possibly eclipse or dull our senses to such rich
information? How might the capacity to direct movement and gaze or
attention - also critical capacities of locative media - be used to bring us
back to the fundamental experience of our own embodiment that is so often
pushed to the margins of our consciousness as we seek evermore data
"enhanced" experiences, often tailored to data-obsessed, media-attuned
sensibilities?
I also am drawn to think about the ways that "layers and layers" of data may
actually distance us from the richness of ambiguous, yet ubiquitous,
phenomena that give richness to interaction in public spaces - the level of
conscious and unconscious apprehension of our surroundings that "places" us
in relation to environment and other inhabitants. For example, the smells
in a crowded subway car that shift with the rocking of cars and bodies, the
sources of such smells ranging from the fuel or electric power of the
infrastructure, the materials of the train itself, to the smells of hair
products, laundry detergent, food, sweat, urine, etc. - all of which inform
our sense of identity, placing us and displacing us in the moment, location,
and social context. Displacement may be even more important to challenging
who we are and what unites and divides us in public, personal and private
space, yet how do data overlays facilitate such displacements - especially
since most are intent upon fixing us in space, or in specific relationship
to others, framing the context around concrete themes and easily recognized
meanings? I wonder about the affective experiences we cannot quite
articulate, visualize or explain which are nonetheless powerful factors that
inform our feelings, attitudes, opinions, and actions, behavior, etc. How
is this level of experience folded into so-called "locative media"?
Another example from the subway . . . we seem to be informal experts at
managing furtive glances or even outright stares as a form of observation
through which we become attuned to social contexts and communications at
verbal and non-verbal levels. These are highly localized, yet powerful
sources of affective knowledge that extrapolate to more abstract levels of
behavior and decision making. The information we are gleaning in these
moments and how we make sense of it may remain relatively inchoate, even
over long exposure or extended experiences with the same conditions, yet
still they form a sense of place and identity at less self-conscious levels
that may be more important than we think. Yet just to point to it isn't very
compelling, and may even be self-defeating if the goal is to foster diverse
levels of attention and affective experience. Is this kind of knowing and
experience eclipsed by "data layers" that promise to add other dimensions to
our social interactions in public space, even as they may dull our capacity
for deeply attuned and embodied forms of social exchange?
How can the virtual re-direct us to the non-virtual?
On Thu, Jun 2, 2011 at 3:49 PM, <hight@34n118w.net> wrote:
> Vicki,
>
> I love the title "Echology". echo/ecology=data and even feedback loop
>
> It sounds fascinating and very timely. I have studied meteorology and
> climatology since I was a little kid and Australia in the last year has
> had some wild events. Yassi comes to mind first, but also the unusual
> inland flooding both in the east and in the west central dry regions that
> had a temporary lake. The effects of La Nina and arguably climate change
> have been immense and wide ranging to the extreme there. As I write we are
> expecting a storm in a few days to bring up to 2 inches of rain in parts
> of northern california which is unheard of in June (some all time records
> are .89 inches down to near a trace).
>
> I would love to know what you and other yasminers think of data and how it
> is timely in relation to larger issues and concerns. I think right away
> of archiving and older platforms and hardware as well as the work being
> down by the Buckminster Fuller Insitute and the recent challenge winners
> among a wide array of ecological and semiotic concerns around data and
> measure.
>
> best,
>
> Jeremy
>
>
>
> > On 30/05/11 4:24 AM, "hight@34n118w.net" <hight@34n118w.net> wrote:
> >> Good point. I think the fascinating thing is the larger gestalt
> >
> > Jeremy,
> >
> > You're not kidding about the larger gestalt! Just in the past couple of
> > months arts/culture orgs including Future Everything, Eyebeam and
> MediaLab
> > Prado, have presented some really exciting projects around data.
> >
> > Here at ANAT in Australia we've been developing 'ECHOLOGY: making sense
> of
> > data', which will take place from 2011-13. Kicking off with a travelling
> > seminar in November, the project is especially interested in data
> > representations that move beyond the screen and play to the fuller suite
> > of
> > senses, embracing sound, light, kinetics, materials (water, sand, gas,
> > fire,
> > etc) in their realisation.
> >
> > We're not quite at launch stage, but I thought yasminers might be
> > interested
> > in what we're planning, so I've included a brief overview below.. If
> you'd
> > like to know more, please get in touch.
> >
> > Cheers
> > Vicki
> >
> > ----
> > ECHOLOGY: making sense of data
> >
> > The 21st Century is an era of pervasive and ever-increasing data
> > collection;
> > it tracks who we are, what we do and how we live our lives in effect
> > creating a complex, connected universe of information-based ecologies.
> > Alongside this, there has been a rapid proliferation of proprietary and
> > open
> > source publication and aggregation tools, enabling critical and creative
> > approaches to data representation well beyond the intent and scope of
> > those
> > involved in its collection.
> >
> > Presented by the Australian Network of Art & Technology (ANAT) and Carbon
> > Arts, ECHOLOGY: making sense of data introduces artists and other
> creative
> > types to the use of real-time data in the production of artworks for the
> > public realm bringing these abstract information ecologies into our
> more
> > grounded, local spaces. We are especially interested in approaches that
> > embrace new ways of representing data through the use of sound, kinetics,
> > materials (water, sand, plants) and light.
> >
> > Timeline
> > 2011: Travelling roadshow featuring Julie Freeman, Usman Haque, Joyce
> > Hinterding, Geo Homsy, Natalie Jeremijenko and DV Rogers.
> > 2012: Site identification, call for proposals, development lab
> > 2013: Production, unveiling at ISEA2013 (hosted by ANAT in Sydney).
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Yasmin_discussions@estia.media.uoa.gr
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> >
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>
>
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