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It is no coincidence that both the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent transport of its presumed perpetrators used the aerial civilian transportation network. Transportation is power. Both transnational extremist groups (Al-Quaeda) and reactionary nationalistic forces (the CIA) subvert it to their own ends.
I gave a talk @ ISEA 2008 in Singapore last month. It was about the politics of border crossing in the age of mobility. See abstract here and attached pdf for the visuals. Looking at the spectrum of mobility, from the voluntary movement of an elite bypassing border checks to the forced mobility of illegally rendered terror suspects, I explained the notion of differential mobility. This rift between voluntary and forced mobility is the backdrop for Passage Oublié, a new media installation created by myself and other members of the Obx research lab.
I found a echoes in a few presentations on the same theme. Here are some rough notes.
Borders in Europe are becoming un-symbolic places, as the Euro zone is one big territory. Cym’s “No Men’s Land†piece consists of photographies of these old borders, now buried in everyday life. She renders these pictures in html tables, thus creating abstract, Mondrian-esque representations. This rendering, semantically speaking, works well because borders are an abstract notion, a space out of this reality… She talks about the differences that remain across borders, those that are erased, and how new borders are created or reinforced, notably in the outer Euro and Schengen zone countries.. Jung-Yeon Ma examines the simulacra of the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. She looks at how a previously relatively homogenous nation was split and how this is echoed even in the Korean diasporas overseas. She concludes that foreigners living and commenting on her country made her realize that borders are within us; that they only become real once we internalize them and allow them to limit our imagination. If on can consider crossing the border, then it is not impermeable.
Ilaria Vanni looks at invisible borders within the city, the unevenness of urbanization, and the socio-cultural demarcations in Sydney. Borders are co-created: they would not exist if those crossing did not entrust them symbolic charge. It is people turned around at borders who validate the notion of a border.
Tracey Meziane Benson thinks about prisons as a border within a territory, where the line between freedom and captivity is crossed. Punitive enclaves are yet another reminder of the unevenness of territory.
Monika Codourey studies the socio-political mapping of the Frankfurt airport. Differential mobility is a visible dynamic @ Frankfurt airport, where 3 terminals host radically different populations: Elite passengers, the rest of us casual travelers, and lastly immigrants seeking entrance to the Schengen zone. She also conducts a survey about different mobility types. More pictures?
Off the record: someone who requested anonymity for his protection made this crucial point: borders are biologically inherent to the human system. The cell border, the border of the skin, the immune system border: this notion is built-in our physiology. How does that influence the configuration we have given this world? Another direction would be to look into our innate need for differentiation
Hovering concepts: Urban culture as interface culture The new public sphere is at the intersection of the infosphere and ecosphere realm.
Lev Manovich
1-We are moving from historical data analysis to real time data mining. This raises a series of ethical questions, namely concerning the stock-marketization of culture through real time popularity data. The fact that cultural objects’ popularity can be monitored real-time may be interesting from a cultural studies standpoint, but how does it affect the stakes of making art? If culture becomes a floating currency, mapped analyzed and charted, what are the pros and cons for artists? In other words, if nobody is reading your blog, do you want to know? How will underground, obscure culture-makers going to be influenced by the certainty that no one is seeing their output? While real-time statistics are useful tools to refine marketing’s targeting strategies, they may have a perverse effect when applied to culture.
2-Statistical data as a totalizing extrapolation Interesting data visualization allows different scales, macro, micro, etc. In analyzing large data sets, one should not lose the specifics, or the micro level. The challenge of data visualization is to enable general patterns to emerge (macro) and still allow full access to the particularity of each element (micro).
3-Visualisization as change instrument Visualization is particularly apt at confirming some intuitions about power concentration. Mr. Manovich gave the example of the map of science. The project shows linkages between different disciplines and institutions as a proof that can be used to encourage more cross-disciplinary scientific collaboration. See also http://infosthetics.com/archives/2006/08/scientific_literature_trends.html
When recognizing that the same authors are always cited, it may mean a field is neither inclusive nor pluralistic, for instance. Visit these for interesting data visualization projects infoaesthetics.com visualcomplexity Viz4All Manyeyes data360 Swivel
Top 5 projects
A small photograph hangs on the gallery wall, quiet, unobtrusive and mysterious. As we approach, the figures in the picture appear to sense us coming, they take cover, running and hiding; sneaking back only when they feel it is safe. Custom software and motion sensing enables The Shy Picture to detect our movement, allowing the characters in the picture to assess the presence or absence of intruders. Combining Reeders and MacLeod’s photographic, video, and programming skills, The Shy Picture resembles an early black & white film still which comes to life, but refuses to disclose the plot.
The touch sensitive screens of Charmed offer intimate views into a virtual world accessed via three glowing resin pods. Each pod provides an entry point to inhabitants of suburban neighbourhoods, apartment buildings and city spaces. Within these highly evolved snow domes, a black and white linear aesthetic depicts a world populated by mesmerised figures carrying out the routine tasks required of their environments. Haptic gestures, like touching or tapping, provide a pathway into the spaces and a connection with the cultures, uncovering the diminutive details of the lives of these animated figures. Touching the screen can break the spell and provoke change. Repeated tapping can cause chaos, disrupting lives, forcing computers to malfunction and causing traffic accidents. Tapping can directly impact inhabitants, even causing a man to drink so much that the inevitable happens and he wets his pants. In Charmed each portal offers an impression of omnipotence as private lives and public spaces are exposed and controlled by our touch.
Zizi is a couch that supports you not only physically but also emotionally. She is a mixture of a shaved poodle, a fluffy cat and an exotic sea slug. Zizi growls when sat upon, purrs when touched and groans with delight when you stroke her fur. If left alone, she mews for attention. Inspired by the fluffy flight deck on board Barbarella: Queen of the Galaxy’s space-ship, Zizi the affectionate couch is an experiment in human computer interface, making a move away from the screen and mouse based interactives that are the dominant paradigm in media art works. ZiZi’s reactions are triggered by motion sensors that activate nine vibrating audio devices to simulate purring. Digital signal processing and behavioural algorithms determine her responses.
The Notepad looks like an everyday yellow legal pad of paper, however each line of each page of the notepad is constructed of micro-printed text and contains the personal details of Iraqi civilian casualties. Each printed edition of 100 notepads is covertly distributed to the United States Congress. Once in circulation on Capital Hill each notepad then acts as a Trojan horse -slipping the unwanted and unacknowledged civilian body count data into official governmental archives.
Light Attack is a media artwork, as well as social experiment, performed in public urban spaces. While driving through the city, an animated virtual character is projected onto the cityscape, exploring places ‘to go’ and places ‘not to go’, according to the popular Lonely Planet travel guide. Light Attack uses a custom mobile projection setup installed in a car to project an animated virtual character onto the cityscape. The setup includes a computer laptop, velocity sensor, power supply, projector, and a video camera to document the piece. The car’s movement through the city determines the virtual character’s behavior and motion patterns, synchronized by a velocity sensor attached to the car wheel and custom computer software. While the projection ‘scans’ over the buildings’ facades, the virtual character interacts with the passers-by and the buildings’ structure. Short pre-recorded video loops are arranged into seamless motion patterns by the computer software, allowing interaction with the architecture and passers-by in real-time.
Operating out of the crystal coastline of Eyebeam Island in Second Life, Double Happiness Manufacturing brings you a new vision in global factory production known as telematic manufacturing. The process leverages the 3D modeling and social networking features of Second Life, an online 3D world that enables real world computer users to control virtual characters called avatars. Avatars can communicate with each other via a chat function. This piece is a clever reflection on how labor is not only outsourced elsewhere in the physical work, but also how virtual worlds may affect the production of goods and services.