Living in Second Life and Acting in Flash Mob Aikaterini Ant

306 Pages·2013·2.84 MB·English

From Digital Creations of Space to Analogous Experiences of Places:
Living in Second Life and Acting in Flash Mob

Aikaterini Antonopoulou

Doctor of Philosophy

School of Architecture, Planning & Landscape,
Newcastle University
November 2013

i
Abstract

This dissertation aims to raise the question of how individuals and groups become
placed – or take up place – in the contemporary environment and to consider what
forms the need for situatedness takes today, by examining the phenomena of the Flash
Mob and Second Life. In a Flash Mob, an email activates a virtual community and
converts it into a physical performance in the city, challenging a new cognition of place,
where place is constituted by the event. On the other hand, Second Life takes the form
of a digitally constructed world, which opens the possibility of a “virtual place” that
enables users to establish connections not only with each other, but also with the
[virtual] environment itself. The two case studies together question place in its
materiality and its symbolism, and it is argued that they act as media to re-code
“groundedness”. Thus we reach a paradoxical conclusion: although the contemporary
world suggests a dynamic and more flexible existence on the earth, the need for
“situatedness” and the demand for “well-grounded claims” remain stronger than ever.
The structure of this research reflects a double set of conditions that, although not new,
have intensified due to the emergence of new technologies: first, the expansion of the
human body beyond its corporeal limits and second, the augmentation of the perceived
world beyond the mere materiality of any kind of environment. Therefore the thesis
studies how, on the one hand, bodies, communities and crowds transform within
digitisation, and, on the other, how the world develops as a consequence of the digital
reconstruction of grounds. It examines the way in which individuals detach from their
“real-world groundedness” by forming bonds-connections to these digitised grounds,
which display – as generators of endless possibilities – a kind of utopian open-
endedness. Finally, it explores the phenomenon of “virtualisation” to raise the question
of whether the contemporary world is infused by information and thus augmented in
terms of meanings, connections, and attachments, or is instead made of a series of
projections, transforming reality into an idealised version of itself.

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Acknowledgments

I am extremely grateful to my supervisor, Professor Mark Dorrian, for the valuable
guidance, for all the support and encouragement throughout this long process, and for
introducing me to places where I had not been before.
I would like to thank my examiners, Professor Paul Carter from the School of
Architecture and Design, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia, and Professor Pete Wright,
Professor of Social Computing at Newcastle University, for the careful reading of this
thesis and for providing thoughtful and constructive feedback.
I would also like to thank Dr Ella Chmielewska, who was my second supervisor during
the first year of this PhD at the University of Edinburgh and a great advisor thereafter,
for all the useful discussions and her deep insights that helped me at various stages of
my research. Many special thanks to Victoria Bernie, who supervised my MSc
dissertation at the University of Edinburgh and who convinced me, during our many
discussions, that I should pursue doctoral studies – I don’t think I would have
undertaken this research project if it wasn’t for her.
I gratefully acknowledge the funding received towards my PhD from the by the
Panayiotis Triantafillidis Foundation (via the Greek Ministry of Education) and by
Newcastle University.
I am indebted to my closest friend Alexandros Politis, who introduced me to [his] magic
world of Flash Mobs in late 2003 in Athens, and who provided me with the invaluable
material from the “flashmob.gr” photographic and video collections. I would like to
thank my parents, Nikos and Maria, for their great support and understanding, and for
always being there for me, and my sister, Effie, who knows best – and in her own
unique way – how to control my fears and anxieties in difficult times. And last but not
least, I would like to thank Grigoris for believing in me at times when I didn’t, for
listening at all times, and for giving space to my dreams.
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Table of Contents

List of Figures v

Introduction. Getting Real through Digital Means 1

Chapter 1. Re-Thinking Place through Philosophy, Architecture, and Technology 26

Section A: Body_Place_Experience

Chapter 2. The [Cyborg] Body and its Place 49

Chapter 3. Monsters and Machines: the re-construction of the body by new
technologies 79

Chapter 4. The Playful Crowd and the Digital Present 110

Chapter 5. Body and Ground: Excursus on Public Space 140

Section B: Body_Ground_Attachment

Chapter 6. Connecting to the [Virtual] Ground 170

Chapter 7. Utopia: Transcending Placeness and Groundedness 200

Chapter 8. Reality Turned into an Image: spaces of virtuality and
virtualisation 231

Chapter 9. Conclusion: The Place of Context 262

References 278

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List of Figures

Introduction
1: Flash Mob in Paris. Segel, T. (2010) Let’s Dance, Flash Mob Style. Pancake Beaver.
19 June. Available online from: http://tai-segel.com/categories/wazzuup/lets-dance-
flash-mob-style, [accessed 23/01/2013].
2: Land Hierarchy. Second Life Wiki. Available online from
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/File:Land-hierarchy.jpg, [accessed 19/1/2013].
3: Second Life, region “The Church of the Mac”, image by A Antonopoulou taken on
06/10/2011.

Chapter 2
1-3: Stills from: Life for Sharing (2009) The T-Mobile Dance. YouTube [video]. 16
January. Available online from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3d3KigPQM
[accessed 10 June 2012].
4-7: Stills from: Life 2.0 (2010) [DVD]. Directed bt Jason Spingarn-Koff. USA:
Andrew Lauren Productions, Palmstar Entertainment, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network,
RO*CO Films International.
8: Image from “Cyborgs and Space” (Clynes and Kline, 1960, p.27).
9-17: Images from: Improv Everywhere (2010) The Mp3 Experiment 7. Improv
Everywhere [blog]. 12 October. Available from:
http://improveverywhere.com/2010/10/12/the-mp3-experiment-seven/ [accessed 21
January 2011].
18: The first Augmented Reality Flash Mob. At: SNDRV (2010) Augmented Reality
flashmob. Available online from: http://sndrv.nl/ARflashmob/ [accessed 13 April 2011].

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Chapter 3
1: Tasrill Sieyes’ ”Nude descending a Staircase” avatar. At: Au, W. J. (2007) All About
My Avatar: Tasrill Sieyes. New World Notes. 12 April. Available online from:
http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2007/04/all_about_my_av_2.html [accessed: 7 June 2011].
2-4: Tasrill Sieyes’ alternative avatars. At: image from Au, W. J. (2007) All About My
Avatar: Tasrill Sieyes. New World Notes. 12 April. Available online from:
http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2007/04/all_about_my_av_2.html [accessed: 7 June 2011].
5, 6: Slade Onizuka. At: Au, W. J. (2007c) All About My Avatar: Slade Onizuka. New
World Notes. 22 March. Available online from:
http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2007/03/all_about_my_av_6.html [accessed 14 June 2011].
7, 8: Kazuhiro Aridian. At: Au, W. J. (2007b) All About My Avatar: Kazuhiro Aridian.
New World Notes. 15 March. Available online from:
http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2007/03/all_about_my_av_4.html#more [accessed 14 June
2011].
9: The appearance of avatars. At: Second Life Quickstart Quide. Second Life. Available
online from http://static-secondlife-
com.s3.amazonaws.com/downloads/Second_Life_Quickstart.pdf [accessed 1 June
2011].
10: Choosing an avatar in Second Life. At: Join Second Life. Second Life. Available
online from https://join.secondlife.com/ [accessed 10 May 2013].
11: Image from Second Style [online magazine]. Issue 44, available online from:
http://issuu.com/celebrity/docs/secondstyle44 [accessed 20 June 2011], p.47.
12: Image from Second Style [online magazine]. Issue 44, available online from:
http://issuu.com/celebrity/docs/secondstyle44 [accessed 20 June 2011], p.48.
13: Image from Second Style [online magazine]. Issue 44, available online from:
http://issuu.com/celebrity/docs/secondstyle44 [accessed 20 June 2011], p.39.
14: Image from Second Style [online magazine]. Issue 44, available online from:
http://issuu.com/celebrity/docs/secondstyle44 [accessed 20 June 2011], p.11.
vi
15: Image from Second Style [online magazine]. Issue 44, available online from:
http://issuu.com/celebrity/docs/secondstyle44 [accessed 20 June 2011], pp.18-9.
16: Image from Second Style [online magazine]. Issue 44, available online from:
http://issuu.com/celebrity/docs/secondstyle44 [accessed 20 June 2011], pp.26-7.
17: Cyberpunk fashion, image from Second Style [online magazine]. Issue 13, available
online from: http://www.secondstyle.com/downloads/Second_Style_Issue13.pdf
[accessed 20 June 2011], pp.52-3.
18: Cyberpunk fashion, image from Second Style [online magazine]. Issue 13, available
online from: http://www.secondstyle.com/downloads/Second_Style_Issue13.pdf
[accessed 20 June 2011], pp.66-7.
19-24: Manifesto for Avatars. At: Little, G. A Manifesto for Avatars. Gregory Little
Website. Available online from: http://www.gregorylittle.org/avatars/text.html [accessed
10 November 2009].
25-8: Allegories: Pasiphae, the Architect, the Inkmistress, the Philosopher. At:
Greenaway, P. (1998) 100 allegories to represent the world. London, Merrell
Holberton.
29: The Minotaur. At: Greenaway, P. (1998) 100 allegories to represent the world.
London, Merrell Holberton.

Chapter 4
1: The world as a collection of fragments: screenshot from the Second Life map,
available online from: http://slurl.com [accessed 06-04-2011].
2-4: Frozen Grand Central. At: Frozen Grand Central (2008) The Mp3 Experiment 7.
Improv Everywhere [blog]. 31 January. Available from:
http://improveverywhere.com/2008/01/31/frozen-grand-central/ [1 April 2011].
5, 6: The protesters in the “Union Island” (left) and the IBM Island (right). At: IBM SL
Protest Organization (2007).Available from: http://ibmslprotest.blogspot.com/ [accessed
5 April 2011].
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7-8: Employees in Belgium (left) and in Slovenia (right) watching the virtual protest.
At: IBM SL Protest Organization (2007).Available from:
http://ibmslprotest.blogspot.com/ [accessed 5 April 2011].
9: The “Susa Bubble” installation. At: pj_trenton (2010). The Kiss by Rose Borchovski.
Flickr. June 27. Available online from:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pj_trenton/sets/72157624365972182 [accessed 8 April
2011].
10: The “kiss” demonstration. At: Au, W. J. (2010) Peter Greenaway, Acclaimed
Filmmaker & Second Life User, Joins Protest Over Anti-Nudity Policies at SL
Anniversary in Statement on Importance of Second Life as an Art Medium. New World
Notes. June 21. Available online from: http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2010/06/the-director-
the-avatar-his-rose-and-her-susa.html [accessed 8 April 2011].
11: The “kiss” demonstration. At: SaveMe Oh (2010) Your New President SaveMe Oh,
Rose Borchovski And Peter Greenaway Are Angry. SaveMe Oh’s Weblog. 19 June.
Available online from: http://savemeoh.wordpress.com/2010/06/19/your-new-president-
saveme-oh-rose-borchovski-and-peter-greenaway-are-angry/ [accessed 8 April2011].
12: Handelsman, W. (2009) Stop or I’ll tweet. Newsday: Walt Handelsman's Cartoons.
Available online from: http://www.newsday.com/opinion/walt-handelsman-s-cartoons-
1.3425078 [accessed 20 April 2011].

Chapter 5
1: Sullivan, J. (2003). Westin St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco. Getty Images. Available
online from: http://www.howstuffworks.com/smart-mob2.htm [accessed 2 September
2011].
2: Caron, M. (2012) Critical mass, San Francisco. At: 20th B-day Comments! (2012).
SFCriticalMass [blog]. 29 September. Available online from:
http://www.sfcriticalmass.org [11 February 2013].
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3: The “Indignados” in Madrid. At: ¡Democracia real YA! Available online from:
http://www.democraciarealya.es/manifiesto-comun/manifesto-english/ [accessed 30
August 2011].
4: Skybox. At: Skybox. Second Life Blogs. Available online from:
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Skybox [accessed 28 August 2011].
5: Tea Mob in Syntagma Square. Politis, A. (2004) Tea Mob [video].
Chapter 6
1-3: the Monument Flash Mob. Stills from: Duffell, A. (2007). Newcastle Flash Mob -
Look North. YouTube [video]. 30 January. Available online from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8FLiAuNTqs [10 October 2011].
4-5: Skydiving. At: Au, W. J. (2004) Taking a Dive. New World Notes. 19 July.
Available online from: http://secondlife.blogs.com/nwn/2004/07/taking_a_dive.html
[accessed 5 November 2011].
6: Antonopoulou, A. (2009) Hot air-balloon flight [snapshot from Second Life]. 22
December.
7: Second Life Map: screenshot from the Second Life map, available online from:
http://slurl.com [accessed 25 November 2011].
8: WL Skybox sphere. At: Second Life Marketplace (a). Sky Boxes. Available online
from:
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/products/search?search%5Bcategory_id%5D=429&
search%5Bcopy_permission%5D=0&search%5Blayout%5D=gallery&search%5Bmodi
fy_permission%5D=0&search%5Bper_page%5D=96&search%5Btransfer_permission
%5D=0 [accessed 18 October 2011].
9: Sky Platform. At: Second Life Marketplace (a). Sky Boxes. Available online from:
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/products/search?search%5Bcategory_id%5D=429&
search%5Bcopy_permission%5D=0&search%5Blayout%5D=gallery&search%5Bmodi
fy_permission%5D=0&search%5Bper_page%5D=96&search%5Btransfer_permission
%5D=0 [accessed 18 October 2011].
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10: Sky Mansion. At: Second Life Marketplace (a). Sky Boxes. Available online from:
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/products/search?search%5Bcategory_id%5D=429&
search%5Bcopy_permission%5D=0&search%5Blayout%5D=gallery&search%5Bmodi
fy_permission%5D=0&search%5Bper_page%5D=96&search%5Btransfer_permission
%5D=0 [accessed 18 October 2011].
11: StarFleet drydock. At: Second Life Marketplace (a). Sky Boxes. Available online
from:
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/products/search?search%5Bcategory_id%5D=429&
search%5Bcopy_permission%5D=0&search%5Blayout%5D=gallery&search%5Bmodi
fy_permission%5D=0&search%5Bper_page%5D=96&search%5Btransfer_permission
%5D=0 [accessed 18 October 2011].
12: Sky Land. At: Second Life Marketplace (b). Sky Land. Available online from:
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/The-island-floats-on-the-sky-for-foundation-of-
your-sky-house/1533445?id=1533445&slug=The-island-floats-on-the-sky-for-
foundation-of-your-sky-house [accessed 18 October 2011].
13: Sky Land Castle. At: Second Life Marketplace (b). Sky Land. Available online
from: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/The-island-floats-on-the-sky-for-
foundation-of-your-sky-house/1533445?id=1533445&slug=The-island-floats-on-the-
sky-for-foundation-of-your-sky-house [accessed 18 October 2011].
14: The Little Prince. At: Saint-Exupéry, A. d. (1943) The little prince. San Diego :
Harcourt.
15: Virtual land on sale. At: AnsheX. Available online from:
http://anshex.com/sl.php?cmd=outerland&otherland=land_search&gclid=CNrF4bTkg6s
CFeMJtAodtzO11Q [accessed 18 October 2011].

Chapter 7
1-5: NASA Space Settlements. At: Globus, A. Space Settlements: spreading life
throughout the solar system. Space Settlements. Available online from:
http://settlement.arc.nasa.gov/index.html [accessed 25 June 2012].
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