Media Art and the Urban Environment: Engendering Public Engagement with Urban Ecology

309 Pages·2015·12.209 MB·English

by  Francis T. Marchese (eds.)

Future City 5
Francis T. Marchese Editor
Media Art and
the Urban
Environment
Engendering Public Engagement
with Urban Ecology
Media Art and the Urban Environment
FUTURE CITY Volume 5
AdvisoryBoard
JackAhern,UniversityofMassachusetts,DepartmentofLandscapeArchitectureandRegional
Planning,Amherst,MA,USA
JohnBolte,OregonStateUniversity,Biological&EcologicalEngineeringDepartment,
Corvallis,OR,USA
RichardDawson,UniversityofNewcastleuponTyne,SchoolofCivilEngineering&
Geosciences,NewcastleuponTyne,UK
PatrickDevine-Wright,UniversityofManchester,SchoolofEnvironmentandDevelopment,
ManchesterSchoolofArchitecture,Manchester,UK
AlmoFarina,UniversityofUrbino,InstituteofBiomathematics,FacultyofEnvironmental
Sciences,Urbino,Italy
RaymondJamesGreen,UniversityofMelbourne,FacultyofArchitecture,Building&Planning,
Parkville,VIC,Australia
GlennR.Guntenspergen,NationalResourcesResearchInstitute,USGeologicalSurvey,Duluth,
MN,USA
DagmarHaase,HelmholtzCentreforEnvironmentalResearchGmbH–UFZ,Departmentof
ComputationalLandscapeEcology,Leipzig,Germany
MichaelJenks,OxfordBrookesUniversity,OxfordInstituteofSustainableDevelopment,
DepartmentofArchitecture,Oxford,UK
CecilKonijnendijkvandenBosch,SwedishUniversityofAgriculturalSciences,Departmentof
LandscapeArchitecture,PlanningandManagement,Alnarp,Sweden
JoanIversonNassauer,UniversityofMichigan,SchoolofNaturalResourcesandEnvironment,
LandscapeEcology,PerceptionandDesignLab,AnnArbor,MI,USA
StephanPauleit,TechnicalUniversityofMunich(TUM),ChairforStrategicLandscapePlanning
andManagement,Freising,Germany
StewardT.A.Pickett,CaryInstituteofEcosystemStudies,Millbrook,NY,USA
RobertVale,VictoriaUniversityofWellington,SchoolofArchitectureandDesign,Wellington,
NewZealand
KenYeang,LlewelynDaviesYeang,London,UK
MakotoYokohari,UniversityofTokyo,GraduateSchoolofSciences,InstituteofEnvironmental
Studies,DepartmentofNaturalEnvironment,Kashiwa,Chiba,Japan
FutureCityDescription
Asof2008,forthefirsttimeinhumanhistory,halfoftheworld’spopulationnowliveincities.
Andwithconcernsaboutissuessuchasclimatechange,energysupplyandenvironmentalhealth
receivingincreasingpoliticalattention,interestinthesustainabledevelopmentofourfuturecities
hasgrowndramatically.
Yetdespiteawealthofliteratureongreenarchitecture,evidence-baseddesignandsustainable
planning,onlyafractionofthecurrentliteraturesuccessfullyintegratesthenecessarytheoryand
practicefromacrossthefullrangeofrelevantdisciplines.
Springer’sFutureCityseriescombinesexpertisefromdesigners,andfromnaturalandsocial
scientists, to discuss the wide range of issues facing the architects, planners, developers and
inhabitantsoftheworld’sfuturecities.Itsaimistoencouragetheintegrationofecologicaltheory
intotheaesthetic,socialandpracticalrealitiesofcontemporaryurbandevelopment.
Moreinformationaboutthisseriesathttp://www.springer.com/series/8178
Francis T. Marchese
Editor
Media Art and the Urban
Environment
Engendering Public Engagement
with Urban Ecology
123
Editor
FrancisT.Marchese
DepartmentofComputerScience
PaceUniversity
NewYork,NY,USA
ISSN1876-0899 ISSN1876-0880 (electronic)
FutureCity
ISBN978-3-319-15152-6 ISBN978-3-319-15153-3 (eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-15153-3
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2015936191
SpringerChamHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
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Preface
Morethanhalftheresidentsoftheglobenowliveincities,andmuststrivetoflourish
indenselycrowdedurbanenvironmentscharacterizedbyinequality,socialconflict
andenormouspotentialforgrowthandchange.Newmediaartistsworkinginurban
settings are stimulating awareness, altering our perceptions of, and relationships
with, urbanspace thoughtheir digital inventionsand interventions.These innova-
tionscan be used in the developmentof futurepracticesforhelpingresidents,not
onlycopewiththedailychallengescreatedbyurbanenvironment,butalsoflourish
despite the inequality, spatial density, social conflict, and disorganization that are
symptomaticofcities.
The purpose of this book is to formally appraise the ways new media artists
engage urban ecology. It gathers together essays from artists, architects, urban
planners,andcriticaltheoriststoconsiderthesenewmodesofseeing,representing,
and connecting within the urban setting. What makes this book unique is that it
spotlightsartistsinsteadoftechnologistsasinnovatorsandagentsoftechnological
change.Because these individualscreate socially motivatedartwork, they possess
a clear understanding of the societal issues and values they wish to address. And
because these artists know how to exploit state-of-the-art technology, they can
create artworks that transcend the technology’s original purpose, thus expanding
thelanguageofenvironmentalengagement.
For the purpose of this volume urban ecology may be defined in a two-
fold way.1 From the natural science perspective, urban ecology investigates the
biological structures and environmental processes that support them in urban
spaces. Here, urban ecology focuses on plant populations, animal communities,
andenvironmentaleffects,includinghuman,onthem.Acomplementarydefinition
takes an anthropocentric view where humans are at its center. The field of urban
1Endlicher, Wilfried, Marcel Langner, Markus Hesse, Harald A. Mieg, Ingo Kowarik, Patrick
Hostert,ElmarKulkeetal.“UrbanEcology-DefinitionsandConcepts.”ShrinkingCities:Effects
onUrbanEcologyandChallengesonUrbanDevelopment(2007):1–13.
v
vi Preface
ecology then expands its emphasis to the improvement of living conditions for
human residents as part of an augmented characterization of an ecosystem that
includestheoriesfromsocialandplanningsciences.
This volumeis composedof14 chaptersdistributedacrossthree generalareas:
urbanecologyand its engagement,reimaginingandtransformingthe city,andthe
viewfromthestreets.
In the first chapter, “Toward an Ecological Urbanism: Public Engagement in
ContemporaryArtPractice,”MariaMichailssurveysadiversityofartistsworking
within the urban environment, considering artworks and projects designed to
inspire community awareness and stewardship of urban ecological systems. In
Chap. 2, “ExploringEnvironmentalStewardship ThroughData-DrivenPractices,”
Tega Brain and Jodi Newcombe expand on Michails survey by exploring the
strategiesthatartistsanddesignersemploytoengageurbanaudiences.Inparticular,
they assess how data from smart cities may be used to create artworks that can
recastresidents’understandingofurbanspace.GrishaColemanaandDaraghByrne
followwithadiscussionofhowarts-drivenprocessescanbeusedtobridgeartistic
practice and research in “Experiential Ecologies: A Transdisciplinary Framework
for Embodiment and Simulacra,” by considering how varied forms of ecological
informationcanbecombinedtocreatefoundationsforexhibition,engagementand
performance. These chapters are complemented by two chapters in which artists
discusstheirwork.InChap.4,“Uncultivated:anEvolutionaryDramaintheUrban
Environment,”LynnCazabonexploreshowherpublicartprojectdocumentingwild
plants in urban landscapes with geo-referenced photographs and public displays
increases awareness of overlooked plant life. In “Alone Together in the Dark:
Horror Based Artworks and Fan Participation in Urban and Extra-Urban Space,”
Jillian McDonald recounts several projects in which the performances of horror
fans in urban and ruralstimulates new awarenessof, and conversationsabout,the
environmentandsociety.
Urban information,its representation,perception, and use are importantissues
inthetransformationofurbanecology.InChap.6,“MobileMapsofChamaleonic
Cities:UrbanCartographiesandMethodologicalProceduresandExperiences,”by
PedroMarraandCarmenArozteguiMassera,explorehowtemporalityandspatiality
are constructed in contemporary cities. By investigating the flow of capital, the
staging of mega urban events such as Brazil’s World Cup, and the use of artistic
interventions, they propose methods for better understanding urban mobility and
enabling greater residential participation in its evolution. Alice Arnold follows
in Chap. 7 with “Electric Signs,” a discussion of the background behind her
documentaryfilmofthesamename.Atitscore,thechapterconsidersurbanspace,
the transformationof the ecologicaldynamicsof majorinternationalcities though
corporateinstallationoflargeLEDdisplays,andthesocio-politicalramificationsof
thesetransformations.Thetransformationofurbanspace isreflecteduponaswell
in Chap. 8 by Annette Weintraub. “Overload/Absence: The Collapse of Space to
Surface in Representations of Urban Space” considers the rapid diminishment of
urbanpublic space throughgentrificationand privatization,and its transformation
through mediazation. By comparing hyperactive urban media zones with the
Preface vii
numbinglyblandfaçadesofcontemporaryurbanarchitecture,Weintraubelucidates
the perceptual shift from urban space to surface, and explores how surfaces
have been utilized to generate new representations of urban space. In “Design as
Topology:U-City,” Ulrik Ekman further exploresthe dynamic transformationsof
urban space by discussing the design of a busy traffic intersection in the South
Korean u-city (ubiquitouscity) Songdo as a topological problem. The emergence
of u-cities or smart cities creates challenges and opportunities for an emergent,
mobile,andgloballyconnectedcitizenry,andthetechnologicalsubstratethatmust
bedevelopedtosupportit.Withafocusonthenatureofasingletrafficintersection,
Ekmanferretsoutthelayersofdesignissuesanticipatedtosupportthedynamicflow
of information and flow of people, focusing on a critical comparative discussion
of a variety of ontologicaland epistemological approachesto design as topology,
includingculturaltheory and technicalstudies. In Chap.10, “The EmergentCity:
2004–2012,” the artist Stanza complements Ekman’s presentation by discussing
howhisvisualartworksareinformedbycriticalanalysisofcityspaces.Asanartist
who designsurbanexperimentsand gathersdata throughnetworksof sensors and
videocameras,hecapturesthedynamicpatternsofurbandwellersandre-imagines
themasinformationvisualizations.
The remaining four chapters consider street art and its ability to engage urban
residents. Francis Marchese’s chapter, “The Art of Urban Engagement,” reviews
how digital media artists have exploited pervasive technologies to explore urban
ecology. By their interventions, they challenge a city’s inhabitants to reconsider
theirdailyurbanexperiences.VaughnWhitneyGarlanddiscusseshownewonline
communitycollaborationstransformurbansitesintospacesfornewartinChap.12,
“OurPlaceonThatWall:CommunityOnlineArtProjects.”Inparticular,hefocuses
on the nature of online community art projects as works orchestrated by artists
exercising the interconnected and participatory nature of the Internet. Brian A.
Brown argues in “Digitized Street Art,” that ‘street art’ is an ephemeral means
of artistic expression dependent upon the whim of the urban environment for its
display,andreliesondigitaltechnologiesforitsdocumentationanddissemination,
thus transforming urban street artists into digital artists. Finally, the artist Malin
Abrahamssonconsidersher temporarypublic art installation, “Solar Cycle 24: 15
NightlyProjections,”whichemphasizesplace-makinganddigitalaestheticsinthe
urban environment. Installed in a storefront, the vibrant, projected visualizations
engaged New York City residents through a simulation of the aurora borealis, a
phenomenonvisiblearoundtheNorthandSouthPoles.
NewYork,NY,USA FrancisT.Marchese

Acknowledgements
I am extremelygratefulto have had the opportunityto workwith the contributors
tothisvolumethroughoutitspreparation.Theirinsights,energy,andcreativityhave
contributedtothecreationofabookwhichIhopereaderswillfindbothstimulating
andthoughtful.IwouldalsoliketothanktheeditorsatSpringer-Verlag,especially
SimonReesandWayneWheeler,fortheirsupportofthisproject.
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