The Temporary Travel Office produces a variety of services relating to tourism and technology aimed at exploring the non-rational connections existing between public and private spaces. The Travel Office has operated in a variety of locations, including Missouri, Chicago, Southern California and Norway.
Is MySpace a Place?
Networked Performance pointed me toward an interview (download in PDF)with Networked Publics speaker Henry Jenkins and Networked Publics friend danah boyd about Myspace. The site, popular with teenagers, has become increasingly controversial as parents and the press raise concerns about the openness of information on the site and the vulnerability this supposedly poses to predators (Henry points out that only .1% of abductions are by strangers) and the behavior of teens towards each other (certainly nothing new, only now in persistent form). In another essay on Identity Production in Networked Culture, danah suggests that Myspace is popular not only because the technology makes new forms of interaction possible, but because older hang-outs such as the mall and the convenience store are prohibiting teens from congregating and roller rinks and burger joints are disappearing.
This begs the question, is Myspace media or is it space? Architecture theorists have long had this thorn in their side. "This will kill that," wrote Victor Hugo with respect to the book and the building. In the early 1990s, concern about a dwindling public culture and the character of late twentieth century urban space led us to investigate Jürgen Habermas's idea of the public sphere. But the public sphere, for Habermas is a forum, something that, for the most part, emerges in media and in the institutions of the state:
The bourgeois public sphere may be conceived above all as the sphere of private people come together as a public; they soon claimed the public sphere regulated from above against the public authorities themselves, to engage them in a debate over the general rules governing relations in the basically privatized but publicly relevant sphere of commodity exchange and social labor. The medium of this political confrontation was peculiar and without historical precedent: people's ...
SWITCH: Issue 22
HI everyone. Just wanted to announce the new issue of SWITCH:
SWITCH : The online New Media Art Journal of the CADRE Laboratory for
New Media at San Jose State University
http://switch.sjsu.edu switch@cadre.sjsu.edu
SWITCH Journal is proud to announce the launch of Issue 22: A Special
Preview Edition to ISEA 2006/ ZeroOne San Jose.
As San Jose State University and the CADRE Laboratory are serving as
the academic host for the ZeroOne San Jose /ISEA 2006 Symposium,
SWITCH has dedicated itself to serving as an official media
correspondent of the Festival and Symposium. SWITCH has focused the
past three issues of publication prior to ZeroOne San Jose/ISEA2006
on publishing content reflecting on the themes of the symposium. Our
editorial staff has interviewed and reported on artists, theorists,
and practitioners interested in the intersections of Art & Technology
as related to the themes of ZeroOne San Jose/ ISEA 2006. While some
of those featured in SWITCH are part of the festival and symposium,
others provide a complimentary perspective.
Issue 22 focuses on the intersections of CADRE and ZeroOne San Jose/
ISEA 2006. Over the past year, students at the CADRE Laboratory for
New Media have been working intensely with artists on two different
residency projects for the festival – “Social Networking” with Antoni
Muntadas and the City as Interface Residency, “Karaoke Ice” with
Nancy Nowacek, Marina Zurkow & Katie Salen. Carlos Castellanos,
James Morgan, Aaron Siegel, all give us a sneak preview of their
projects which will be featured at the ISEA 2006 exhibition. Alumni
Sheila Malone introduces ex_XX:: post position, an exhibition
celebrating the 20th anniversary of the CADRE Institute that will run
as a parallel exhibition to ZeroOne San Jose/ ISEA 2006. LeE
Montgomery provides a preview of NPR (Neighborhood Public Radio)
presence at ...
Art & Mapping
The North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) has released a special issue of their journal, Cartographic Perspectives:
Art and Mapping
Issue 53, Winter 2006
Edited by Denis Wood and and John Krygier
Price: $25
The issue includes articles by kanarinka, Denis Wood, Dalia Varanka and John Krygier, and an extensive catalogue of map artists compiled by Denis Wood.
[-empyre-] Liquid Narrative for June 2006
Christina McPhee:
hi all, I am not sure we got this message out to Rhizome!
Please join our guests this month, Dene Grigar (US), Jim Barrett
(AU/SE), Lucio Santaella (BR), and Sergio Basbaum (BR) , with
moderator Marcus Bastos (BR), for a spirited discussion of "Liquid
Narratives" ----- digital media story telling with a dash, perhaps,
of 'aura' .
Here's the intro from Marcus:
The topic of June at the - empyre - mailing list will be Liquid Narratives. The concept of 'liquid narrative' is interesting in that it allows to think about the unfoldings of contemporary languages beyond tech achievements, by relating user controlled applications with formats such as the essay (as described by Adorno in "Der Essay als Form", The essay as a form) and procedures related to the figure of the narrator (as described by Benjamin in his writings about Nikolai Leskov). Both authors are accute critics of modern culture, but a lot of his ideas can be expanded towards contemporary culture. As a matter of fact, one of the main concerns in Benjamin's essay is a description of how the rise of modernism happens on account of an increasing nprivilege of information over knowledge, which is even more intense nowadays. To understand this proposal, it is important to remember how Benjamin distinguishes between an oral oriented knowledge, that results from 'an experience that goes from person to person' and is sometimes anonymous, from the information and authoritative oriented print culture. One of the aspects of this discussion is how contemporary networked culture rescues this 'person to person' dimension, given the distributed and non-authoritative procedures that technologies such as the GPS, mobile phones and others stimulate.state of the planet infographics
a small collection of beautiful information graphics documenting the current state of the planet.
see also gapminder & 3d data globe.
[seedmagazine.com]
Interview: AUDC and the Disappearance of Architecture
Architecture
- An Interview by Ryan Griffis -
Note: This interview, conducted by email during 2004-5, is a discussion
with Kazys Varnelis and Robert Sumrell, of the LA-based AUDC
(Architecture Urbanism Design Collaborative). AUDC produces published
texts, multimedia installations and a collaboratively-produced wiki,
all of which present their efforts at creating 'conceptual
architecture.
Fwd: [help] katrina: regrowth tee
>
> If you are looking for ways to contribute to the relief effort this
> might interest you.
>
> New Orleans native Ross Zietz works at skinnyCorp here in Chciago and
> asked his boss if he could design a T-shirt to aid relief efforts in
> the south through their Threadless.com t-shirt site. The bosses said
>
Fwd: Celebrate Constitution Day this Saturday September 17th
>
>
> My Daily Constitution presents:
> A Constitution Day Celebration
> on Constitution Day, Saturday September 17th, 2005
>
> With the Discussion: "What Responsibility does a Government Have to Its
> Citizens?"
> and Music by Matty D. & Friends (www.mattdemerritt.com).
>
> Article 1 Section 8.: The Congress Shall have Power To....
> After Hurricane Katrina's devastation and our government's failure to
> protect our citizens, My Daily Constitution marks Constitution Day by
> raising broader questions about the role of a government and its
> citizen
> body.
>
> Discussion led by:
> Dr. DAVID L. HORNE, Professor, Pan African Studies, California State
> University; Director of the California African American Political
> Institute, and Dr. AMIR HUSSAIN, Associate Professor, Department of
> Theological Studies, Loyola Marymount University.
>
> at: KAOS Network in Leimert Park Village
> (www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id 87&IssueNum2)
> 4343 Leimert Blvd.
> Los Angeles, CA 90008
>
> 5:00 PM - Discussion
> 7:00 PM - Reception 'till 9:00 PM
>
> Free and Open to the Public - Complimentary Copy of the U.S.
> Constitution
> For All.
>
> More info at:
> www.mydailyconstitution.org
> 310 804.4887
>
> My Daily Constitution is an interdisciplinary project bringing together
> leading innovators, people, and the U.S. Constitution, creating a space
> where an active interpretation of the US Constitution may take place.
> MDC
> engages in Constitution Cafes (a series of interactive discussions) and
> cultural / arts programming. Past Constitution Cafes have been held in
> Los
> Angeles, New York City, Seattle, and Cincinnati.
legislating creativity
2009-1008_3-5860582.html?tag=alert
"...Congress is about to consider a controversial proposal from Rep.
Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican, that would grant a patent to the first
person to submit the paperwork --a standard that's common outside the
United States.
The legislation suddenly has become a flash point about everything
that's right with the U.S. patent system--and everything that's wrong
with it. Technology companies fighting expensive patent cases are
hoping the bill will reduce litigation, while open-source advocates say
it will do nothing to hinder the rising tide of software patents being
issued. Many people feel that the measure will make only modest
improvements, if any, to the quality of patents being awarded.
Smith's bill, called the Patent Reform Act of 2005, also has drawn the
ire of independent inventors, who have said it will unfairly hurt
anyone without a battalion of patent lawyers who can race to the Patent
and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Va.
Fwd: Call for Artwork for new graphics book and more!
> This isn't a Microcosm project per se, but our friend Josh of
> justseeds.org is compiling a new book of radical artwork that will be
> published by Soft Skull Press. He is looking for submissions. I know
> that many of you are artists or designers yourself and this is a great
> opportunity to get your work in print.
>
> In other news, we've just released the first book from Moe Bowstern,
> the second version of the hit video "talkie" $100 & A T-Shirt, and
> hauled back a slew of new books and videos from AK Press a few weeks
> ago.
>
> Speaking of AK Press, they are our new booktrade distributors. We've
> recently cancelled our arrangement with National Book Network/Biblio
> and switched over to AK Press. Aside from the fact that Biblio had
> some trouble knowing what to do with our books, it feels much nicer to
> be working with friends (and future friends) who operate under an
> anarchist worker-owned cooperative. While we had friends at Biblio it
> always had a bit of a corporate feel and a sea of paperwork that made
> me feel very alienated from the staff. We've always been distributed
> by AK but now they will also deal our books more to stores and out
> through Ingram, Baker & Taylor, and other people we'd rather not have
> to deal with directly.
>
> Xtra Tuf #5 Book - Moe has brought us the inside story about being a
> woman who fishes commercially for years. If that doesn't seem
> fascinating to you, you have another thing coming. Moe is an amazing
> storyteller and reveals much about the history of commercial fishing
> in Alaska through a very descriptive and personable narrative that can
> be understood by any layperson. She tells great stories of the crews
> she's been involved with and their dynamics as well being a woman
> involved in a very male dominated profession. Moe has a passion for
> fishing and the sea and she shares this with you in her zine. This is
> her story of being on the job and "how she got xtra tuf" on a few
> different episodes of labor disagreements that held up work
> (technically not "strikes") over many years. Fascinating reading as
> she combines her artistic and DIY sensibilities with labor tactics in
> order to achieve the fishermen's goals and get everyone back to work!
> $5 from us / $6 in stores
>
> $100 & A T-Shirt, Version 2.0 now available! - A year in the making,
> the second version of this highly acclaimed video talkie is now
> available! The most common gripes were that the original was too long
> with too many talking heads so we've tightened it up with reduced
> redundancy, 12 new visual re-enactment shots, 2 new bonus tracks
> (zinesters who publish books and Malady's boner story comic), plus
> commentary tracks from Jack Saturn, Dave Roche, Joe Biel, and Alex
> Wrekk! VHS now only $6. DVD is $8 / $10 in stores
>
> Keep an eye out for the 2006 Slingshot Organizer which should be
> available in a few weeks!
>
> Look below Josh's call out for a list of other new titles!
>
> Take carez,
> Joe
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> Attention Radical Political Artists!
> CALL FOR ARTWORK
> to be published in a new book.
>
> Deadline: October 31st, 2005
>
> Reproduce and Revolt!: Radical Graphics for the 21st Century
> Edited by Josh MacPhee & Favianna Rodriguez
> Soft Skull Press
>
>
> Reproduce and Revolt! is a graphic toolbox to be launched into the
> hands of political activists all over the world. The book will contain
> over 300 new and exciting high-quality black & white illustrations and
> graphics about social justice and political activism for activists to
> use on flyers, posters, t-shirts, brochures, stencils or any other
> graphic aspects of political campaigns. All the graphics will be bold
> and easy to reproduce, in addition to being royalty-free/open
> source/anti-copyright/creative commons.
>
>
> We are now collecting submissions of graphics, illustrations and art
> for the book, which will be published by Soft Skull Press in late
> 2006. We will chose for the book according quality of the image,
> reproducibility, and how well the graphic conveys the issues. Not
> everyone's submissions will be included. We will also be attempting to
> craft the book to represent the output of as diverse a group of
> artists as possible, across gender, race, ethnicity, nationality,
> sexuality, ability, etc. Reproduce & Revolt! is not intended to be a
> who's who of well known and successful political artists, this call is
> open to ALL levels of artists.
>
>
> Here are the specifications for the images:
>