The Mixed-Reality City

Course Overview

The contemporary city is constituted by multiple overlapping, intermixing realities, articulated between built form and imagined space, individuated experience and collective memory, embodied sensation and digital mediation. Often, these multiple realities are invisible or illegible in physical space, with certain narratives dominating particular environments. However, realities always leave traces, to be excavated or constructed.

This hybrid seminar/studio focuses upon new media art and architectural production, resulting in final projects that remix reality in public spaces through novel combinations of mobile devices (e.g. iPhones/iPads), audio/video/image recordings, networked data streams, and material artifacts. We will deploy media archaeological methods to uncover suppressed, neglected and forgotten places and stories, and design urban interventions that transform the perception of specific sites. Get a sense of the types of projects created in the course through the work developed in Spring 2011 >> .

We will also probe historical and theoretical conceptions of constructing urban realities, with particular emphasis on the documentary arts, critical conservation and experimental mapping. Artists, architects and theorists to be discussed include: Janet Cardiff, Bruno Latour, Fluxus, Frederic Jameson, Blast Theory, Miwon Kwon, Thom Andersen, Jacques Rancière, Kazys Varnelis and others.

This course is affiliated with metaLAB (at) Harvard, a research unit for experiments in the arts, media and humanities at the Berkman Center for Interent and Society, and the Sensory Ethnography Lab, a laboratory that supports innovative combinations of aesthetics and ethnography.

Note: Previous computer programming or media design experience is not required, as easy-to-use digital tools will be made available to create new media works on iPhones, iPads and other platforms. Students interested in hacking and developing their own technologies are also more than welcome.

Basics

This course will be run in a seminar format, composed of a mixture of brief presentations and a considerable amount of discussion involving every student in the class. It is essential that you be prepared to participate at all times.

Class only meets once a week, so attendance is crucial. If you must miss a class for any reason, please email in advance. If you know in advance that you may miss any classes during the semester, contact me as soon as possible. If you miss more than one class, you risk failing the course.

Course Components

Practice
Collaborative investigation of Harvard Square
During the first weeks of the course, as a group, we will focus on collaboratively excavating Harvard Square, uncovering hidden, suppressed spaces and narratives; dissecting its touristic representation; and digging into its archival mediation. The final result will be a collaborative series of locative media walks and an online database of media in multiple formats.

Final Project
The project can draw upon media you or others have recorded/catalogued earlier in the semester, but it is not required. It can involve digital technology or not. The location can be Harvard Square or somewhere entirely different. The project can be individual or collaborative with others in the class. The final project can be a speculative proposal for a large-scale design intervention in any city. You can choose to use Zeega or develop your own forms of technical (or non-technical) mediation. Projects that have component that can be realized by an audience member/participant visiting a specific physical location in Boston will be reviewed by critics at those locations. Projects connected to other places will be reviewed by critics in a juried presentation/critique.

History/Theory
Weekly readings/watchings/listenings/discussions
The historical and theoretical portion of the course is guided by weekly readings, film screenings and audio listenings. It is expected that each student substantively engage these materials weekly and be prepared to deeply discuss each work in class. The first weeks generally attempt to pair material relevant to the group's collaborative exercises; the later weeks generally focus upon contemporary topics that aim to inform each student's final projects.

Case Studies
The subject matter of this course is constantly evolving, and as such, it is crucial that we also work together to track new developments, develop historical perspective and enhance each other's learning. Towards this aim, each student will be required to write 2 brief case studies (ca. 500 words) critically analyzing a contemporary or historical project of relevance to the course. Think of these as short essays to help us build a collection of shared references and inspirations for your final projects.

Technology Expectations

This course is media and technology intensive. It is expected that all students have some familiarity and experience working with Macintosh computers. Experience working with digital media software of any kind will be valuable, but more important is a basic comfort level with navigating the Mac OS interface in general and with basic file management. Students will be encouraged to learn by doing, and to share skills with each other. The emphasis of this course, however, is not on learning technical skills per se, but rather on being able to make whatever use you can of the media technologies at hand for artistic practice.

Experimental Context

This course and the work that you will create is an experiment. It is important to keep in mind that all of us will be inventing elements as we go, and this process of discovery and development is part of the excitement. Consequently, it's also important to understand certain things will fail, break and not turn out as planned, and to embrace these hiccups as part of working in a collaborative, laboratory environment.

Readings/Watchings/Listenings

All readings will be made available as PDFs over the course of the semester on the course website, unless otherwise noted in the syllabus. Films and CDs will be available for watching/listening through Loeb Library.

Evaluation

Participation in class: 40%
Final project: 30%
Contributions to Harvard Square experiments: 15%
Case studies: 15%

Schedule

Note: This syllabus and schedule will likely change throughout the semester to adapt to student interests, course composition, etc. Please always check this website for the most up-to-date version.

WK 1 :: Jan 27 :: Entering the Mixed-Reality City 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Introductions

11:15 am - 11:45 pm
* Hill, Dan. "The Street as a Platform." cityofsound.com. 2008

Suggested Reading
* Shepard, Mark. "Toward the Sentient City." In Sentient City: ubiquitious computing, architecture and the future of urban space. MIT Press: 2011. (PDF)

11:45 am - 12 pm
* Fluxus scores and tours [selections] (PDF)
Introduction to Experiment 1

Experiment 1 :: Sensory Walking Cards in Harvard Square

WK 2 :: Feb 3 :: Exploring Reality in the Modern and Networked Metropolis 10 am - 11:30 am
Readings
* Latour, Bruno and Hermant, Emilie. Paris: Invisible City. 1998. (INTERACTIVE) | (PDF - Pages 1-6 Required) | (HOLLIS)
* Jameson, Frederic. "The Existence of Italy." In Signatures of the Visible. 1990. [Parts 1 + 2] (PDF) | (HOLLIS)
* Tuters, Marc and Varnelis, Kazys. "Beyond Locative Media: Giving Shape to the Internet of Things." (PDF)
* Elkins, James. "How to Look at a Culvert." In How to Use Your Eyes. 2000. (PDF)

Listenings
Janet Cardiff, Excerpt 1 from "Her Long Black Hair." 2004. (mp3)
Janet Cardiff, Excerpt 2 from "Her Long Black Hair." 2004. (mp3) | (Photo 1) | (Photo 2)
Janet Cardiff, Excerpt 3 from "Her Long Black Hair." 2004. (mp3)

Suggested Readings
* Baudelaire, Charles. "The Painter of Modern Life." 1859. (PDF) | (HOLLIS)
* Benjamin, Walter. "The Flâneur." In . 1937. (PDF) | (HOLLIS)
* Picon, Antoine. "Toward a City of Events: Digital Media and Urbanity." In New Geographies 0. 2008.(PDF)
* Borges, Jorge Luis. "Garden of Forking Paths." (1941). (PDF) | (HOLLIS)
* Gordon, Eric and de Souza e Silva, Adriana. Net Locality: Why Location Matters in a Networked World. Forthcoming April 2011.
* Greenfield, Adam. Everyware: Dawning Age of Ubiquitous Computing. 2006. [Thesis 01,02,07,11-16, Conclusion] (PDF) | (HOLLIS)

11:45 am - 1:00 pm
Discussion of Experiment 1 (Walk)

Experiment 2 :: Trading Cards

WK 3 :: Feb 10 :: Database Aesthetics 10 am - 11:30 am
Readings
* Manovich, Lev. "Database as Symbolic Form." In Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. 1999. (PDF)
* Knuth, David "Basic Concepts" In Fundamental Algorithms: The Art of Computer Programming 1997. (PDF)
* Chabert, Jean-Luc "Towards the Concept of Algorithm" In A History of Algorithms 1994. (PDF)

Watchings
* Vertov, Dziga (director). Kaufman, Mikhail (camera). Svivlova, Elizaveta. (editor). Man with a Movie Camera. 1929. (YouTube) | (HOLLIS)

11:45 am - 1:00 pm
Discussion of Experiment 2 (Trading Cards)

Experiment 3 :: Mediated Urbanisms + Reflections

WK 4 :: Feb 17 :: The Politics and Aesthetics of the Web 10 am - 11:30 am
Readings
* Barthes, Roland. "The Death of the Author." 1967. (PDF)
* Varnelis, Kazys. "Network Culture." In Networked Publics. 2008. (PDF)
* Benkler, Yochai. "Introduction." The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom. 2007. (PDF)
* Zittrain, Jonathan. The Future of the Internet - And How to Stop It. Yale University Press: 2008. [excerpts]. (PDF)

Watchings
* Andersen, Thom. Los Angeles Plays Itself. 2003. (Part 1 on YouTube)

Suggested Reading
* Barthes, Roland. "Myth Today" and "Toys." In Mythologies. 1957.
* Bruno, Giuliana. Automatic Cities: The Architectural Imaginary in Contemporary Art. 2009.
* Simmel, Georg. "Metropolis and Mental Life." 1903.

11:45 am - 1:00 pm
Discussion of Experiment 3 (Algorithmic Design + Case Studies)

FINAL PROJECT PROPOSAL

WK 5 :: Feb 24 :: Final Project Proposal Discussion In-class discussion of final project proposals

Individual Project Meetings Outside of Class + Case Studies

WK 6 :: March 2 :: Sound + The Art of Interactive Storytelling 10 am - 11:30 am
Guest Artist Presentation: Kara Oehler (Documentary Arts and Media Innovation Fellow, metaLAB(at)Harvard)

WK 7 :: March 9 :: Experimental Geography Guest Artist Presentation + Discussion: Catherine D'Iganzio (RISD, MIT + The Institute for Infinitely Small Things)

Readings
* D'Ignazio, Catherine. "Art and Cartography." In International Encyclopedia of Human Geography. 2009 (PDF)
* Wood, Denis and Krygier, John. "Critical Cartography." In International Encyclopedia of Human Geography. 2009 (PDF)

WK 8 :: March 23 :: Mid-Review 10 am - 1 pm
Guest critics

WK 9 :: March 30 :: Traversing Theory + Practice Presentation: Jesse Shapins

Related Projects
The Colors of Berlin
Yellow Arrow

Related Readings
* Shklovsky, Viktor. "Art as Technique." In Russian Formalist Critcism: Four Essays. Translated by Lee T. Lemon and Marion J. Reis. Omaha: University of Nebraska Press, 1965. (PDF)
* Kwon, Miwon. "Genaeology of Site-Specificity." In One Place After Another. 2004. (PDF)
* Rancière, Jacques. The Politics of Aesthetics. 2004. [required] "Forward," "The Distribution of the Sensible" and "Mechanical Arts and the Promotion of the Anonymous." [optional] "Translator's Introduction." (PDF)
* Bishop, Claire. "Antagonism and Relational Aesthetics." In October, Fall 2004. (PDF)

WK 10 :: April 6 :: Sensing Responsive Environments Class: 10 am - 12:00 pm
Guest Artist Presentation: Susanne Seitinger (MIT Media Lab)

"Desk Crits" w/ Instructors on Thursday, April 12
12:00: Kayla
12:30: Betsy
1:00: Suemin
1:30: Sabrina
2:00: David

WK 11 :: April 13 :: Collaboration and Participation Class: 11 am - 1:00 pm
Guest Artist Presentation: Mandy Rose (Digital Cultures Research Centre, University of the West of England)

"Desk Crits" w/ Instructors
10:00: Melissa
10:30: Sumona
2:30: Nikola
3:00: Kane

WK 12 :: April 20 :: Slow Journalism Class: 10 am - 12:00 pm
Guest Artist Presentation: Paul Salopek (Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist + Nieman Fellow)

"Desk Crits" w/ Instructors
12:15: Tabare
12:45: James
2:00: Sara
2:30: Clementina

WK 13 :: May 6 + 8 :: Final Performances + Presentations SUNDAY, 5/6 (on-site across Boston + Cambridge)

Guest Critic: Brian House (NYTimes R&D)

SESSION 1 :: 10 am :: Meet at South Station

10:00 am Sumona (South Station)
11:00 am Melissa (Government Center)
12:00 pm Sabrina (770 Massachusetts Avenue)

12:30 pm Lunch

1:30 pm Viri/Maynard (364a Broadway)
2:30 pm Kayla (Cambridge Public Library)
3:30 pm Sara (40 Kirkland)
4:30 pm Kane (Harvard Yard)
5:30 pm Tabare (Winthrop Square)

Tuesday, 5/8 (at Gund Hall)

1:00 pm Clementina
1:30 pm Nikola
2:00 pm Betsy

2:30 pm Break and move to 40 Kirkland

3:00 pm David: This is Framingham
3:30 pm Suemin: Global Mash Up
4:00 pm James: Some Reflections on Weather

4:30 pm Group wrap-up and course review
5:00 pm Drinks at Grafton!