Re: [-empyre-] psychogeographies - opening statement

[Brett Stalbaum <beestal@cadre.sjsu.edu>]

It is possible, I suppose, that the site/sight of the image, or visions of
mastery, are no longer in the direct center of our epistemology. I've been
considering this a lot in terms of our work with the C5 landscape database
and GPS. One of the side projects I have put some energy into is an
interface that is intended to supplement paper topographical maps through
a combination of visualization and statistics. Basically, it is an
interface allowing the creation of supplemental, printable maps that you
can stick in your backpack with your topos. The work is ongoing, but here
is a static url that shows an example of the current output.
(http://spike.sjsu.edu/beestal/C5UTM_Map_Imager.htm) (The links are dead
in this browser dump...)

What is interesting to me is how much more interesting such representation
is when motivated by actually being in the field with it. It is the same
with topo maps. I can spend hours and hours just reading maps, but when I
carry one into the landscape, it is the combination of the two; the
physical proximity of the data to its 'real' other causes the model of the
real to really take on a sweet richness. Maybe it is just the partial
elimination of anxiety for me personally, because becoming lost is
especially easy for me to do for some reason. But on the other hand, we
are already well into an era when the ability to process data into
information, (or dynamically access information at a distance), can be
carried by the civilian population in our pockets. (The military and
industry have had this capability for some time.) This is forging a
compelling connection between our ancient human ability to navigate by
landmarks, dead reckoning, and tactics/tactility that lie under foot, with
a complex of data processing that emerges in a more embedded way with the
world and that changes our experience of both data and world, and
potentially our knowledge of data and place, in a transformative manner.
(What if the Spanish Armada and the English Fleet had GPS and weather
satellites in 1588? We now know how ultimately unimportant the sandstorms
that occurred during Gulf War 2.0 turned out to be, even though they were
perhaps the most potent force the "coalition of the willing" faced.)

While this new complex certainly includes the image, I view it as only one
of many possible waypoints in processing, and interaction with the body.
Data, and processing, are now active participants with us in the
landscape, having a great deal to tell those who develop ways of listening
to it. I think there is a lot of room at this time for artists to explore
the various ways of listening (or seeing, feeling, acting...), because we
too have a stake in how the world is heard. That is where we are, I think.

On Tue, 22 Apr 2003, Jordan Crandall wrote:

> I am not sure if I got bumped off the list or if things have settled down.
> This discussion is fascinating and I've been wanting to jump in and I hope
> it's not too late. I've been thinking about the way that CNN has visualized
> the weather during the war, and also that animated EarthViewer satellite
> imagery that swoops us in from space (in the context of Teri's description
> of the casting of the viewer as pilot) . We gleefully fly over Iraq as if on
> a ride, as the weatherpeople sweep their arms about to the tune of their
> flyovers, orchestrating the animations like conductors. Where are 'we'
> supposed to be in these visions of mastery. It is as if by having ever more
> sophisticated modes of visualization from the air we can somehow control
> what happens on the ground; or that since 'precision guiding' works in terms
> of missiles it would somehow work in terms of mappings .  Bunker-busters
> penetrate into the earth as we try to push more deeply into/through the
> image itself.  What resists ?  How incredible those sandstorms were that
> shrouded the landscape in an orange haze and reduced vision to arm's length.
>
> I have also been thinking a lot of Brett's description of the CNN feed at
> the gas pump. How perfect to get the flow of oil, network,
> and wind all in one place along with the struggles for their control .
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> empyre forum
> empyre@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
> http://www.subtle.net/empyre
>