Project Module
Lecturer: Christian Doeller
Times: Tuesday 13:30 - 17:00
Venue: Digital Bauhaus Lab
First meeting: October 13, 13:30 @ DBL
Description:
Imagine you are observing the processes, objects and living beings that affect, interact with or temporarily inhabit a randomly chosen cubic metre of urban space.
Maybe you find the intertwined hands of people passing by, cigarette butts with lipstick marks, or a scratched kerbstone repeatedly used for grinding by skateboarders. Maybe you find a particular species of moss that has settled into the cracks between the paving stones, or small holes surrounded by ants. After a rain shower, you might find a puddle that collected the colourful pollen of plants growing on a nearby balcony. Or maybe you will encounter a particular smell, a familiar sound, a gust of air created by a passing bicycle, or the residual heat of a recently parked car.
In the project module »Roaming the City«, we understand urban spaces as dynamic and multi-layered environments that are shaped by human, animal, vegetal, technological and atmospheric processes. We employ a variety of artistic strategies, alongside analogue and digital media, to observe and analyse these processes, ultimately translating them into new perspectives on our everyday environment.
On the one hand, the term »roaming« refers to the act of attentively wandering and exploring a physical space. On the other hand, it evokes the idea of »tuning in« to the hidden phenomena and ubiquitous signals that can be captured, analysed and rendered perceptible through sensor technologies. »Roaming the City« invites you to explore both of these modes of experience, for example through participatory formats such as collective walks or speculative city tours, conducted entirely through analogue means or with the support of technological tools. You might also develop your own sensor devices or work with publicly available real-time data from urban weather stations and other infrastructures to translate hidden phenomena and processes in urban spaces into visual, acoustic or spatial experiences.
Our conceptual exploration of the topic draws on collective observation exercises, artistic positions, and texts from the fields of urban ecology, media theory, and environmental monitoring.
This project module is geared towards students who enjoy wandering through the city and lingering on the details of everyday environments; who are fascinated by experiencing different perspectives and scales of experience, and who wish to further develop and refine their artistic strategies and modes of translation. The module is open to students from all semesters; no prior knowledge required. Successful completion requires regular attendance, a presentation on the topic, and the development of an independent approach in the form of an artistic prototype and/or an intervention in urban space.
Participants:
- YOUR NAME
Schedule:
- upcoming
Artists:
- Haus Rucker Co
- Lois Weinberger
- Kate McLean
- Meredith Drum
- Timo Arnall
- HeHe
- Christina Kubisch
- Ingrid Burrington
- Stanley Greenberg
- Nathalie Jeremijenko
- Agnes Denes
- Mark Shepard
- Marco Barotti
- Simon Weickert
- Janett Cardiff & George Bures Miller
- Trevor Paglen
- Mierle Laderman Ukeles
- Bull.Miletic
Literature:
- Steward T. A. Pickett und Mary L. Cadenasso: Urban Principles for Ecological Landscape Design and Maintenance - Scientific Fundamentals
- Steward T. A. Pickett und Mary L. Cadenasso: Urban ecological systems: Scientific foundations and a decade of progress
- William Cronon: The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature
- Philippe Descola: Beyond Nature and Culture
- Donna Haraway: The Companion Species Manifesto: Dogs, People, and Significant Otherness
- Donna Haraway: When Species Meet
- Shannon Mattern: A city is not a computer
- Jennifer Gabrys: Program Earth
Language & skill level:
- The module will be held in English, unless all participants are speaking German.
- No prior knowledge is required.
Criteria for passing:
- be on time, attend the classes, be active
- hold a presentation on the subject
- develop a prototype
- present your prototype during Winterwerkschau
- finalize a documentation