playful mobilities. critical mobilities.
Anne Galloway
Dept. of Sociology & Anthropology
Carleton University
floating points 2 networked art in public space
wireless & networked technologies
public spaces & social lives
play & critical intervention
wireless & networked technologies
telegraph & radio. mobile phones. handheld devices. wearable technologies.
global positioning. radio frequency identification.
wireless networks. hertzian spaces. hybrid performances.
public space
mid 1400s “public” identified with the common good
early 1500s “public” identified with being open to general observation & scrutiny
late 1600s contrasted with “private” or being sheltered by family & friends
public space
public space as a special region of socialibility
if private = familiar & homogenous, then public = unfamiliar & heterogeneous
public life consists of negotiating difference & complexity
public space
civility (cosmopolitanism) vs. nature (family)
1700s struggle for public order
1800s protection from public chaos
public space
the urban-industrial revolution
the capitalist metropolis
the privatisation of public space & the fall of public man
public space
as networked space
public space
as play space
play & critical intervention
play as functional & productive
pleasure in play = mastery & control
rule-bound, goal-oriented, resolvable
play & critical intervention
play as seductive
pleasure in play = pleasure in other people
uncertain, unsolvable, unending
play & critical intervention
play as world-building
imagining. exploring. expressing.
conforming. adapting. subverting.
play & critical intervention
using play to critically engage tensions
between public & private, production & consumption
subjects & objects, performance & representation, freedom & control
play & critical intervention
play as (critical) mobility
against stability & singularity
for ambiguity & multiplicity
wireless & networked art in public space
performance. identity. agency.
ownership. access. use.
authorship. connection. interaction.
playful mobilities. critical mobilities.
using social & cultural studies, art and technology
to creatively & critically negotiate tensions
and create courageous new worlds