Virtual imaginaries of sustainability

On- and off-line community soliciting and action generating

Chronotopes of system-change generation

Oleg Koefoed

ESA Conference

Stream on Cultures of unsustainability

Milano

October 8th 2010

The outline Cultures of sustainability: creating participation and reflection

– Action research / Action-philosophy

– A new culture of things

Ontologies of participative media and a couple of questions..

Case: EDUFashion / Openwear / Ethical Economy

Examples: FakePress: iSee, Picnic, Radiant Copenhagen

Action-philosophical conceptscape

eventalities

sustensions

complexity

transdisciplinarity

action-philosophy

transculturality systems thinking

sub-subjection rhiz-culturation

technicity

chronotopics

co-creations

ubiquitous computing

virtual imaginaries

emotive activism

individuation

sociality

cultures of sustainability

New urban and virtual realities

The horizon: cultures of sustainability

C of S are the horizon of change and/or the result of conscious and intended processes

of deep cultural reflection and change, creating a change on a cross-systemic level and installing a potential 'new order'

in the relations between humans, between humans and nature, and between

humans and things

..or they could be the results of processes of realizationcaused by a series of recurrent crises and

disasters, forcing humans to change the way thatthey inhabit the world and relate to it

- always after the act = cultures ofunsustainability?

Participation and reflection!

Artists/cultural agents are channels of reflection

Linking reflection to things, to materiality!

Participation – bottom up change?

Issues of speed and proximity

New new media ontology (Lash, Beer, Hayles, etc)

Technology that goes/is/makes 'everywhere'

- picks up information- shares it with or without participation

- makes new creative work possible- works for both companies and artists- reintegrates the prosthetic element

- allows for community building- disperses potentiality (post-hegemony)

- what does it do for 'c of s'?

C of S → a new culture of things

‘the movement of computation out of the box and

into the environment’ (Hayles, 2007)

The relative power positions change..

presentation>representationCulture of objects (Lash & Lury '06)

Augmented realityUbiquitous computingGadgets, gadgets..Tools of empowerment?

Examples for speculation

”We can transform any space or surface into a display using electronic devices combined with location-based technologies, sensors, augmented reality and innovative visual surfaces. Furthermore, interactive surfaces are transforming the world, people and their activities.

It is progressively more possible – and accessible – to “write on the world“, layering contents, meanings, visuals and sensations that anyone can compose, diffuse and communicate.”

(from fakepress.it and their presentation yesterday here)

PROSUMERS?CRITICAL MASSES?

Examples for speculation

PICNIC (and penguin armies, etc...)Lots of creativityLack of focus on sustainability – a trend??Broad appeal to 'creatives'..BUT.. creates JOY and COLLECTIVE ENGAGEMENT

Strong on new media/technicity and socialitylack of sustainability

Examples for speculation

RADIANT COPENHAGENDeeply engaged, very elitarian artistic project

Creates reflection but does not engage to action– is this a problem?

Sustainability highlighted through futurist reflection

Strong on transculturality, but lack of emotive activism

EDUFashion / Openwear

Research & developmentOpen Source fashion designEthical, collaborative platformBottom-up education experimentsEthical economy software toolCommunity building cross-culturesCareer-changing engagementSystem challenge from periphery

(when/how/why) does it work?

direct (personal/P2P) creative action

extensive community engagement(new media adaptation)

playfulness and unpredictability

action over theory(but can be virtualizing and imaginary)

sustension (now) over sustainability (future)

small steps of engagement

...?

Discussion