Abstract
This chapter investigates how the application of emergent communication technologies assisted in the design of playful art experience in a public place. Every Passing Moment (EPM), was a mobile public artwork that tracked and recorded any discoverable Bluetooth device to automatically seed a flower in a virtual garden projected onto an urban screen. The EPM was the first public art work to run blu_box, a custom-designed Bluetooth system for mobile telephony. The aim of blu_box was to build a system that supported playful interactions between the public and an urban screen, openly accessible to anyone with a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone. This participatory engagement was observed in EPM on three levels, namely; unconscious, conscious, and dynamic play. Furthermore, this chapter highlights how sound and face-to-face communication proved imperative in the play dynamics of EPM. In conclusion, this chapter proposes ways in which the use of emergent communication technologies in public places, especially when interfaced with urban screening platforms, can construct playful city spaces for the public at large.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Benford S, Anasasi R, Flintham M, Drozd A, Crabtress A, Greenhalgh C, Tandavaitj M, Adams M & Row-Farr J (2003) Coping with uncertainty in a location-based game. IEEE Pervasive Computing, September 2003
Blast Theory (2007) Day Of The Figurines. http://www.dayofthefigurines.co.uk/. Retrieved March 2008
Büscher, M (2008) Participatory Media. Paper presentation at Futuresonic2008, Manchester, UK.
Foucault, M (1967) Of other spaces. French journal Architecture /Mouvement/ Continuité (1984) Translated from the French by Jay Miskowiec.
Galloway, A (2005) Playful mobilities. Presentation at the Ubiquitous Computing lecture series, Emerson College, USA. http://institute.emerson.edu/floatingpoints/05/anne_galloway.php. Retrieved Jan 2006
Galloway K & Rabinowitz S (1980) Hole-In-Space. http://www.ecafe.com/getty/HIS/. Retrieved 3 February 2009
Hamilton J & Southern J (2007) Landlines. http://www.landlines.org/. Retrieved 3 February 2009
Hemment, D (2004) Locative Art. http://www.drewhemment.com/2004/locative_arts.html Retrieved 4 October 2004
Hjorth, L (2007) Domesticating new media: A discussion on locating mobile media. Mobile Media conference proceedings. 2-4th July, University of Sydney, Australia, 179
Huizinga, J (1936) Homo ludens: a study of the play-element in culture. Temple Smith, London
Ingram, R. and S. Benford (1995). Improving the Legibility of Virtual Environments. In Proceedings of 2nd Eurographics Workshop on Virtual Environments, Monte Carlo. Available at: http://www.crg.cs.nott.ac.uk/research/publications/papers/VE95.pdf.
Kluitenberg, E (2000) Media without an audience. http://www.nettime.org/Lists-Archives/nettime-l-0010/msg00204.html. Retrieved June 2005
Lacy, S (ed) (1995) Mapping the terrain. New Genre Public Art. BayPress. Seattle, USA.
Locke M (2005) Being here – some moving stories about mobile technology. Published on receiver #5. Vodafone Group 2006. http://www.receiver.vodafone.com/05/index.html Retrieved Dec 2005
Lantz, F (2006) Big Games and the porous border between the real and the mediated. Published on receiver #16. Vodafone Group 2006. www.receiver.vodafone.com.
O’Callaghan, Bren (2008) Review of ‘Every Passing Moment’ after the first public art event at the BBC big screen, Liverpool UK.
Pac-Lan (2006) Available at: http://www.pac-lan.com/
Sermon, Paul and Zapp, Andrea (1992) Telematic Dreaming. Available at: http://www.hgb-leipzig.de/∼sermon/dream/
Sheridan JG, Bryan-Kinns N & Baylss A (2007). Encouraging witting participation and performance in digital live art. 21st British HCI Group Annual Conference Proceedings, 3-7 September, Lancaster, UK
Acknowledgments
EPM and the development of blu_box were supported by the Arts Council of England NW. The initial blu_box prototype was funded by the Regional Office, Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). The Manchester City Digital Development Agency (MDDA) kindly financed the research. Many thanks are due to the Liverpool’s Big Screen manager and curator, Bren O’Callaghan for all his support. We would also like to thank Jonathan Fisher for the environmental sounds and all the additional assistance of performers and friends, especially ONTECA and Jon Wetherall, who made this artwork possible!
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer-Verlag London
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Stukoff, M.N. (2009). Bluetooth as a Playful Public Art Interface. In: Willis, K., Roussos, G., Chorianopoulos, K., Struppek, M. (eds) Shared Encounters. Computer Supported Cooperative Work. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84882-727-1_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84882-727-1_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-84882-726-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-84882-727-1
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)