Spaces of such temporary, transient activity as to not have the significance to be regarded as “places”; also called non-space.
The term “non-place” was coined by French anthropologist Marc Augé, who wrote Non-Places: Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity (1995). Examples of non-places include airports, supermarkets, hotel rooms, and highways.
Marc Augé coined the term non-lieux [non-places] to describe specific kinds of spaces, chiefly architectural and technological, designed to be passed through or consumed rather than appropriated, and retaining little or no trace of our engagement with them. These spaces, principally associated with transit and communication, are for Augé the defining characteristics of the contemporary period he calls ‘supermodernity,’ the product and agent of a contemporary crisis in social relations and consequently in the construction of individual identities through such relations.
Il neologismo nonluogo definisce due concetti complementari ma assolutamente distinti: da una parte quegli spazi costruiti per un fine ben specifico (solitamente di trasporto, transito, commercio, tempo libero e svago) e dall'altra il rapporto che viene a crearsi fra gli individui e quegli stessi spazi.
Marc Augé definisce i nonluoghi in contrapposizione ai luoghi antropologici, quindi tutti quegli spazi che hanno la prerogativa di non essere identitari, relazionali e storici. Fanno parte dei nonluoghi sia le strutture necessarie per la circolazione accelerata delle persone e dei beni (autostrade, svincoli e aeroporti), sia i mezzi di trasporto, i grandi centri commerciali, i campi profughi, eccetera. Spazi in cui milioni di individualità si incrociano senza entrare in relazione sospinti o dal desiderio frenetico di consumare o di accelerare le operazioni quotidiane o come porta di accesso ad un cambiamento (reale o simbolico). I nonluoghi sono prodotti della società della surmodernità, incapace di integrare in sé i luoghi storici confinandoli e banalizzandoli in posizioni limitate e circoscritte alla stregua di "curiosità" o di "oggetti interessanti". Simili eppure diversi: le differenze culturali massificate, in ogni centro commerciale possiamo trovare cibo cinese, italiano, messicano e magrebino. Ognuno con un proprio stile e caratteristiche proprie nello spazio assegnato. Senza però contaminazioni e modificazioni prodotte dal nonluogo. Il mondo con tutte le sue diversità è tutto racchiuso lì.
I nonluoghi sono incentrati solamente sul presente e sono altamente rappresentativi della nostra epoca, che è caratterizzata dalla precarietà assoluta (non solo nel campo lavorativo), dalla provvisorietà, dal transito e dal passaggio e da un individualismo solitario. Le persone transitano nei nonluoghi ma nessuno vi abita.
DJ Light is an immersive public sound and light installation that gives visitors the power to orchestrate an awe-inspiring performance of light and sound across a large public space. It was created for energy company Endesa as the cornerstone of their Christmas celebrations in Lima, Peru.
DJ Light is about the exhilaration of one person taking control over a massive space and manipulating the incredible array of light and sound within it using nothing more than their own body. It is an empowering experience where the public is invited to be the artist.
The installation consists of 85 giant globes of light, each capable of displaying millions of colours. As the "guest DJ" assumes their position on the podium, they can use their arms to point and gesture. These movements are translated in real-time into beautiful movements of light and generative sound across the space.
Cinimod Studio are known for their innovative use of technologies, and it is therefore no surprise that "DJ Light" employs some truly innovative technologies. The main controlling hardware and software utilised for DJ Light was made especially for the project, and combines years of on-going research and development.
Each of the inflatable globes contain custom LED lighting, designed and fabricated for maximum controllability and energy efficiency. Each globe has a unique identity that allows the colour to be controlled from the main DJ podium. Suspended above the podium is a high accuracy thermal tracking camera that has been developed by Cinimod to allow for live tracking of the "guest DJ". By tracking every movement of the person below, this camera communicates control signals to the main software programme that is responsible for the live sound and light generation.
With over 400 channels of lighting control and a multi-directional sound system, DJ Light is comprised of a technically advanced set-up. However it is the intention and desire of Cinimod Studio that the focus of the public should be on the beautiful and ephemeral effect of the artwork, rather than on the technology that underlies it.
Project Credits:
Concept design, realisation and implementation: Cinimod Studio (London, UK)
Software programming: Cinimod Studio with Henrik Ekeus (London, UK)
Local project management: Claudia Paz & Cesar Castro (Lima, Peru)
Local production team: Arquileds and Consetec (Lima, Peru)
Accra - Agbogbloshie Sodom and Gomorrah uncommercial-Short-Mood-Documentary
by Chris Caliman
2011
Canon 7D
Music: Gustavo Santaolalla - Can Light Be Found in the Darkness?
Agbogbloshie is a suburb of Accra, Ghana known as a destination for legal and illegal exportation and environmental dumping of electronic waste (e-waste) from industrialized nations. Often referred to as a "digital dumping ground", millions of tons of e-waste are processed each year in Agbogbloshie
Processing electronic waste presents a serious health threat to workers at Agbogbloshie. The fumes released from the burning of the plastics and metals used in electronics are composed of highly toxic chemicals and carcinogens. Workers often inhale lead, cadmium,dioxins, furans, phthalates and brominated flame retardants.
Exposure to these fumes is especially hazardous to children, as these toxins are known to inhibit the development of the reproductive system, the nervous system and the brain.
This short Mood-Documentary is recutted from the material of the german Documentary "Die Kinder der Toxic City" which i shot this year as a second dop with Jürgen Steiger as the first dop with Christian Bock
-director- in Ghana.
