Mapping the Locative Arts

By:

The humanistic and community-centered trend of open-source technologies has generated a wondrous ripple effect that marks a migration from isolated, silo-ed, professional realms to a spirit of shared experience and respect for community. This new paradigm is impacting the way we relate, communicate, do business, educate ourselves, make art, steward our earth and define our place in the world. It is what is driving the development of the emerging field of Locative Media Arts.

The advent of GPS and mapping technologies, reference applications, game development, media sharing, social networking and mobile devices offer unexpected views of our world and a new interpretation of culture. This enhanced view has given artists, writers, designers, scientists, urban planners, architects, educators, scholars, activists, and other visionaries’ opportunities to create new meaning out of our deepened knowledge. It is this highly collaborative community of thinkers who are developing a mastery of the ubiquitous resource of data and using it to tell stories, paint a landscape, elucidate through metaphor and express it as masterfully as if it were paint or clay. Creative trailblazers working with Geocaching, Waymarking, virtual theater and pervasive games are creating new narrative platforms, curatorial formats and are creating an unprecedented level of community engagement. They are identifying expansive social networks and conceptualizing systematic relationships on all scales to bridge the gap between the man-made world and the natural one.

Because this art form is in its infancy, and because the pace of adoption of new technologies is so rapid, now is exactly the right moment to begin to look at the work of these key influencers, share emerging developments in this field, and identify their broad impact on the arts, society and the environment.

Stream: Media Arts Practices: Television, Multimedia, Digital, Online and Other New Media

Paper: A paper has not yet been submitted.

Genevieve is a creative catalyst who places herself at the convergence of the arts, emerging technology and the urban environment. As principal and co-founder of Cultural Entrepreneurs, she provides strategic vision, planning and program development to innovative community ventures. Genevieve has spent the last 10 years developing cultural and educational programs, residencies, lecture series, and roundtables that leverage the synergy between artists, designers, scholars, technologists and industry professionals. Her teaching and curatorial efforts are focused on nurturing trailblazing artists, designers and innovators who are redefining culture, community and the urban landscape through the creative application of social, mobile, mapping, navigational and gaming technologies. Her creative work over the past 25 years has included a wide range of mediums including digital and interactive media, photography, painting, video and film. Genevieve was fortunate to work for two of her early mentors, new media pioneers, Jenny Holzer and Dara Birnbaum. She programmed electronic LED signage systems in retail environments throughout Boston for Holzer’s citywide installation, “Signs”, and assisted Dara Birnbaum on the documentation of early video installation work in public venues around New York City. These first hand experiences with pushing the boundaries of technology and moving art from formalized spaces into the public realm have continued to inform her work.