These are four of my proposals for public artworks in Oxford. The contexts of public and private space in Oxford are unique because much of what is perceived as public park areas like University Parks and Christchurch Meadow are actually private and the publics use of these spaces is at the universities discretion. The public space available for people in oxford is usually on the outskirts of the city. There are also notice boards around oxford that are used only for club nights and music events. This form of civic notice is unused by people in the area. Bus shelters in oxford, like much civic property, is the choice of many to display they're anger by it's distruction.

Documenta

The group went to Germany to see two of the fine art colossus exhibitions, documenta and Skulpture Muenster. Here is Alex Braun's slideshow of the constant clicking noises he made while visiting. Enjoy!

Documenta Kassel2007
Uploaded by alxbraun

Noise Mapping

Here's a few facts a starting point if you will for the consideration of noise pollution within the urban environment. Noise is a pollution like any other is a problem but one which less attention is given to, but what is noise and how can we experience and measure it?

Noise - unwanted sound - is a universal problem and most of us have been affected by it at some point in our lives.

What is a noise map?
A noise map is rather like a weather map for noise but it shows the hotspots and the cooler area. Just as a weather map might have isobars joining points of equal air pressure, a noise map can have contours (isophons) joining points having the same noise level. Alternatively a noise map can be made up of a set of small coloured dots – which can show the overall picture of noise across the area mapped.

Oxford Street London

click for larger view

This noise map reads like a weather report showing graduation and spread of the noise. This urban conflict of technology and the advance of civilization since the industrial revolution attributes itself to our changing world which already is suffering under the strain of our supposed progress.

This effect of our progress is evident in our homes also, your fridge, the hum of all electrical equipment, droning endlessly into our lives.

How is this affecting life are our ears accepting this?
Does this effect our modes of listening?
Can this help us achieve silence by eradicating it?
What ambiance do we miss due to drone overtones of technology disrupting and covering the often harmonically rich background ambiance?

Go to town>Listen>Hear>Think

Global Cities

Istanbul

Mumbai

Shanghai



The group meet up at Alex's swish pad where he served up a fine chicken and salad. Then we went to Tate Modern and saw "global cities". The exhibition was a perfect starting point for our discussions on civics and the city. Afterwards we went to a fantastic Brazillian place where we ate more good food and got to grips with some of the ideas generated from the day.

berkShares

This is a currency developed by a town called Berkshire that supports local business and people. A very interesting model for how to approach capitalist alienation.

A 3D map of Oxford

The aspect of the ‘ Photosynth’ software I’m interested in using, if it's going to be possible to get my hands on it any time soon, is the construction of Notre Dame cathedral only using other people's photographs. This aspect of the software could be used to produce a complete three-dimensional navigatable map of oxford, as far as I know no one has compiled something like this. The aspect of doing this which interests me is not producing a true map of oxford containing all buildings, roads etc. Instead only using photographs other people have taken of oxford, which would predominantly be photographs taken by tourists, so the majority of the images making up the map will be ones taken by people who don’t really know oxford and of sites that have been given cultural significance by oxford city council and the tourist board. In a broader sense the added possibility of Meta tagging the images, so they cannot only link between different points in the oxford map, but also to other maps.

There is some more information about the software and the people utilising it: www.labs.live.com/photosynth/default.html