Starting just a few hours from now down at SCI-Arc, on a cloudless 73º day, “seven distinguished architects and theorists” whose designs straddle “the intersection of physical and virtual worlds” will be presenting their work at the Mediascapes Symposium, led by Ed Keller.
The bulk of the afternoon’s discussion will encompass “the practice of immersive and virtual architecture, which spans animation and 3D technologies, digital environments, and questions of materiality… asking how these classifications will define our understanding of the relationships between tangible and intangible worlds.”
One of today’s speakers, Benjamin Bratton, who will also be presenting next week at Postopolis! LA, describes his talk: “Pervasive computing will make inanimate objects see, hear, and comment on our interactions with them. This experience will, in many cases, be indistinguishable from a psychotic break, or from the rituals of classical Animism.” That, or it will feel like The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.
If you’re in LA, be sure to stop by.
Though I think it was only partly successful on its own, mostly due to the specific symposium format, for me the event turned to total farce with Eric Owen Moss’ ridiculous conservative and totally nonconstructive harassing rant at the end. My (non-architecture) media/art friends were like “who the hell is that guy and why is he here?” But it was funny to see DeLanda, who comes back to SCI-Arc time after time even though he has to deal with the same shit from EOM, try to talk to him reasonably. After Moss stormed out, other audience members put their concerns with the symposium much more articulately and constructively, but my friends and I were so disgusted that we left early. Hopefully other SCI-Arc event organizers will think twice before including EOM.