ABSTRACT
Concepts within 'locative media' appear to be a [techno] logical
extension of existing methodologies and ideas; land art; performance; archeology; gaming; psychology; cinema and architecture.

Technology enables a fusion of practises focused on location, offering future palettes for existing practitioners, and the emergence of a distinct new field for exploration.

KEYWORDS
geocinema, mutantfilm, cine-architecture, architecture, terraportal,
place code, urban mirage

Course
Within the realm of architecture, the notion of what became ‘locative media’ appeared to be a [techno] logical extension of existing architectural methodologies and concepts, and my Communications courses in Intermedia at the Architectural Association in London between 1999-2005, explored themes and ideas of Locative Media prior to the coining of the term.

Locative concepts are now finding anchors within a multitude of existing methodologies and theories; land art; performance; archeology; gaming; psychology; cinema and architecture and is becoming a catalyst for generating new mutant forms and fusions of practice based on location.

In hindsight, each early embryonic practice made manifest a potential component of a future palette, before it’s emergence into a field in its own right.

Some examples are: “ Terraportal #1” [2000] which asked students to insert a location specific artwork, inside the then newly built Tate Modern building. The work could only be accessed and understood in-situ and on a mobile phone using words, bitmaps and WAP technologies; and “Portraits of a City” [2001] which made 18 location specific on-line documentaries about Soho in London, navigated by a map. Both projects were conceptually exploring embedding of media in the urban environment and looking at location specific material and its spatial and social effect on future cities.

The courses adapted each year and ultimately pointed towards a location based ‘Cinematic-Architectural’ practice culminating in parkbenchtv – which constructed a ‘terraportal’ in Central London examining social and physical change based on the establishment of a locally controlled broadcast media territory.

Both Cinematic and Architectural fields appear to contain many of the existing conceptual elements needed to examine Locative ideas, but as Cinema and Architecture are mature, complex and multifaceted established practises, they offer a robust foundation for exploring Locative ideas, linking to a long and rich history, and my forthcoming module on 'Geo Cinema' explores this connection.

Exercise
Park Bench TV examined how the emergence of future localised broadcast (in this case specifically wi-fi) will create territories and in turn identities across locations in the city; what I termed ‘Terraportals’.

The project straddled architectural and broadcast ideas and speculated on the development of future local community media channels, offering location specific data and an open access transmission system for a community.

The method was embryonic and involved initial conceptual speculation, combined with practical work building and designing antennas and the establishment of a Wi-fi node on the roof of the Architectural Association sometime in 2000.

One concept, “Signage for the Invisible”, examined how people will understand what data is around them, when they cannot physically see it, and a projection of possible media battlegrounds fighting for spectrum and ultimately cultural domination of physical areas. The ‘signage’ eventually evolved into the physical alteration of street furniture which denoted a media information territory.

Early work involved using laptops and software to physically mark wi fi signals – a practical understanding of physical access to technology, but also conceptual formulations of new notions of boundaries based on things you cannot see with the eye, but will be able to ‘see’, sense or react to via your device. This connected to ideas of physical materials and future possibilities of signal reflective surface. The marking of a physical ‘territory’ visualized the signals as a form of plan, allowing a direct connection to the existing language of the architectural diagram.

It can be a distinct disadvantage to concentrate on the specific use and application of “technology”, and more useful to work in the manner of an architectural proposition, allowing variations of scale and scope; it is the visionary leaps which stand the test of time, providing a core conceptual idea that can be continually readapted, rather than being so tied to specific solutions that the work is destined to be a technological period piece.

BIOGRAPHY
PETE GOMES is a Writer-Director and Artist. His work has been screened and shown internationally, in galleries and festivals including, Tate Modern, Whitechapel Art Gallery, Gimpel Fils, Barcelona Museum for Contemporary Culture, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Vienna Museum of Contemporary Art, Leeds International Film Festival, South Bank Centre London, Sonar and also in USA, India, Russia, Iceland and Europe.

He is known for his innovative visual work and collaborations with
contemporary architects, choreographers, musicians and composers including: Throbbing Gristle, Shobana Jeyasingh, Luciano Berio, Donnacha Dennehey, Jocelyn Pook, and Michael Nyman.

He explores intersections between cinema and technology which
manifests itself in a wide range of projects encompassing installation to film drama. Current projects include a 'geo-cinematic' film shot in southern Madagascar, and his first feature film as Writer-Director.

He has taught at the Architectural Association since 1999 and is
working on 'Urban Mirage'; an international workshop examining
drawing, location, and cinema.

URLs
http://www.mutantfilm.com/urbanmirage
http://www.aaschool.ac.uk