Valerie Lamontagne

Ecologies of Relational and Participatory Interactive Technologies

The insurgence of mobile / ubiquitous apparatuses are reformulating the everyday fabric of social and urban experiences, perceptions, constructions and exchanges. How is the concept of the public re-shaped within such locative-based assemblages of participation? How does public participation shape real-time generative works which make use of systems / networks to construct an event? As concerns for spatially and temporally becomes increasingly key to the formulations of such participatory-based works context (urban, social, architectural) also comes to plays a substantive role in the experience of such works. As a comparative framework, social/activist works from the 1960’s will be referenced to highlight the changing nature of the political engagement of collectives participating in these networked ecologies. Distributed / collaborative performances taking place in real-time urban / architectural installations as well as mobile-based participatory works will stand as examples for the investigation of public — dependent forms of works. The main question resides in how communities are presently built over interactive networks as opposed public gatherings in real time/space and what the social and political implications of this shift engenders. Looking at the writings of Debord, Latour, and Guattari a case study of these emergent practices will be presented.