Locative Media & The City

Francesco, I think it’s an interesting idea that you bring up in response to the Murmur project. My mythology about Buffalo before I moved here was nearly completely negative, based on the way the city is represented in the media in Ohio. Comments from friends and acquaintances about my move here only served to reinforce the media’s representation Buffalo, so this myth was ingrained in me before I even set foot here. I actually quite like Buffalo and my perception of it has been modified accordingly, but I think that I haven’t entirely shaken my original perceptions either. So the question is then, “what kind of enduring influence (if any) does the “mythology” of a city have on our way of perceiving and navigating through the city ONCE WE KNOW IT?” A lot, I think. Because in the evenings when I step outside to walk somewhere nearby, the warnings from friends about “dangerous Buffalo” clouds what I realistically know about my neighborhood. It changes my psychogeophraphical map of the city, by making rundown areas seem like places that gunmen might be lurking behind the trees. (Aside from being known as snowy, Buffalo has a reputation in Ohio for being a dangerous place where people are regularly shot) I’m curious then, is it possible to make a psychogeophraphical map of Buffalo that overlays my mythical map and my learned map? Or would that even be interesting to anyone, since we all have our own personal experiences that are different?

Something I think that is interesting about the Murmur project is that it allows people to embody a space without physically being there. To be mildly morbid for a moment, long after the people in the nursing home have passed, their voices and memories literally live on in the city. Or at least for the length of the project. There is much talk and much criticism about human beings being compared to computers, but I think Murmur presents one way to metaphorically talk about this being true. Our bodies are a medium to convey information, memories, and data. Without the body to interpret and communicate, we are nothing. Therefore in a way, we are like information processors. Likewise, in Murmur, these human memories that are tied to a time a place are housed in a computer body. The tourists of the city communicate with this body and receive something personal in exchange. I feel like there is more significance since it is locationally represented than just reading someone’s blog or listening to a voicemail, which could be argued for having the same effect. I’m not sure though…maybe I’m trying to read deeper into the project than is actually possible.