Urban Screens, Ambient Media and Augmented Public Space
Abstract
Research into “Augmented Public Space” attempts to formalize how new media technologies are superimposed onto the built environment (Manovich 2006, Allen2008). It is in this context that new research on the consumption of media texts and a wide variety of media forms – including public art – that are now integral to the experience of real urban spaces is being developed here.
The consumption of media in urban and public space from the point of view of small-scale devices has been considered (Moores 2000, 2004). In addition, the very useful concept of “ambient television” (McCarthy 2003), has provided detailed case studies on the reception and consumption of television in public space as opposed to television’s more tradition as being located in domestic and private spaces. These theoretical perspectives provide the starting point n the investigation of how large-scale LED screens have become an integral part of many city centres in the UK. The argument being developed, in the first instance, is that, as a consequence of this integration, that so called, “augmented public space” and the co-existence of large-scale media displays with architecture, as well as the integration of other forms of communication technology, have become an ordinary part of the contemporary urban experience.
In this context, the advent of large-scale media displays, sheds new light onto ideas relating to the mediation of place and locality; the destinction between virtual and real; the body as a frame for information. It also develops important ideas relating to the “site-specific” nature of media content in many urban situations. These issues form the basis of an investigation of augmented public space within the study of media texts in more general terms.