Braun, Carol-Ann

URBAN CONCERT

Abstract

Much contemporary net art weaves through the splintered space of the web by a mesh of meaningful links. Urban Concert explores the nature of these links, focusing on the ways in which people meet and allow for meaning and consensus to emerge. Based on a complex sound track that both organises content and brings people together, Urban Concert structures the perception of who is looking at what at any given time. Users position themselves on the sound track in order to listen to music and look at animations. At the same time, they can also see where other users are on the same track, and join them there to chat. Like a sprawling city, however, Urban Concert exceeds any single, simple point of view. The main interface unfolds like an accordeon, revealing content in fragments of images and sounds. The convergence of people is balanced by the multiplicity of meeting places and the divergence of themes of discussion and opinions. The underlying assumption here is that interactive writing means incremental unveiling of content. To click or roll-over is a manner of "composing". Form includes motion - a duality inherent to interactive digital art.