Ryerson New Media

Murmur Toronto

Shawn Miscallef is currently a resident at the CFC Media Lab in Toronto. He works as an instructor at OCAD University, while also writing columns for Eye Weekly. His work and publications are usually about cities, cultures and art. Gabe Sawhney is a member of the board of directors of Heritage Toronto. Just being apart of this committee, it is apparent that he, like Miscallef, is interested in the culture and history of Toronto. He is a researcher and creative technologist, concentrating on mobile and interactive installations.

[Murmur] Toronto is a form of locative media; media communication bound to a location. It is an audio project set up in in various neighborhoods around the city (Kensington Market, Little India, Fort York, The Grange). At each location, an archive of stories is created; long-time residents record stories of memories created in that neighborhood, which are played when a user calls. Misallef and Sawhney wanted to create a project that enabled citizens to realize the importance of a certain spot to another Torontonian. This project adds such cultural significance to an ordinary spot. This is a very innovative way to learn about the city; and I would encourage anyone, who happens to pass by a sign, to participate.

In certain neighborhoods, [Murmur] has an ear sign is set up on a pole. When pedestrians see this sign, they can call the number posted on the sign, and key in the posted code. The code is what sorts the stories into specific sections, according to location. The caller can then listen to a personal story from a resident. [Murmur] Toronto requires active interaction on both sides of the project. It requires residents of the area to choose to interact with it, by sending in their recorded stories. Users also have to choose to participate, by deciding whether or not to call the number posted on the ear signs around the city. Without the help of the public, the project would not succeed. Hundreds, if not thousands have participated in [Murmur] Toronto, and as a result it has been able to grow to other cities, and other countries. This global expansion shows how powerful human interaction can be, and what can be accomplished if everyone worked together.

The goal behind [Murmur] Toronto is to provide Torontonians with insight about different neighborhoods around the city.  Through this project, people develop relationships with their surroundings. The stories they listen to relate and bring significance to the urban location they are in. The artists are able to enhance the city and catch the interests of others by designing an innovative locative project. When a user calls [Murmur] Toronto, they develop a relationship with the storyteller, a complete stranger. By allowing users to developing relationships, they bridge the gaps that prevent so many cultures and ethnicities from becoming closer.

Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar- We feel fine

We Feel Fine is an online exploration and database, which saves posts from different users around the world. Each user’s story (which relates to a certain emotion) is visually represented by a particle, resulting in a mass of moving particles on the screen. The particles size and color depend on the characteristics of the sentence; (positive thoughts are portrayed with brightly colored particles, negative thoughts are portrayed with dark colored particles… Big particles mean long sentences & small particles represent short sentences). If the mouse hovers for a few seconds, tons of particles will swarm around it, anxiously waiting to get selected. When I first visited this site, I was amazed when my mouse was suddenly surrounded by these colorful particles. It seems like these things have minds of their own, and were fighting for attention.

It is interesting how temporary relationships are developed when reading a post from another (curiosity of the post, based on size and color of particle determine which relationship we engage in).

The website is a direct reflection of how important social networking is in our lives. This project is entirely dependent on the Internet, and what users post. Everyone these days is trying to express themselves, and differentiate from others; the Internet is the most accessible medium to fulfill one’s need of self- expression.

The particles result in a very remarkable artwork, and everyone creates it. We Feel Fine leaves the creation of the art up to the people around the world. Harris and Kamvar do not know how many particles will be on the webpage (or how big and what color they will be). It is completely dependent on the amount of blog entries and the content of each one found on the web.

You can also search the particles based on specific demographics (age, location, weather, sex, date of post). By doing this, the user can choose what group of people they would like to form a relationship with. By allowing the user to have the choice to narrow the demographic, they are given the power to meet their own needs and quench their curiosities. This is an effective way for users to get what they want out of participating in the work. I love that the creators gave the users the freedom to explore what they want; they can look at certain demographics, or explore the different movements. These movements are just different visual representations of all the posts; you would have to visit the site to fully understand!

Rafael Lozano Hemmer and his piece Pulse Front

Rafael Lozano Hemmer is an electronic artist… he strives to create art that fits into the spot where architecture and performance art meet simultaneously.

Pulse Front is an interactive installation set up at Toronto’s Harbourfront in 2007. It used 20 searchlights, that beamed their lights into the Toronto sky. Surrounding the area of the searchlights, several heart rate detectors were set up. Users would grasp the metal rod, having their pulse measured. A computer converts the heart rate into light pulses, which are then sent to the searchlights, and portrayed into the sky. 

The interactivity of this piece is what drew me to it. In order for the art-work in the sky to be created, users had to participate.  If no one participates, the result will be nothing but a dark sky. I wish I had known about this when it was going on, I would have absolutely loved to see and participate with this installation.