December 20, 2007: where are you?
The first thing I usually ask my son when I call him on his mobile phone is: Hi Kent, where are you?
Lately, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about how to use mobile phones as a means to generate art and I’d like to propose location and movement as a subject for artwork. As society becomes increasingly mobile no longer tied to specific locations for telephone communication we are able to stay connected to our friends and family as we move through our daily lives. We used to be comfortable knowing that when we called someone, we could imagine where they were, knowing that their land line was fixed- in their home or office. Now with mobility, I still find myself with the desire to imagine the person I call- located somewhere and asking where are you? allows me to project my idea or fantasy onto their voice. I’m wondering if we can use location information as a way to generate images?
I came across this First International Conference on Mobile Society in September 2008 in Antalya, Turkey hosted by Mobile Life Events. They have just put out a call for papers.