Independent new media curator Dr. Susanne Jaschko joined us in class this week for a lecture on what she provocatively called "adhseive media," that is, media that adheres to the surfaces of the new digital city as building skins, projected works, or media screens.
It's 
clear by now that the entire genre of new media on public spaces is very much at the forefront of the European avant-garde. To the extent that the avant-garde can be thought of as a conversation among artists, curators, critics and viewers, the media forms and esthetics of urban screens are what the buzz is about.
Susanne presented an abridged version of a paper on urban screens that she will be presenting next week at a conference in Scandanavia. She is just back from participating in "Don't Misbehave!," a biennial of art in public places held in Christchurch, New Zealand, and is totally up on the subject.
Although Susanne is enthusiastic about new media's emerging urban canvas, she also expressed concerns about potential limitations of this work. Because the urban viewer is typically ambulatory, rushing, glancing, and eager for amusement, many of the projects can't [or don't] develop the depth of content and experience offered by other venues. She noted, as well, a concern that the impulse to mobilize urban screens may result in a mis-match between content and venue, as when, for example, the BBC seeks to re-purpose its long-form programming for a location populated by the madding crowd.
As part of her talk she referenced Wildlife by Karolina Sobecka, which we all loved and are confident you will too.
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