Project 1: Visualizing Research Spaces – Grad Studio

Preparing the field

I set my interest around the Interactive Digital Narrative in the first place, because I was trying to figure out a whole topic that involves technology and my area of work in animation films. However, following the course’s prompt I realized that I didn´t need to look for connections among the three topics at the beginning; I just need to choose three topics with any direct connections and start exploring each one. So, I decided to follow the process by setting the first area in one emerging technology, something that I feel interested to learn about: Augmented Reality. I like the idea of adding layers to reality, that AR and VR have brought to the digital media world. When I read the article from Wire magazine, I confirmed that this is the topic that I want for emerging technology. Also, I called a friend from Colombia who is researching about digital narratives for his Design PhD, as a way to find more information about my research, and he recommended me some books and references to explore.

The second topic was about conflicts in general, because I have been working in that line in past personal projects in my country, specifically I have some question in mind: How can we talk about one event from multiples perspectives? How can storytelling offer a way of understanding from different versions of the same situation? Given that in my country we have an ongoing peacemaking peacebuilding since 2016, I consider emerging technologies could bring some space for reconciliation process. But, again, I´m making connections between this two topics, and this is not the idea in the first stages of this exercise.

Selecting the third topic required more time for me, because my first options were too close to the second topic: empathy, narratives, memory. Then, in class, I confirmed with professor Matt, that I need a third field far from the previous ones. Also, I heard my classmates talking about invented languages, food or glass art. So, I made a list with several topics from my personal interest: animals, ghosts, myths, drawing, and fictional maps. Finally I decided to explore the imaginary maps theme, because it´s something that I tried time ago, but I could go further; so this is a great opportunity to have some fun in class.

Seedtime

The next steps was explore the topics through readings, listing and tracing mental maps. According to the class prompt, we wrote our reflections in the discussion panel, and I have some interesting feedback from classmates, and I had a glance about their topics. This exchange was quite helpful to learn about topics such as Machine Learning, GIS mapping or NERF images; even when I´m not working in that specific lines, I thing they are interesting approaches for next exercises in my MFA track. Also, I found interesting connection to my current topic, such as the GIS mapping, that are geographical technology for understanding many issues in our current society.

After some readings, and following the project´s process, I organize the information trying to find some combination, intersections, gaps, or conceptual areas of new research. These exploration was quite absorbing, but brought meaningful insights to the map, even though I was not trying to set connections, they appear everywhere!

*First diagram of the three topics and subtopics*

Another helpful step was looking for information about the basic terminology (Past), the current issues and problems (Present) and the emerging/speculative areas (Future) of each terms. Here I could to expand the information and to refine some intersections:

AR: It´s part of a range of computer-mediated reality devices, also included or extended to terms such as Extended Reality, Mixed reality, or Virtual Reality. I read about localization, mapping, tracking, sensors and devices that allows the data interchange between users and spatial data. Also, there are some concerns about: privacy, property, surveillance, storage and reality distortion. Here the reding about The Mirrorworld Bill of Rights was insightful. Regarding future of AR, health, education/training, entertainment, and urban planning planning are emerging areas.
Conflicts: I listed types, causes, escalation, mediation and resolution of conflicts, as main terminology. Some kind of conflicts are connected to my concern, such as competition in a capitalist world, lack of resources, or technology gaps. Emerging fields are related to postcolonial/decolonial approaches, the importance of groups of tolerance: queer, feminism, specism; and the game theory applied to conflicts.
Imaginary/ fictional Maps: I found terms from cartography, surveying techniques, topography, social cartography and world-building in storytelling. As current issues the generalization of people also in fictional maps from the author´s bias, the monolithic representation, and the repetitions of stereotypes or clichés. As emerging opportunities, the use of this maps in immersive experiences, game design, and social cartography based in storytelling.

Nevertheless after looking for much information, I felt I need to take a look from a different angle; so, I wrote to professor Matt, in order to get other clues for this topics, and he connected me with resources form Mershon Center for international secures studies, where I found some information about thematic areas such as the Centering the Global Periphery about geopolitics, violence against states and individuals, environmental challenges, migration dynamics, among other topics. Here I look for some projects from arts, specifically in music and theatre, and I found different approaches like a Carnival as a way of «colonization in reverse.» Other insight coming from professor Matt, was about the Land Acknowledgment statements that are taking part in events in USA, which is a custom of recognizing the original owners of the land.

With the mental maps, many connection arouse among the three topics; so I draw a Venn diagram in order to find other possible intersections looking for current projects working in the same way, main research problems, gaps and properties. From Venn diagram I found some key point between pairs:

AR + Conflicts: There are many layers to handle reality, it could be interesting to keep this idea to extend the points of view among the conflict´s actors.
AR + Imaginary Maps: I found game maps is a fictional way to depict some user experiences in AR products, mostly in videogames. Also some conventions and symbols are used in both cases.
Conflicts + Imaginary Maps: in social sciences is common the use of cartography to understand the territorial conflicts of a community. This maps are imagined by the people of these territories, so, those are imaginary maps as well. Also, the same idea of borders and territory is presented in fictional maps, where there are boundaries depicted in a imaginary way, but not following a geography accuracy.

*Venn diagrams with intersections, here I still have a forth topics about GIS maps.*

Making of

Once I have a better understand of the three topics it was the time to down the ideas to the ground. I was keen in making an illustrated map, given that I´m talking about this kind of maps, and also because I wanted to do something were I can draw and present a map with the collected information. However, I wasn´t quite sure about doing something flat (sorry flat earth); because I have many layers of information that probably are not going to get depicted in the visual research space. So, I decided to build up a tridimensional layer on the top of my map!