Subjectivity in contemporary visualization of reality: re-visiting Ottoman miniatures

Though Ottoman miniatures are 2D representations, they carry the potential of conveying an individual’s perception in a more detailed manner as compared to 3D perspective renderings. In a typical 2-vanishing-point perspective; objects / subjects drawn in the foreground hide the ones that are located at their back: This phenomenon is called occlusion. In Ottoman miniatures there is no occlusion, all object / subject illustrations are wholistic, there is no partial description of figures. Consequently, you end up with a life form that is the synthesis of individual forms, a sui generis state... This unique visual narrative can be extended to cubist works where multifaceted descriptions are observed. Another advantage of Ottoman miniatures is that hierarchies of image and image maker are quite clear. Miniatures make use of distance, void, shape, scale relationships and their layout to give a sense of depth in space. Though objectivity is very much valued in visual representation, ideal objectivity is not possible since representations are created by subjects and subjects belong to cultures that have different criteria in forming / perceiving portrayals. Moreover, tools that are used for visual representations usually prove to be narrower than the scope of human perception. Departing from the point of view explained above, Muta-morphosis is a photography project that is created as an almost surreal visualization stemming from the real. The lack of a single perspectival structure due to multiplicity of perspectives after compressed panoramic imaging, can be linked to Ottoman miniatures, which in turn, connects the global contemporary representation to its local traditional counterpart. Keywords: Ottoman miniature painting, contemporary photography, child drawings, visualization, representation, reality, documentary, subjectivity, objectivity, visual narration

Art and the Unknown

Abstract: The purpose of this essay is to explore the nature and role of art as a human phenomenon from a broadly cognitive perspective. Like science and religion, art serves to mediate the unknown, at once to embrace and to defend against the fundamental mystery of existence. Thus, it may challenge the status quo while generally serving to maintain it. Art tracks the individuation of subjectivity, serving the pleasure principle, yet is appropriated by the collective’s commitment to the reality principle. While science and religion close in on serious answers to fundamental questions, art opens up possibilities toward playfulness, uselessness, imagination, and arbitrary whim. Though art has no unifying definition, meaning, or intent through time and across cultures, it remains important to people, both to do and to enjoy. It serves to counterbalance the naive realism of science, the “rationality” of modern society, and the literalism of text-based religion. While its allegiance is divided, its most worthy intent is to aid us to confront and negotiate the great mystery revealed to us in consciousness

The researcher’s erotic subjectivities : epistemological and ethical challenges

Aquest article pretén aprofundir en la qüestió de la rellevància potencial i la importància d’incloure reflexions sobre el desig i la sexualitat de la persona que investiga en els resultats de la seva recerca. Analitzem críticament l’excepcionalització de les interaccions sexual(itzade) s en la recerca: quines són les raons per les quals el contacte sexual(itzat) entre la persona que investiga i les persones participants es considera no ètic o problemàtic, i quines són les conseqüències del fet d’evitar la intimitat —o l’(auto)censura en relació amb el debat— en el treball de camp? Aquest debat ens porta a defensar una aproximació ètica alternativa a la prescrita pels protocols ètics institucionals. L’aproximació ètica que plantegem es basa en la premissa que la producció de coneixement mai no es dona fora dels nostres cossos i que la relació de recerca no és fonamentalment diferent de cap altre tipus de relació. El que proposem és una ètica relacional de la recerca que creï espais per al debat obert i en diàleg amb altres persones sobre les conseqüències (potencials) de les nostres accions com a investigadors/es/éssers humans en unes relacions d’asimetria de poder canviants.This paper aims to deepen the conversation about the potential relevance and importance of including reflection on the desire and sexuality of the researcher in research outputs. We critically scrutinise the exceptionalisation of sexual(ised) interactions in research: why is sexual(ised) contact between researchers and participants considered unethical or problematic, and what are the consequences of the avoidance of—and/or the (self-)censorship with regard to discussin —intimacy in the field? This discussion leads us to argue for an alternative ethical approach than that prescribed by institutional ethical protocols. The ethical approach that we envision is based on the premise that knowledge production never occurs apart from our bodies and that a research relationship is not fundamentally different from any other human relationship. What we propose is a relational research ethics that creates space for discussing openly and in dialogue with others the (potential) consequences of our actions as researchers/human beings within relationships of shifting power asymmetry

Mapping the unseen: making sense of the subjective image.

It used to be thought that photography, as a kind of automatic mapping, could provide an objective view of the world. Now we are aware of the power of framing and other interventions between what is 'out there' and what is captured in depiction. Perhaps even perception, let alone depiction, shares this subjectivity? The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis holds that different cultures actually see the world in different ways, as evidenced and influenced by concepts in their languages – though this idea has been derided, for example by Pinker. A key difficulty is that the word subjectivity is bandied about without care for its different meanings and without distinguishing the many forms it takes in the graphic image. If into this muddle we introduce the idea of interactivity, still greater confusion easily follows. The chapter brings some order to different kinds and levels of subjectivity by documenting how they are reflected in forms of graphical mapping. In the process, it becomes clear how significant is the change in media technologies from those bound by the conventional rectangles of the page and screen to media which are interactive, pervasive, multimodal, physical and social

Race, gender, and positionality in urban planning research

Reflexivity within planning research has emerged as central to a series of epistemological and methodological debates. There has been less discussion, however, about how research positionalities might intersect with assumptions regarding gendered and raced identities. Writing from within the field of urban planning I consider how a pervasive inattentiveness to the racial and gendered dynamics of the wider field obscures the articulation of the complexities of positionality and reflexivity within the research process. I call for a greater engagement with positionality within disciplinary debates in order to engage with the differential demands placed on feminist scholars of color

Sensing the Urban Interior

Following the principle of “spatial inversion” (Attiwill, 2011), whereby spaces between buildings habitually referred to as exteriors become interiors, this paper presents the background research, methodology and key findings from a case study framed as a perceptual documentation of an urban interior, the More London Estate, a riverside business development in London, England. The location sits at the boundaries between inside and outside, private and public, enclosed and open space. This distinctive position and promise of interiority makes it an ideal site of enquiry. The objective of the research is to uncover connections between the way we feel and our sense of belonging by investigating the correlation between the site’s embodied atmosphere and its perceptual affect on the body. The methodology is inspired by Peter Zumthor’s (2006) writings on atmospheres, James J. Gibson’s (1966, 1986) studies of ecology and perceptual systems, and Joy Monice Malnar and Frank Vodvarka’s (2004) work on sensory design. Key findings reveal a duality in existing perceptual narratives, and the recognition of the way the urban interior resonates with our senses provides a framework for reflection and an incentive towards sensory transformations

Examining the building selection decision-making process within corporate relocations : to design and evaluate a client focused tool to support objective decision making

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to consider the complex decision-making process involved in corporate relocation and the validity of a tool designed to improve the objectivity and strategic management of this process and to change the focus of the decision upon the strategic management objectives rather than the real estate deal. Design/methodology/approach – The authors identify the progression of the decision-making process; disaggregate components of that process; and evaluate a tool designed to improve the decision-making process. Findings – The size of the organisation can have a significant impact on the building evaluation and decision-making process, smaller firms with less resources are more likely to make the relocation decision based on “gut feeling” rather than detailed evaluation. However, with increased transparency, accountability and corporate social responsibility, decisions based on more rigorous and objective approaches are being demanded. The evaluated tool facilitates a more objective approach and shifts the focus from a real estate to a business decision. Practical implications – Corporate real estate managers can use the information to evaluate their own decision-making processes against the framework of the tool and decide if it may be applicable to their context. Originality/value – The paper fills a void by examining the decision-making process from a fresh perspective, updates the thinking by providing a contemporary tool which has been beta tested with students and is about to be piloted with corporate clients.</p

Visualization in cyber-geography: reconsidering cartography's concept of visualization in current usercentric cybergeographic cosmologies

This article discusses some epistemological problems of a semiotic and cybernetic character in two current scientific cosmologies in the study of geographic information systems (GIS) with special reference to the concept of visualization in modern cartography. Setting off from Michael Batty’s prolegomena for a virtual geography and Michael Goodchild’s “Human-Computer-Reality-Interaction” as the field of a new media convergence and networking of GIS-computation of geo-data, the paper outlines preliminarily a common field of study, namely that of cybernetic geography, or just “cyber-geography) owing to the principal similarities with second order cybernetics. Relating these geographical cosmologies to some of Science’s dominant, historical perceptions of the exploring and appropriating of Nature as an “inventory of knowledge”, the article seeks to identify some basic ontological and epistemological dimensions of cybernetic geography and visualization in modern cartography. The points made is that a generalized notion of visualization understood as the use of maps, or more precisely as cybergeographic GIS-thinking seems necessary as an epistemological as well as a methodological prerequisite to scientific knowledge in cybergeography. Moreover do these generalized concept seem to lead to a displacement of the positions traditionally held by the scientist and lay-man citizen, that is not only in respect of the perception of the matter studied, i.e. the field of geography, but also of the manner in which the scientist informs the lay-man citizen in the course of action in the public participation in decision making; a displacement that seems to lead to a more critical, or perhaps even quasi-scientific approach as concerns the lay-man user