Shifting Intimacies: (2006-8), at ICA London, 2006, Participant Casts Dust Back Down Into the Space, ICA, London, England. (Photo Keith Armstrong)
Shifting Intimacies: (2006-8), at ICA London, 2006, Participant Casts Dust Back Down Into the Space, ICA, London, England. (Photo Keith Armstrong)
Grounded Light: 2003, Lisa O'Neill Performs Atop of Mt. Tinbeerwah, Sunshine Coast, Qld, Australia. (Photo Phil Hargreaves)
Grounded Light: 2003, Lisa O'Neill Performs Atop of Mt. Tinbeerwah, Sunshine Coast, Qld, Australia. (Photo Phil Hargreaves)
In Step: 2007, Interactive Foot Bandage. (Photo Keith Armstrong)
In Step: 2007, Interactive Foot Bandage. (Photo Keith Armstrong)

'Grounded Media': Expanding the Scope of Ecological Art Practices Within New Media Arts Culture

ABSTRACT: ‘Grounded Media’ is a form of art practice focused around the understanding that our ecological crisis is also a cultural crisis, perpetuated by our sense of separation from the material and immaterial ecologies upon which we depend. This misunderstanding of relationships manifests not only as environmental breakdown, but also in the hemorrhaging of our social fabric.

‘Grounded Media’ is consistent with an approach to media art making that I name ‘ecosophical’ and ‘praxis-led’ – which seeks through a range of strategies, to draw attention to the integrity, diversity and efficacy of the biophysical, social and electronic environments of which we are an integral part. It undertakes this through particular choices of location, interaction design, participative strategies and performative direction. This form of working emerged out of the production of two major projects, Grounded Light and Shifting Intimacies and is evident in a recent prototypical wearable art project called In_Step. The following analysis and reflections will assist in promoting new, sustainable roles for media artists who are similarly interested in attuning their practices.

PRESENTED FOR: DAC 2007, Perth, Australia.

DOWNLOAD PAPER: (PDF)

FULL REFERENCE:
Armstrong, Keith M. (2007) 'Grounded Media':Expanding the scope of ecological art practices within new media arts culture. In Hutchinson, Andrew, Eds. Proceedings PerthDAC 2007 : The 7th International Digital Arts and Culture Conference: 'The Future of Digital Media Culture', Perth, Australia.