Abstract (long paper)

This article departs from the observation of the worldly phenomena of media-aesthetic expressions on urban surfaces that followed the terrorist attacks in Paris on September 13, 2015: The colors of Le Tricolore were illuminated on landmarks, embassies, museum buildings, and various architectural facades in at least sixty cities around the world. In the paper I consider how these media aesthetic phenomena occurred by certain modes of behavior, with certain modalities of existence and conditions of becoming, as phenomena that not only appear but also disappear, circulate and function within the public domain. The paper considers the relationships the flag illuminations may have with the genealogy of media aesthetic urban surfaces, with artistic “massive media” and emotional spectacles of memorial events, and also considers how they may form a hybrid commons by mechanisms of virality, transversality, and other networked connections. Overall, the paper reflect on how our media-aesthetic engagements are deeply engaged with our communicative existence, including its sensibilities, imbalances, and biases.

• Tanya Søndergaard Toft, Copenhagen University, DK

Full text (PDF)  p.  231-239