Abstract

In its quest of exploring the underpinnings of the technological “intervention” within the flourishing of the city-spaces since the period of modernization, this paper will base its analyses on a philosophical and sociological theoretical standpoint. In this regard, the question of how technologies intervene in the creation of spaces will initially be examined taking into account the theories of Innis and Lefebvre. Accordingly, the issue of time and its compression and whether a new form of spatial presence has emerged will be discussed. In this regard, the global flows and how ‘translocal’ spaces are brought about within cities and how a digital divide is engendered within the large metropoles will be deliberated. Up till this point, the philosophical analyses of technologies and the sociological remarks in terms of their dissemination and impact within the global cultural network will be dwelled upon. Hence, the creative spaces (i.e. public art of various youth subcultures) will be elaborated taking into consideration the matters of diaspora and immigrants and their ‘possible’ place and relationship within the translocal creative and technological flows. Accordingly, this paper in its second half will concentrate on the films of one of the most recent notable film-makers/directors, who is also a second-generation Turkish immigrant in Germany: Fatih Akin. Thus, the questions such as how his films “re-present” the everyday life of the Turkish immigrants and their interaction with other people from different national or ethnic origins? What kind of spatial alterity can be found in the filmic production of Akin? In what ways do the discourses of the artistic practices such as in this case of Fatih Akin can form an ‘antagonistic creative space’ in relation to the hegemonic discourse of the practices of the city-spaces where these immigrants dwell? Taking these questions into consideration and proceeding the philosophical and sociological arguments which it has initially started this paper will discuss the “likely” linkages between technology, city-spaces, artistic practices and creative spaces of the immigrants.

• Ceren Mert is a Ph.D. Candidate at the Sociology Department in Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul.She has received her BS and MS degrees from the Sociology Department in Middle East Technical University, Turkey. She is also currently a teaching assistant at the Media and Communication Systems Department in Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey.

Full text (PDF)  p. 1709-1714