January 01, 2001
Contemporary Moss: initial proposal
MOTIVATION
From my perspective MobLab is first of all a project to join different layers of space, time and cultural production. Inspired by Japanese garden I decided to make moss my trajectory to cut and research these manifold cultural, spatial and temporal layers. The plant will provide my background to contemplate and reflect on the mutual impact of technology and nature in modern societies.
BACKGROUND
„The moss plant earns our respect, even our sense of awe, as one of the worlds lengthier successes in the business of living“ (George Schenk: „Moss Gardening“, Timberpress 1997). Moss is a very old plant and in turn old things are said to be moss-covered. We have a saying that as time goes by moss and grass will grow
and cover what should not be visible anymore. Due to its very slow growth it is a strong metaphor for the passing of time. I also found moss to be very important for some parts of Japanese garden culture and I think that it is because of its metaphorical incorporation of time. However what I find especially intriguing about moss in the context of MobLab is that it also has a very interesting spatial quality. Most of the time it is perceived as clusters, cushions or layers. It almost never comes as a single plant. Where it is growing it is therefore defining an area or a territory more than a single point.
PROPOSAL
In my project I would like to make use of these tempo-spatial qualities of moss in a „mossgarden“ to connect and reflect the different issues the MobLab project is working on. As I see them these issues are: the local hosting institutions, the virtual netspace and the moving bus.
Along the journey of the MobLab I will collect small sample pieces of moss from different locations. The moss will be put into small boxes with an approximate size of 12x12cm and 5cm height. The boxes will be labeled to indicate the location the moss was collected from. Throughout the trip the collection will constantly grow and form an archive of a variety of moss.
During travel time the boxes will be set up in the backside of the bus. Together with the tatami mats the moss will form a small lounge. This is the place to relax for us Mobnauts. The moss will function here just like any ordinary house plant only being a "bus plant".
At the hosting institutions I will take the boxes outside of the bus and build a small installation. The idea is to have the boxes constructed in such a way that makes it easy for me to take them. It should be a portable collection of moss or a mobile garden. The location where to build the installation depends on the spaces available at the hosts. The installation can be outside of the building where it will form a small garden. The moss can also be installed inhouse where it will be a real house plant.
In both cases I will take closeup photographs of the moss in its temporary new surrounding. The location specific images will be instantly made available for download to mobile phones to be used as wallpaper or screensaver. Have a look at a sample image here: http://www.transmediale.de/sr/projects/moblab/IMG_0586_176x220.jpg
On my blog I will document my experiences in collecting the moss using text and images. I will also publish interviews there which I am conducting for the preparation of the project and along the journey. I will conduct the first interviews in Germany. I think this is also important to make clear that I am not working on the stereotype of the "moss loving Japanese". I am inspired by the rich Japanese garden culture but the focus is on my (romantic) view on nature which is clearly based on an occidental foundation.
PRODUCTION
I have done testing with some moss in my room. It grows very well for two weeks time now. There is no indication of disease or decay at all. Next week I will meet a moss expert in Stuttgart. He has curated a botanical exhibition on moss last year. He will be able to give me more hints on collecting moss and on the requirements to grow it indoor. I will also make an interview with him which will be published on the blog.
I am currently developing prototypes of boxes that can be easily constructed during the trip or shortly beforehand. They have to be light and should have an appropriate shape to stack them. My goal is to have a stack of moss which I can take with me to different places and build small garden installations on the fly.
REQUIREMENTS
As for Sven a bicycle would be also very handy for me to find mossy spots in the surrounding of the bus.
投稿者 stefan : 01:01 AM