Project Description
REMOTEWORDS (Achim Mohné / Uta Kopp)
SHORT DESCRIPTION
REMOTEWORDS disseminates literary statements via Google Earth and other virtual globe systems.
The messages are permanently applied to the roofs in the form of capital letters. The location and the message conceptually represent a semantic unit.
Download description (pdf english/german)
Description features: concept, locations and authors, information about type identity and logo.
Since its establishment in 2007 REMOTEWORDS uses nuclear-free electricity by Greenpeace Energy.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The project REMOTEWORDS is based on the idea of disseminating statements in various languages via Google Earth and other available virtual globes.The messages are applied to the roof of the respective institution with paint. The aim of this action is, via satellite system, to publicize the message after a time lag. For any Internet user the Google Earth program costs nothing and reproduces the whole surface of the earth in impressive detail.
The quality of the images differ. The detailed resolution of the raster data mostly covers 15 m; in some agglomerations, resolutions of up to 15 cm are available. With such a 15-cm resolution, single persons even become visible, whereby a good cast shadow is advantageous. (Information: Wikipedia.org)
Google Earth goes to a great deal of trouble to update continually; because of the landmass and the amount of data, however, the time lag can last up to several years. Some recently completed edifices still appear on Google Earth as architectural shells, while buildings long since razed still seem to exist from the air.
Google assures us that the image data are, on average, between one and three years old (Source: Google Earth website).
This fact can, however, be put to artistic use. Different authors, writers and theorists have been invited to develop messages for the project. (see pdf)
For technical reasons, the messages can only be very short; otherwise the resolution of the satellite pictures would be insufficient. The quality of the aerial photos is dependent on the area and its resolution. Berlin for example, like most of the big cities, boasts excellent satellite representation.
As a rule, 30-50 characters should suffice for messages. Buildings that lie near "places of public interest" are especially suitable because of the high frequency of hits. The message should form a semantic unity with the site of its installation.
What is hoped for is a direct engagement of the authors with aspects of the action: digital simulation, time shift, authenticity, perception and construction, virtual reality, subjectivity, cartography, land use, computer games, real time, censorship, documentation, medial perception, among others.