Charlie Gere

One of the problems with the Google Car is that it effaces itself in the production of the images it takes. It is, literally, a blind spot in the scene, necesssarily perhaps because of the way the images are taken. It gives the impression of an almost angelic, dematerialised subject, capable of traversing the landscapes in question, without being part of them, without itself occupying them physically, without being part of them or taking responsibility for its own presence. This produces a kind of asymmetry in the relation between the viewed and the source of the view, much like all surveillance, in which we can be seen without seeing who is seeing us. It is also at odds with the actual visibility of the cars themselves. That said cars are also a means of remaining invisible while being able to see, especially with darkened windows. I have two solutions, which could work together; one is that the videos should be taken by Google Pedestrians, not Google Cars, and the other is that they should use some form of recording technology that includes them in the scene. It just so happens that Japanese new media artist Masaki Fujihata has developed the very thing - a special video camera apparatus that takes a panoramic view in which the cameraperson is part of the scene, and with which he walks around various environments.


http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ua0w_morels-panorama_creation