UNITED COLORS OF DISSENT

ORKAN TELHAN & MAHIR M. YAVUZ (Based in Philadelphia & New York)
UNITED COLORS OF DISSENT, 2013

United Colors of Dissent (UCoD) is a data­driven performance designed for live public interaction using mobile phones and public displays. Participants collectively respond to a series of questions in their preferred language using a web­based voting interface running on their mobile phones. At every question, UCoD builds real­time graphics based on the answers and features them both on the phones and the public displays. The performance intends to capture the linguistic and socio­cultural profiles of different communities in urban environments by creating real­time visualizations that can map the prejudices, assumptions, and biases we may have about each other.

Partners: Produced by Amber Platform, Istanbul and adapted by Ars Electronica in Linz and Videospread in Marseille

 

Artist biography

Orkan Telhan is an interdisciplinary artist, designer and researcher whose investigations focus on the design of interrogative objects, interfaces, and media, engaging with critical issues in social, cultural, and environmental responsibility. Telhan is Assistant Professor of Fine Arts ­ Emerging Design Practices at the School of Design in the University of Pennsylvania. He holds a Ph.D. in Design & Computation from M.I.T. Telhan's individual and collaborative work has been exhibited in venues including the Istanbul Design Biennial, Ars Electronica, ISEA, LABoral, Archilab, Architectural Association, Architectural League/ NYC, MIT Museum, and the New Museum.

Mahir M. Yavuz is an interdisciplinary artist, designer and researcher based in New York. He is the design technologist of SEED Scientific and a Ph.D. candidate in Interface Culture at the University of Art and Design Linz. From 2000 to 2006, Yavuz worked as a lead designer and art director in various projects in Istanbul. Between 2006 and 2011, Yavuz was the senior researcher on Information Design at the Ars Electronica Futurelab in Linz. Since 2003, he has also been lecturing and conducting workshops on visualization and information design at universities in Turkey, Austria, Canada and the U.S. Yavuz’s work has been exhibited internationally including Ars Electronica Festival (Linz, Austria), Siggraph (US), and ISEA among others.

Website: www.orkantelhan.com, mahiryavuz.com
 

Tech info

Materials: Custom Web application and visualization.

Dates

 

7.9.2013 LINZ @ Ars Electronica Center, 10pm-11pm
8.9.2013 LINZ @ Ars Electronica Center, 9.30pm-10.30pm
2.11.2013 ISTANBUL @ Besiktas Square, 6pm-9pm
2.11.2013 ISTANBUL @ MSGSU Findikli Campus, 6pm-9pm
2.11.2013 MARSEILLE @ Villa Mediterranée, 6pm-6.30pm
7.11.2013 ISTANBUL @ MSGSU Findikli Campus, 7pm-10pm
7.11.2013 MARSEILLE @ La Friche la Belle de Mai, tbd.