Saas-Fee Summer Institute of Art (SFSIA) is pleased to present the public lecture "How to See a City? Media, Data, Visualization" by Lev Manovich. 19th and 20th century writers, painters, photographers, filmmakers and media artists have created many different methods to represent city life and the everyday. In the 21st century, artists, designers and scientists explore the use of new types of urban data (social media posts, sensor networks, satellite imagery, etc.) and methods (machine learning, computer vision, interactive data visualization). Manovich will compare older and newer methods, and discuss a number of important projects created in the last 10 years. He will also present selected projects from his Cultural Analytics Lab including the current project in progress "Elsewhere" he is developing at University of Tyumen (Russia). The project goal is to create the first detailed maps and timelines of many areas of contemporary culture that include activities in thousands of cities worldwide.

Dr. Lev Manovich is one the leading theorists of digital culture worldwide, and a pioneer in application of data science for analysis of contemporary culture. Manovich is the author and editor of 13 books including AI Aesthetics, Theories of Software Culture, Instagram and Contemporary Image, Software Takes Command, Soft Cinema: Navigating the Database and The Language of New Media which was described as “the most suggestive and broad ranging media history since Marshall McLuhan.” He was included in the list of “25 People Shaping the Future of Design” in 2013 and the list of “50 Most Interesting People Building the Future” in 2014. Manovich is a Professor of Computer Science at The Graduate Center, CUNY, and a Director of the Cultural Analytics Lab that pioneered analysis of visual culture using computational methods. The lab created projects for Museum of Modern Art (NYC), New York Public Library, Google and other clients.

ABOUT SFSIA

Saas-Fee Summer Institute of Art (SFSIA) is a nomadic, intensive summer academy with shifting programs in contemporary critical theory. SFSIA stresses an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the relationship between art and politics. The program consists of seminar-style lectures, deep readings, and workshops. An evening lecture program is free and open to the public. SFISA was founded and is directed by Warren Neidich and is co-directed by Barry Schwabsky. Sarrita Hunn is the artistic coordinator.