Digital culture and the mediatization of urban art practices (original) (raw)

Modernity is characterized by the use of technological devices and its influence in the relationship between individuals and its contexts, since reality is experienced through a screen or a digital surface. Deeply rooted in media and digital culture, our society contrasts with the previous ways of living, where the physical presence was enough to meet, interact, and communicate. The rise of technology and its impact in individuals also enabled the adoption of different social roles. Today, human beings are encouraged to assume profiles that match their virtual presence, towards an increase of their popularity. Considering a post-medial condition, all the factors referred will interfere and determine the behaviour, personality, and status that each individual holds and adopts in its real life. At this regard, the public space started to host all these social dynamics, moving between real and virtual contexts. The city became, at first, a politicised space, and, then, a suitable one to convey personal beliefs, collective and symbolic narratives, and multiple discourses. Therefore, the urban landscape hosts layer after layer of meaning that, together, witness the memories and the history, following the artistic, cultural, social, and political issues that individuals imprinted in the medium: the urban fabric. Artists became aware of these symbolic exchanges and of the possibility of exploring cities as experimental artistic sites. As a result, they founded avant-garde movements combining different expertise (ex. architecture and arts), to achieve innovation and enhance the process as a key towards a more participatory framework. The digital culture and its features allowed the coexistence of these narratives, both physically and virtually, reaching a wider audience of admirers and active actors in the artistic practice.