Emotional Mapping: More Than A Feeling

Ambitious project seeks to overlay subjective impressions onto physical landmarks When we think of atmosphere we think of the way we feel about places–cozy or charming, intimidating, dull, or whatever…

Ambitious project seeks to overlay subjective impressions onto physical landmarks

When we think of atmosphere we think of the way we feel about places–cozy or charming, intimidating, dull, or whatever.

Artist Christopher Nold, however, has brought the concept of the polygraph out of the dry world of law enforcment and linked it up with cartography, calling it emotional mapping. This consists of three stages: first, have a volunteer wired up with GPS and polygraph technology; second, have that volunteer wander a neighborhood area, noting feelings and reactions to their surroundings; third, interviewing the volunteer to further qualify the subjective information recieved.

The result is a color coded map, keyed to emotional highs and lows based on interpretation of the polygraph-sensor data matched up with the GPS coordinates. It isn’t due to get done too quickly, according to CNN:

Mapping one square mile around Southern Exposure will require 80 to 100 volunteers to spend at least an hour walking the area, plus more time to be debriefed on their experiences.

Eventually, Nold downloads the information into a computer and comes up with a multicolored display showing where the subjects had the most highs along with their comments. When they are finished, they resemble crude boundaries of medieval kingdoms surrounded by turrets and moats. He prints them out and makes them available on his Web site

While they may or may not work as an informational source, the maps serve as a great version of abstract art informed by human emotion, as Nold says (via CNN):

Nold has been making emotional maps for three years and says he has been heartened by the common threads that have linked neighborhoods in places like Siena, Italy, Munich, Germany, and San Francisco. He’s found that his subjects enjoy being given a reason to roam aimlessly, tend to have elevated emotions at corners and on their way to a destination, and are endlessly curious about new stores and restaurants.

Nold’s site, where his results can be viewed, is http://biomapping.net/. The complete CNN report can be viewed here.

06 May 2007