Glitches
Cities are often at their best when they behave in unplanned ways, when they can’t “hold it together”, and fail to keep a straight face (or orderly facade). Paper melts, backends pop up on billboards, and smashed screens reveal seductive glitch aesthetics. Unexpected - and often unwanted - agencies shape the material and visual culture of cities all the time. And if we pay sufficient attention, we might come to understand this as a defining urban condition.
Advertising displays are such an important component of urban visual culture and the semiotic landscapes of cities. More on this will follow.