Melanie Coles, a young web designer and artist, has set out to stimulate an intriguing viral game. She has hidden a huge painting on a rooftop somewhere in Vancouver, in hopes that it will appear on Google Earth. When users examine satellite photos of the Lower Mainland after the next Google Earth “Fly-by” they will be finding Martin Handford’s Waldo character.
Why Waldo? The widespread delight, experienced by readers of all ages, in picking the illustration of the nerdy-looking young man out of a crowd, has resulted in the phrase “Where’s Waldo?” becoming embedded into the lexicon of popular culture. Melanie is also publishing “how-to make a very big Waldo” instructions on her website www.whereonearthiswaldo.com
“My hope is that, through making Waldo open source, and by having the template and concept open to everyone — Waldos could begin popping up throughout Google Earth … People will be looking to find their friend’s house online, and say ‘I just found Waldo!”
She is keeping some key information a mystery. The rooftop location will not be made public, to ensure that the viewers’ experience remain mediated and indirect, limited to photos on a computer monitor. It is also unknown exactly when Waldo’s photo will be showing up on Google Earth, as they do not disclose their photography schedule. The essential drama of this participative piece lies in the preparation, the anticipation, the patience, and the faith.
Melanie also sees herself as part of another current art movement. “Google Earth has been stirring up a lot of interest, and blogs such as Google Sightseeing have been a launch for users to discuss bizarre findings within the application. With this interest a new wave of art is being imagined: one that eliminates the accidental and creates work specifically for the medium of Google Earth. These projects have created a lot of buzz on blogs such as Boing Boing and are becoming a new obsession for the tech savvy generation”
Learn more at http://whereonearthiswaldo.wordpress.com
Tags: book, google, google earth, hidden, map, painting, search, where's waldo












