Janelle Nanos in National Geographic Traveler:
We can’t help but think that Eric Weiner’s research for his new book, The Geography of Bliss, would have gone a lot easier if he’d paired up with Erik Krikortz, the installation artist behind Stockholm’s Emotional Cities project. The Internet-based artwork asks people to answer a simple question: “How Are You Today?” and rate their feelings on a scale of colorful smiley faces. Factors like how well you slept, whether you had any physical activity, and how inspired you felt are all part of the equation. The results are then averaged and aggregated by region to get a sense of how a city is collectively feeling. Right now, for example, Washington, D.C., is rather green, while the rest of the world is feeling a bit more yellow.
Erik then went further and negotiated with a building company in Stockholm, where he resides, to project the corresponding colors on huge panels on the side of five buildings. (A live Webcam shows how the lights change with Stockholm’s moods.) The result is a very public display of the emotional status of the city, sparking conversations about how we interact with each other and influence our feelings.
More here. [Thanks to Marilyn Terrell.]
