_Sputnik Observatory

The Sputnik Observatory takes as its premise that there is much to be learned not only from in-depth investigations of important topics, but from the multiplicity of human minds at work and the complex understandings that arise from the interconnected contemplation of their ideas. This interactive project puts the user in the editor’s suite to power their own placement and juxtaposition of scenes, letting visitors to the site build and augment their own sense of understanding by freely navigating the archive of interview segments with some of the world’s most dedicated thinkers on topics from art to science to technology.

The playful interface scrambles videos by topic, allows visitors to navigate alphabetically or to navigate all contributions from a particular interviewee. The database also features a path tracker, which places each video watched by a viewer on a timeline to map their progress. Users can make comments and changes to their paths as they explore, and paths are made public so the conversation about a unique navigational experience can continue.

The Sputnik Project was originally founded in 2003 as a non-profit organization for cultural documentation of ideas, which produced the many videos in the collection. In 2009, the online database and documentary project was launched to give the widest possible access to the group’s worldview-altering content.