Reading Assignment

I have chosen “A New Way of Walking” by Joseph Hart. I chose this because I’m about to go on a walk around the city and I felt like this article related the most on what I’m about to be doing. That’s pretty much the only reason I chose it. I’m about to be walking and this article is about walking. No other reason than that.

Well as I said earlier, this article is about walking. But not the kinds of walking most people are use to. He says that when most people walk, they usually have a destination and there fore they focus more on their destination than on their surroundings while they’re walking. Joseph Hart recommends generative psychogeography or more notably called, algorithmic walking. This is basically walking with the only purpose of taking in your surroundings. To do this, you have no destination, just a pattern in which you walk. An example is First Left, Seconding Right, Second Left, and so on. By having no where in particular to go, you get more involved with your surroundings and can explore the city and get to know it a little better.

This article directly relates my practice as a media artist because my first art project is algorithmic walking. This article taught me the reason behind this kind of walking along with some history about it. Algorithmic walking has showed me that there is much more out there than you think and the best way to find hidden gems in the city it to go on a walk. I have a new outlook on the urban environment now and can’t wait to explore the city.

Sound walk

Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?
The Garage. I could hear a pin drop because of the echoes

Was it possible to move without making a sound?
No

What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?
Every noise felt louder and more crisp

In your sound log exercise, what types of sounds were you able to hear? List them.
Click here for the list

Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place?
Yes and I recognized nearly everything I heard

Human sounds? Mechanical sounds? Natural sounds?
People talking and walking. /Skateboards over bumps, bicycles, cars and buses stopping and accelerating, air vents, lights buzzing, police sirens, and washing machines runnings. /The wind blowing trees, wind blowing in my ears, birds chirping, bugs buzzing, and leaves blowing.

Were you able to detect subtleties in the everpresent drone?
No

Extremely close sounds? Sounds coming from very far away?
Wind in my ears and bus accelerating and breaking. / Police Sirens, and cars driving away.

What kinds of wind effects were you able to detect (for example, the leaves of trees don't make sounds until they are activated by the wind)?
Leaves on the trees, leaves on the cement and grass, wind in my ears, wind blowing the paper I was holding

Were you able to intervene in the urban landscape and create your own sounds by knocking on a resonant piece of metal, activating wind chimes, etc.?
Yes, I stomped on metal sewer plates and clicked my pen

Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?
Yes, everything has a very unique sound

How do you think your soundwalk experience will affect your practice as a media artist, if at all?
I will be more aware of the sounds of anything and everything