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.