I’ll admit it, I’ve long been fascinated by the urban environment. Maybe it’s because I grew up in the country or maybe it’s some underlying psychological fascination with the social patterns of humanity. My theory is that I just love finding beauty in everything – art, music and old buildings. When you hear the word “adventure”, what comes to mind? Indiana Jones, pirate ships, science fiction maybe. I propose that adventuring into the hidden aspects of a banal urban oasis can be equally thrilling. We intervene within the structure, sometimes subversively, and rewrite the telegraphic pulse of the city. This weeks’ writers/media producers have done just that in a myriad of ways based on their own personal lens and I’ve done the same with my Ballard market study.
Four of the references dealt with a specific location, two dealt with lofty physical ideals, one embraced risked, one adopted a foreign city for a time and one searched for meaning in New Jersey (some may argue a difficult task).
As I’ve thought about my starting point of a fascination for the transformation of space I realize I have been transformed as well. The very acts of media ethnography have changed my viewpoint and interaction within the space. I will forever know the concrete boundaries in a more intimate appeal of memory; a flash of shared remembrance. There is a map in my mind of that specific street correlated by photos, thoughts, fragments, and snippets of conversation, audio and observation, especially observation. Just the act of writing, has forced me to re-examine the space and my use of it – from the detailed pictures of not often acknowledge boundaries (crates, curbs etc.) to the audio clip which creates a picture in my mind but leaves the observer of my blog to imagine the possibilities.
Bradley Garrett, the archaeologist/producer who created “Crack the Surface” is all about imagining the possibilities. His mantra seems to be exploring the derelict or overlooked whether it is a Native American site or a project showing the transformation of the urban British landscape (I didn’t even know Underwater Archaeology was a field). His media project introduces a concept of subversive media collection within the decaying infrastructure of the city. There is a social and aesthetic aspect but it’s also about risk, the allure of boundary crossing. Ultimately, he emphasis, especially on his website, the community aspect – there is a sense of brotherhood, unity in being a part of these collectives who engage in this type of activity. The idea of shared activity connecting you to a community is very similar to the market – even if you’re buying carrots rather than jumping down drains. His adventures reminded me of the TV show Off Limits. In it, the host explores places relating to urban infrastructure in which very few people get to venture -- it is a voyeuristic means of crossing boundaries through media.
Off Limits : TV Shows : Travel Channel
In the media ethnographic analysis of Alexandria, Jeremy Beaudry utilizes various technique to elicit different perceptions of space. The context is interesting because he is a foreigner to the specific environment but he seeks to know and understand it within his allotted time there. I love especially his idea of intervention in space. I call it the “Andy Kaufmann” style of communication. Andy Kaufmann would do stuff like reading the Great Gatsby in a bad British accent when people expected his stand up comedy act or his Taxi character. He liked messing with the perceptions of the audience and society in general. This is similar to the idea of intervention in a place, wherein, in Beaudry’s case, they added phone cards to “complete” an old mosaic, new street names or black “gaps” in the sidewalks to change people’s perceptions and see how they would react. For my intervention of the market, I hope to gauge people’s reaction to me as a musician inserted into the rhythm of the market. We’ve secretly replaced your usual musicians with Elke Hautala, let’s see how they react…to be continued (see observations down below)
*Also, I want to know how Beaudry did his time lapse photography media piece because that’s kind of what I was attempting during my last post – I’m a little jealous J
Oh well, on to the theoretical – In the "Situationist Manifesto", a doctrine is espoused of egalitarian ideal, non-commodification and against privatization. I enjoyed the sentiment about the democratization of art in particular from this piece – the idea that everyone can be an artist or media producer. This project has really reinforced this belief. The market is a very democratic, albeit still consumerist, space – there is choice, you can come out and play music or give advice if you want, you are free to walk through when you want during the market time period and everyone creates their own mosaic of goods through the products that are available. In fact, I would argue you create a personalized space specific memory of the place through your individualized actions.
In “The Practice of Everyday Life”, the De Certeau piece, I found myself both reveling in the beauty of poetic comparison and bogged down in the depths of academic confusion – that is to say it was both enlightening and overwhelmingly dense. I took the most notes on this piece, out of both a seeking to grasp previously unknown concepts I felt were important and an amazement at the connectivity and salience of his points. I loved his conceptualization of pedestrian movements. The idea that they have a qualitative human aspect that is difficult to capture, they are a “spatial acting out of place”. You personalize your own built environment through patterns and paths. I wonder what this says about always taking the same path? I find myself doing this at times, is it something hard wired in our brain that seeks out repetition? Then when I take a slightly different path, it can change my whole day, like what is this new amazing way of looking at the world?! It’s funny how such a small thing can make a difference.
The market is filled with people producing their own space within its boundaries – shaping their experiences through steps. It’s fascinating to watch, kind of like observing at the airport. I have to draw another reference too, on Friday, I watched Wim Wenders’ Pina and De Certeau’s descriptiveness really connected to it. Pina had her dancers use space in an incredibly creative and moving way. I have to admit, at first, I was a bit baffled by it but it drew me in and astounded me. By the close of the film, I didn’t want it to end, it felt like I had learned a new language for using space (that’s how I even described it to my husband) like a new framework for seeing the world. I could try to describe it verbally but I don't think I could do justice to the visual element.
Here is the preview:
Finally, we have “A Tour of the Monuments of Passaic, NJ”. I have to say despite a certain darkness or cynicism (did anyone else get that vibe?) I loved both the stylistic choices, the theory and the ideas of this piece. After all, it ties in directly with my idea of finding beauty in the lost built environment. Even the title, using “monuments” to describe industrial relics in the suburbs is a fascinating incongruity that I thoroughly enjoyed. His comparison of the physical structure and landscape as a piece of media is very interesting. He compares a bridge monument to a giant photo or film. This takes McLuhan’s concept of media to an extreme. In a way, he is saying that we have become so media saturated that our touchstone of experience with certain urbanity is as media. I’ve sometimes thought upon walking into a particular environment with perfect symmetry that it looks like a movie set – the peculiar feeling of being within your own movie, as if you are watching yourself doing actions. I’ve also been guilty of narrating my own activity in my head but I thought maybe that was just because I’m an identical twin and used to constantly keeping my twin updated through a stream of consciousness narration. The production and creation of the market (the transformation of the space) is similar to the way a movie set is designed, created, structured and then struck. They are creating a weekly production in the same spot so therein lies an interesting correlation to media.
OBSERVATIONS and MY THOUGHTS…I felt more connected than ever to the market and its space. Soundtrack: Me! I’ll be playing guitar and singing. On the other side a mbira player is getting ready and a one-man-band thrills the crowds at the top of the market. I arrived towards the beginning and brought my husband this time to act as cameraman and experience the market with me. We took a loop around and even with the cool, windy weather it’s busy, bright and colorful. The spicy aromatic scent on the breeze makes me feel warm and welcomed.
The first event that happens is a certain kismet of time, space and place – I meet two people who were guests on my Underground Tour last night. I recognize them by their brightly colored hair and it turns out they live in Phinney Ridge. I mention the project I’m working on and they mention just how much they love the market and try to visit every weekend. The idea of transformation through connection of this particular space is perfectly illustrated in this example. I feel that much closer to Ballard Ave, my community and Seattle. As my husband and I search for a good space I can play music in, and he can document, I notice another unique means of using media in every day life. There is a kid wearing a bike helmet with a camera attached to the top. What a brilliant way to use DYI to incorporate your own subjective perspective of the world! It’s the ultimate POV angle ever changing with your movement through the landscape.
Next, we run into a gentleman enjoying the market with a beautiful parrot on his shoulder. I’m ashamed to say I’ve forgotten the species he said it was but I’ve looked it up and believe he is an Eclectus Parrot, oh and his name is Sam. Sam adds quite an interesting aspect to the market. I’ve mentioned lots of people bringing pets with them before but Sam is one of the more unusual non-human visitors. He immediately gathers a crowd “oohing” and “aahing” as he climbs up on my shoulder and imitates my laugh, says “What’s Up” and generally enjoys himself. It turns out due to the totally opposite coloration of the female parrot (she has red feathers and he is green mostly) – he’s a sucker for red heads! I have to laugh because so is my husband. It’s amazing how something as simple as bringing a pet to the market can create a unique interactive experience. People have a different social approach towards pets, kids and musical instruments I’ve found.
Speaking of music…I set up and played a couple songs in an open spot on the sidewalk. I feel like a complete part of the market now, I am adding to the experience of those attending and consuming. I purposefully don’t open my case and ask for change because I want to just give of myself to the space without expectation or reward. I want to leave my own ephemeral, transformative mark on the market. I am changing my production of the space and I am changing the movement patterns of those using the space (some have to change paths to move around me, others stop to listen). All in all, the reaction is fairly tame (after all they are used to musicians playing at the market), I get some looks, smiles and an especially vibrant reaction from the two and under crowd who seem to want to stay as long as they can. It’s been a while since I’ve played and I love it, joy, pure joy.
This was my urban adventure and I hope it will continue.
Moment of Zen:
