Just as in the board game––with their instructions, players, inconveniences and rewards––our urban landscapes such opportunity for experience––emotional, transitional, dynamic and of the sort that is too hard to explain in one demanding sentence on a colorful little card. But rather than infinite candy paths, friendly temporal jails, “don’t pass go”s, shiny trophies, and beautiful swirly rabbit holes––our modern urban-scapes are too often drained of the potential of exploration––the frivolous joy of adventure in its naivety––in its ideal: spontaneity. So while this world is filled with amusement parks, playgrounds and basketball courts designated for time wasted wonderfully in the back and forth of play––a human necessity despite years lived. The more years lived the more potential invested in “meaning” albeit the potential lost from lack of the childish bliss of swings and hopscotch and the pleasant downfalls of tumbling jenga blocks and of the ring around that girl Rosie. The more modern, technological, reactionary our urban becomes––the less potential for that which diverts systematic functionality––that is, exploration, uncertainty, diversion, dysfunction. So––despite such rigid systems of functionality that this so-called adult world insists upon––and with the foremost intention of spiting those who attempt to rain on our parade of child-like frivolity and costume changes and time spent listening to books read in our mothers voice rather than skimmed to fulfill an assignment and sleeping in mini-van car rides to those amusement parks we used to frequent more often––now only once we have children of our own.
So…I could go on like this in a nostalgic abstract manner for quite some time but CONCEPT! VISUALS! INTENTION! GOAL! A mind map of the metro as the amusement park it ought to be. Im talking hopscotch on all scummy floors and spray cans to inspire graffiti or for the rule followers––graffiti scrubbing play stations right after the graffiti tagging play stations. And throughout all the winding zig zagging hallways filled with silly advertisements, maybe even “design your own advertisement! To ignore!” like photos of texts from Mom or Ex or warnings of death related to Cigs that still manage to look cool let alone JUULs which manage to make hating your body look EVEN COOLER. Odor tanks of challenges to remain the longest and prizes for betting on the rat to scurry the quickest and stairs that go down and down only for another staircase to go up and up. And all train tracks with plenty of chairs solely to sit and watch the trains go by or, of course, not arrive at all. Just the joy of sitting. Escalators are only meant to go up when they are moving down and to race down when they are rushing up. Escalators not filled with a line of people on the right in a rush to go somewhere and a moving line of people on the left in a super duper rush to get somewhere or just trying to prove they’re less lazy but not fit enough for the stairs––but instead with play and challenge and reward––––like you and your big brother would do at the movie theater or mall or whatever catastrophe of system. And exits SORTIES labeled not with number and precise street name but with meaningless yet meaningful titles like MCDONALDS exit here and A PRETTY CHURCH! ONE OF THEM! And BOULANGERIE! Or THE EXIT I GOT MY PHONE STOLEN AT! Or A TRASHCAN THAT OFTEN HAS DISCARDED BOUQUETS ON FEBRUARY 20th! OR FRESHER ALBEIT SADDER BOUQUETS ON THE 14TH OF UNREQUITED LOVE!. (highly visual/visceral narrative reliant on description and illustration)
So as I said, just as the metro is yes, reliable and functional and cheap albeit disgusting and mundane and well, compared to New York, pretty pristine and colorful but––the potential for satire and and amusement and PLAY is just dying to be made into a fun little creative endeavor let alone a studio assignment ! based on the metro !
more inspiration PHOTOS & sketches to come…
