The Assignment
Find a space in the city with which you are unfamiliar. It could be a very private space, or a public space. You might also consider choosing a metered period of time to spend within the space. Begin by simply making general observations of the space and your relation and perception of it. How have you placed yourself in the space? Are you still or moving? What is immediately surrounding you? Think of all five senses. Write/draw/photograph your observations and notes. You might even consider collecting tangible and/or non-tangible artifacts from the space.
When you feel that you have exhausted the various sensations and perceptions of your relation to the space, consider the way in which you perceive time within it. How does your sense of time here compare to other places that you have been? How is it different or similar? Faster or slower? Consider also your own rhythm and mood. How is this in conflict with or in sync with that of the space? How would you describe verbally and/or visually the relationship between your personal rhythm and sense of time? What are some of the ways that you could visually organize the information that you’ve collected? Consider the examples and strategies discussed in class and in your own visualization, consider how time can be measured, mapped, represented, and/or recorded in manner that reflects your area of interest and practice via a single-frame composition.
Beginning Process/Observational Notes:
(click to view)
Explanatory Statement:
For this project, I visited three different $1 Pizza joints around Manhattan. I allowed myself ten minutes every hour, from 4 pm to 6 pm, to be in the presence of each place and to write down my stream of consciousness. I found that even in a short span of time I was able to observe and sense the shifts in myself and the people around me. Those that came in and out of the space differentiated from location to location. The first store was filled with people getting off work while the second store was crammed with couples and families looking for a quick bite to eat. Also, time felt significantly different from each space. Time moved slower when I was able to enjoy my pizza. The opposite occurred when I visited the first pizza place and I felt an urgent rush to leave. I blended a series of photos I took while observing these places. I created a point of view image by taking the photo from within a to-go pizza bag.
