Introduction: We are to follow a stranger around New York City for 30-45 minutes and observe their actions. This activity is inspired by Vito Acconci who also followed strangers as a part of his freelance art.
***Pre-following/hypotheses:
- I feel really nervous and almost a little scared of getting caught despite having the letter in my pocket. I’m scared the person will react too explosively if they find out my intention.
- If caught, I plan to pretend to change the music on my phone or start talking on the phone or just simply turn the corner if possible.
- I think I can learn a lot from observing the integration of that stranger within the environment of a metropolis like New York. I can learn about how the other inhabitants view the stranger or interact with him. I can also learn about the movements and rapport of the stranger and his relationships with other people, places, things, and occurrences.
- Overall, I hypothesize that I won’t get caught, however, because its quite easy to play it off and I’m a good actress.
Following notes:
As Acconci did – write up your notes about the process and your observations of other people, yourself, and maneuvering the sidewalk etc.
- the stranger has red hair, holding a bag mostly in his right hand by his legs, and a trench coat; mostly dark colors
- the hair really stands out, especially in contrast to all the dark grays and blacks in his clothing
- his walking style is consistently rhythmic; he takes long strides and walks relatively fast; speedwalker
- when he walks by people he tries to maintain good distance (maybe to protect his bag from hitting anything)
- seems pretty confident
Post-Following
Conclusion:
Using one of the two quotes below to inflect your thoughts (-or- choose another quote from any seminar reading you think helps you talk about this experience), unpack the experience – what did you learn? notice? experience? were your hypotheses correct? if not – what was unexpected?
I really like this quote by Jane Jacobs firstly because she calls it “the sidewalk ballet of a healthy city” and I think this is a really nice metaphor for the hustle and bustle of the city. I like when Jacobs states, “This order is all composed of movement and change, and although it is life, not art, we may fancifully call it the art form of the city and liken it to the dance — not to a simple-minded precision dance with everyone kicking up at the same time, twirling in unison and bowing off en masse, but to an intricate ballet in which the individual dancers and ensembles all have distinctive parts which miraculously reinforce each other and compose an orderly whole.” I think the connotation of ballet would spark someone as a graceful and well rehearsed choreography. But when Jacobs says, that this ballet dance of the city still seems cohesive, it makes me think that the movements and order of the city are really beautiful. When Jacobs goes on to state, “The ballet of the good city sidewalk never repeats itself from place to place, and in any once place is always replete with new improvisations,” it really relates to the city. Every occurance and experience is so unique and it really makes me reminded of the miracle of life. I learned that despite the hustle and bustle of the city, it is beautifully choreographed. My stranger didn’t once bump into anyone or stumble despite there being so many people and so much going on around him. I noticed that no other strangers spoke to him or bothered him and he was relatively undisturbed. His walk was peaceful like a ballet. I hypothesized correctly- I didn’t get caught.