Psychoblography

Psychogeography, as defined by Guy Debord in 1955, is "the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behaviour of individuals." Or to put it another way, psychogeography is about discovering how the environment you live in shapes the way you think. A recent example of this is from a report on the BBC website.

One of the main investigative methods is the idea of 'dérive'. It is a Situationist technique in which you conduct a walk without definite destination or purpose. By maintaining a psychogeographic awareness, you can explore the urban environment in new ways, thus allowing yourself to be drawn by the unnoticed aspects of your surroundings and their affect on everyday life.


We were set the task of creating our own psychogeography project and using digital media to present it on the internet. As I was feeling a little lost (ironic considering it's an assignment based on maps!), I conducted a bit of research.


Research:

Daniel Belasco Rogers - The Drawing of my Life
In this project, Rogers uses a GPS device to continuously record his location over seven years. He uses these recordings to create a drawn map of Berlin depicting his travels around the city. From just looking at the drawings, we can tell by the darker parts of the map where he spent most of his time. Rogers states his intention was to "develop a sense for the drawing I am making across the surface of the earth with my body every time I move." I loved the idea of creating a map and documenting a personal journey. This gave me the idea to plot out my discovery of Leicester since moving here in September 2010. However, this proved too difficult as I don't really go anywhere that's not Uni, Spar or some dodgy club in Leicester town centre. Also, I believed that producing a factual point-by-point map didn't encorporate the artistic side of Psychogeography enough.


Magda Knight - Psychogeography for Beginners
Knights post explains psychogeography and the dérive in straightforward way. Apparently, becoming a psychogeographer can be as easy as "studying graffiti and poking your nose where it doesn't belong...". She gives a few example projects to get you started, with my favourite being 'The Freedom to Sit Dérive'. Knights entry provides an artistic and philosophical perspective compared to Rogers literal map project. She encourages free thinking whilst on a derive, to note your thoughts and feelings on the relationship between space and people living in it. This gave me clearer understanding of the task and became a starting block from which to develop my own idea. (Plus, I got to buy a new notebook. Win-win.)

Crypoforestry - There is life next to the motorway
This blog is for psychogeographers who describe their work as "Searching for the forest in the city. Searching for the city in the forest." This particular entry explores an area of untouched nature next to an Ikea and the motorway. It is documented through photography and includes little side notes from the psychogeographer. Unknown plants and trails are exposed, with witty asides including "A feral chicken in Utrecht is more special than a castle in Scotland, a temple in Thailand or a sheep thief in Oz." It is a simple yet fascinating insight into an area that doesn't get noticed by most people. But by having a sense of psychogeography, it becomes a journey of discovery through forgotten wildlife.


My Project:

The juxtaposition of inner city parks with urban life exposes the unnaturalness of nature in cities.

My journey through Castle Park, Nelson Mandela Park and Victoria Park.


View Psychogeography in a larger map

Blog 2.0

Web 2.0 is a concept coined by Tim O'Reilly to ressurect the internet economy from the dotcom crash of 2000.



One aspect of Web 2.0 is Cloud Computing:

Cloud computing

Popping my blogs

I'm in the University library at the moment, on the eerily silent floor and everyone looks far too serious. Of course my phone loudly bing-bongs and disturbs the peace. This is really the main problem I have with new technology. I'm trying to study, which is hard enough after being out of education for 2 years working in mind-numbing call centres, and I have to stop what I'm doing to look at the attention-starved child that is my iPhone. There's no way of getting away from it all if you've got the whole world in your pocket.

But instead of the usual notification from Facebook informing me that my flatmate tagged me in yet another embarrassing photo, it's from an app I downloaded called Mappiness.




It's part of a research project at the London School of Economics (http://www.mappiness.org.uk/) I've been taking part in this experiment for about 6 months now. I log my happiness twice a day, as well as my location and whatever activity I'm doing. The results come in handy graph form too! But how accurate can this be? Can an iPhone app really measure your happiness?

I began by looking at my own results:

I am happiest
- on a Thursday (day off from Uni)
- at around 10pm
- elsewhere (as opposed to home or work)
- outdoors
- with friends / partner

I am happiest doing
#1 Exercise
#2 Socialising
#3 Shopping
#4 Computer games
#5 Drinking alcohol
...
#22 Travelling
#23 Seminars/Class

Wait a minute... exercise makes me happy?! 
But thinking about it, I'm not even sure why that surprised me so much. Exercise regulates stress hormones and releases endorphins (morphine-like substance). I must have been on a natural high filling out Mappiness that day. That's one of things that's most interesting about this app, learning things about yourself you never knew. 

Mappiness warns us not too take these results too seriously though. The Daily Mail ran an article from October 12th discussing Mappiness and how, from the results, Tuesday is on average the worst day of the week. It does strike me that today's society is increasingly reassured by statistics, especially those of 'averageness'; average earnings, average amount of children etc. Almost a recommended standard of normality.

But all in all, it's worth getting involved with this app. As well as helping out some scholarly folk, I've become more aware of my own moods and habits. I'll definitely be hitting the gym some more with a smile on my face =).