GMU:Urban Development Kit/People In Public Spaces

The understanding of public spaces should not only be concerned with the physical aspects of the area but more so with the intangible qualities. Every day thousands of people around the world meet - talk - interact within the 'public spaces' and these spaces have an affect on their daily lives. i would like to understand this psychology and etiquette of using public spaces by researching a few plazas in Weimar. e.g. Theatreplatz-Marktplatz-Schillerstrasse

i would like to conduct a series of basic studies: - observing people within a public realm, where they sit - stand - talk -eat - factors governing their choices - proximity to benches or food stalls - climate - patterns of routes through the space

some of the texts i am referring to: "crowds & power" by Canetti "urban interventions" personal projects in public spaces

Thought Process/Brainstorming:

. idea of story telling and walking in the shoes of another person - using audio/visual aid (Janet Cardiff) . playing on emotions of nostalgia and 'home pain' - Heimweh . flip book while walking - seeing through someone else eyes - glimpse into memory of the person . creating associations with place from previous experiences - leaving clues along the way - like crumbs (the flip book and audio is a guide for the visitor - what to see what to look for - a secret tour) . draw a map of Theatreplatz - then walk through schiller strasse and end up on Marktplatz.

reference videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7_uB51UU8s

http://vimeo.com/6821934

http://senseable.mit.edu/guggenheim/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlR4fVGI39s

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Girl In The Red Jacket

This project revolves around a fictional female character with the primary focus being the emotions of nostalgia and Heimweh. The personal diary of this girl is found and read by a stranger – an audio book that gives us insight into the life of this girl. A series of images and videos create the mood for this audio book and depict the images in the mind of this reader – the themes of isolation, alienation, emptiness and wistfulness combine to form an installation piece that shows the absence of this girl.

Excerpts from this diary are read out, supported by visuals that are the imagery of the reader, giving an insight in the writers mind and how they felt being in a new city. There is an ambiguity as to which time these writings or reading belongs to - leaving it open to the imagination of the viewer who can decide on their own. The theme focuses mainly on the emotion which is not bond by time - place - borders - it is universal.

text taken from a book of sorrows :

SONDER: The realisation that each random passerby is living a life as vivd and complex as your own - populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness - an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passages to thousands of other lives that you'll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk.

The installation piece is a combination of audio, photographs and abstract videos. showing the emptiness and lack of people depicting the loneliness of this character.

original text from diary: T.R.A.N.S.I.T That beautiful sorrow of loneliness erodes the shell of confidence - i feel like an island in an endless oceans - withdraw & isolated - no connection - no relation - The transitionary zone is a lethal one - you are far away from home but can almost taste it - but the temporary home is a distant memory - fast fading as if it only existed as a figment of my imagination. I want to stay - in this torturous limbo of agony & pain - tugging on the edges of my soul - stretching it to the point of snapping. I need to stay - HEIMWEH - you twirl to the rhythm of darkness as it plucks away at your heart.

Audio - Narrative :

<flashmp3>01 resurrection.mp3</flashmp3>