To be Continued?

As part of an assignment I had done last year, I had photographed every surface my feet made contact for the day from the shower floor, to carpet to sidewalk, cement stairs etc... I then layered the photos into two images. One being the hard surfaces and the other the soft. I wanted to see if the textures could be differentiated especially since there was not an equal amount of hard and soft surfaces. I wish to continue something like this, perhaps where i do composite all the photos into one image to see what that gives me or to analyze surface texture in another way.

Walk This Way

Today, another excursion. This time inside! We had traveled to Markham to visit Pacific Mall- North America's largest Chinese mall. I had been there a few times prior, but never with a mission. One of today's missions was to create a collection. I had a clear idea that I would take business cards from all the stores and restaurants. Some places did not offer so in the end I ended up with 49 business cards. I felt sort of awkward walking in the stores asking for a business card and just walking away. I got tired of repeating the same thing as well as I was sick so asking turned into just taking. They're free right? It was still very strange I do not think I have ever asked for business cards or even taken one unless the guy who helped me with my cell phone gave me his. I really enjoy my collection. Theres such a variety of patterns and colours and frankly, some are just cute.

The second objective of the day was to walk against the plan. Essentially this was to steer the visitors in a prescribed way. I would change a 'normal' behaviour and so would they. I would walk around the mall then take a seat. For this, I sat on the floor, with feet on the bench/chair. Some instances I sat beside someone. Some people would either stay, laugh or walk away. No one ever said anything.

Lastly, an action. A quick gesture, stunt or act. I really enjoy Erwin Wurm's work with 1 Minute sculptures. I had already planned this in advance and when I came across a chair missing a seat-I knew it would be perfect as it already had this wonderful sculptural form, and i would have it as an extension of myself.

Below an Interview with Erwin Wurm.

http://youtu.be/-y3RW9pwJfI

Our exersion was quite fun and I had accomplished what I wanted to this day. With time left over, I wondered around the mall and came across a sculpture. Not quite a 1 Minute sculpture this time. Maybe 5? But still wonderful to see. Three benches stacked in a walk-way. Confusion struck custodial staff and myself and a friend were 'accused' of doing this. Security asked us if we knew anything and in all honesty we did not. We walked away to see some friends having a tea party in one of the pathways. Apparently this is threatening dangerous behaviour and security broke up this riot. Our class had a talkin' to courtesy of one security guard who thought he was serving and protecting the public? Anyways we were escorted out to the mall in perfect timing with our bus waiting to take us back to the University.

Parkour

I did some research on Parkour for an assignment, not knowing much about it. I was particularly drawn to this sport for it's use of urban space as a playground.

So...What is Parkour?

It is considered as a discipline or art in which the practitioner called the tracuer (a person who draws a line or path) adopts other ways that go against architectural or cultural norms. The tacuer choses their own way thought the space and runs along a path set out for them self while clearing any obstacles that may arise as quickly and efficiently as possible, focusing on a controlled execution of the movements.

Parkour has history leading back to start of the 20th century in the training philosophy of the French Naval Officer Georges Hebert (1875-1957). Hebert was impressed by the physical and mental abilities of the people from the African continent, who he had met during his travels. While teaching at University of Reims in France, Hebert led the groundbreaking physical lifestyle. He was the first to popularize the training of movement techniques and physical training on an obstacle course for non-military purposes.

Art of Displacement

L'art du deplacement was intitally used as a synonym for the word Parcours and heavily influenced by the French group Yamakasi, taken from the movie - The Samurai of the Modern Age 2001.

The current spelling with a "k" and without the "s" arose from a separation from the existing terms (le) parcours and l'art du deplacement. This movement first gained its widest public attention courtesy of a video by David Belle (original member of Yamakasi) and his brother which was shown to a French TV show in May 1997.

Click here for a history, and intro to parkour

Enchanted Forest

Today I went on a mushroom foray at the arboretum at the University of Guelph. I previously had no knowledge of this place other than hearing people talk about it. I am glad I finally got to go. The site is off limits to the general public so it was a special treat to venture inside the old growth forest. With baskets and knives at hand, our class began our adventure of hunting for a variety of mushrooms. I had never paid attention when I'd pass mushrooms growing on a tree or log as I passed by in a forest. I think I will give them a second look now. I did not know there was such variation within mushrooms. To be honest I thought all mushrooms were a shade of white or looked like the one's from Super Mario.

It was fun discovering something and people would gather to have a look. It made me feel like a child again. You know when you would catch a frog and have to show everyone? It was that same feeling of excitement through discovery. I really learned a lot today. Not just about the types of mushrooms and their bizarre names (Witch's Butter), but also that I really enjoy going for walks in nature. Theres something so calming about removing yourself from the hustle and bustle of the city, work and school. Its great to have a look at the smaller things in life and discover how wonderful they are.

A Walk in the Park

On Thursday September 15, I took a trip to Oakville Galleries where I had the opportunity to experience Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, Audio walk - A Large Slow River. It was a cool windy day, but the sun was shining, a fitting climate for the context of the walk. Much of the audio walk deals with the natural elements, especially water. The Oakville Galleries provides the perfect location to create the experience as it sits along Lake Ontario. There are mentions of a pond, river and lake which you explore first-hand in the walk. The walk begins in the gallery, as you listen to the soundtrack you are immediately greeted and told to follow the woman speaking. You are lead through the gardens as you follow her walking, and pausing to talk to you. The sounds aside from the primary voice have an entrapping quality. You find yourself under the control of the voice(s), as if you are with this person and she is only speaking to you. From the footsteps, to children speaking in the background- you begin to think there are people around you making these sounds. (I found myself taking of the headset to sort the noises from the audio from the outside elements.) The piece has quite a personal quality to it. Memories of family, friends and strangers are shared and sparked from so many varying sights and sounds. There is story within everything from the rose garden to wood chips.

I would suggest experiencing the walk with the audio and without to compare your experience in the space.

The following link provides background information of piece according to Janet Cardiff.

http://www.cardiffmiller.com/artworks/walks/largeslow_river.html

First Step

I have become used to relying on public transit for getting around the city Guelph, ignoring the fact there are a number of trails I could take to get me around the city. On September 8^th I decided to take a trail I have often walked past or caught a glimpse of from the bus. I had no idea what the objective of my walk would be. It would be discovered along the way. I began my walk by taking out my camera scanning the area for anything of interest, plants, trees, flowers etc... When I was taking these photos I was unimpressed with what I was capturing until I began capturing the industrial objects integrated with nature. I found the contrast between the natural and the man-made to be quite appealing. The colours from the plants and weeds were complementing the colours on the pipes, and electrical boxes. As well as the similar shapes and colours.

It was impossible to escape the human impact in our surroundings. As I was walking down the designated concrete path, I saw quite a bit of garbage tangled in branches and overflowing from garbage cans. I was hoping to get an experience where I felt more connected to nature and distanced myself from the city. This was not the case at all. I did appreciate the more scenic and quite route home, however escaping the sights of houses peeking over the trees, and telephone wires was impossible. My walk home led me to think about the paths constructed for humans, the placement and removal of trees, flowers and trails leading from the main path. The extra 30 minutes I spent taking this alternative route home made me think about the human impact on our surroundings and the construction of paths which dictate our ways of travel.