project title
Navigazing
project description
Navigazing is a term I have given to the act of venturing out into the surrounding environment, in this case the urban environment, in search of narrative artifacts.
Narrative artifacts are points of visual, or aural interest that suggest the existence of a story, either real or fictional. A good example of a narrative artifact is the work of the artist SWOON, whose carefully executed full scale figural pieces suggest that there is a mysterious cast of characters that occupy the stage of the grand theater of the city.
The event that I propose to orchestrate will involve gathering a group of people together to seek out these artifacts, and then document the find for others to contemplate and enjoy.
Participants will be given view-finder postcards and chalk, which I will supply, and instructions to travel around the city looking for narrative artifacts. The view-finder cards are simple postcard dimension cards that have a rectangular window cut out that creates a framing view when looked through. The card is a simple device that creates a derive , or shift, in the users mind allowing that person to see their surroundings in a slightly different way. The card is also a tool of whimsy bringing an element of play to the event.
When the person, or navigazer, finds something that they consider to be a narrative artifact, such as a sticker or tile space invader, they take their chalk, trace their feet where they are standing, and leave either a written or graphic clue for the next willing passerby to investigate. The idea being that another participant of the event might find the traced feet, stand in them and look through their view card to try and find what the other person was looking at. There is also the hopeful potential for any passerby to try it as well.
At the end of the event all involved will gather to meet and talk about their experiences.
As a contemporary psychogeographer, I feel that it is immensely important to be both physically and psychologically aware of one’s environment. Event such as these create exciting opportunities for people to exercise that mental powers in a way that is artistic and objective.
name
Odin Cappello
location
Brooklyn, New York
profile
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