Psychogeography in Enschede 2003

- Posted: 24.Jan.2006.




When Planetart tells you to come to Enschede to do psychogeography you don't argue, you collect your algorithms & get on a eastbound train. 20+ curious & well informed people bothered to show up, ready to start walking on our mark. Psychogeography can very well be described by the yell 'Let's Go!' But very few times it's a GO spelled GO!!!! like it was this time

A generative psychogeographical walk only has a direction but no destination. Their are no good or bad results, only the results you come back with. That's why failure is impossible. On the other hand it must always fail because the city never fully complies with the demands of the algorithm. But it doesn't matter. What is important is to practise this art of being in between.

Afterwards people were invited to draw their path on a map. Here are the 5 paths that didn't (fully) ran off the map.

As is shown, when you layer these 5 paths, representing an algorithmic walk of one hour, on top of one another, nearly all streets in the centre are reached. Compare it with the second image that shows in red the rest of the streets. In it self this is not that amazing. But with the current interest in collaborative mapping & the wish to use these algorithms to generate information using the process of emergence this is positive information.