A Psycheographic Documentary: Review
Whilst googling for a hip-hop group, I happened upon the site One Block Radius, a "Psycheographic Documentary." The introduction read:
"One Block Radius, a project of Brooklyn artists Christina Ray and Dave Mandl [known collaboratively as Glowlab], is an extensive psychogeographic survey of the block where New York's New Museum of Contemporary Art will build a new facility in late 2004. Engaging a variety of tools and media such as blogs, video documentation, maps, field recordings & interviews, Glowlab creates a multi-layered portrait of the block as it has never been seen before [and will never be seen again]. This website is an interactive archive for the project, which will continue to grow over time as we build a dense data-map of the block. The information collected is organized into three categories: observation, interaction & response. Click on each category to begin exploring the block."
Having lived in Brooklyn, this site immediately struck nostalgic and familar chords, as I was able to see video and photos in this particular neighborhood of my favorite bourough of NYC. While the site did cause my 2-year-old G4 to cough just a bit, the navigation was smooth and easy to undertand: at any colored point on the block, I could see the name of someone who contributed, and what category(ies) their contribution fit into.
What I really enjoyed is the way the site allowed for many froms of representations - I could watch a video pan of graffitti, hear the sounds of the street on a sunny saturday, or see a pencil sketch from inside the warehouse.
I don't know if those not already familiar with the neighborhood would be so touched by the media on this site (why don't you let me know?), but for this former Brooklynite, it was a wonderful taste of Home.