The Toronto Psychogeography Society (http://psychogeography.ca/) wanders every Thursday night in Toronto and their website serves as a blogsite about their exploration. The blogs on this site have descriptions of the walk. I would've liked to see some images of the walks. I didn't notice images included in any of the blogs. Irregardless, the descriptions of the psychogeographical walks were interesting. I could imagine seeing some the events and scenes described by each blogger. Some more than others were well written and I got the sense of where the individual was and what they were experiencing. Sometimes it hard to imagine that the city of Toronto is filled with so much culture. I feel like I'm missing out on all these beautiful, cultural experiences right next door.
[murmur] is also an interesting website that records stories and memories about specific geographic locations. [murmur] signs are posted with a telephone number on it and anyone can call from their cellphone to listen to the story while having the physical experience of being at site of the story. Listeners are sometimes asked to walk around or follow a path. I imagine that these stories provide insight into the lost history of the city or site and its social and cultural significance.
The images below are images of the spadina and kensington map. Wanders can use these maps, found on the [murmur] website to listen to stories. The red dots on the map indicate where you can find a [murmur] sign with a telephone number on it.
Click on Images to Enlarge.
[murmur] images: http://murmurtoronto.ca/
These examples of Toronto Psychogeogeorgraphical maps provided me with some insight to the Situationist International and what they were trying to do. The public become active particpants within their own city to explore new things and connect with the city in different ways. The pervasive consumer cultures has blinded our vision in seeing the urban space and the people that make it. Our lives have become so structures that we are reluctant to get lost and waste time. DERIVE is also an interesting part of the concept of psychogeography. Through derive, one can get lost within the city and allow this process of getting lost dictate random experiences. I do this often when I am driving to somewhere new. I like to find my way to a new place on my own. With directions, of course. Most times I do get lost and when I do I like to observe my surroundings. How the houses look, the way the street winds, how intersections cross. The city is an interesting place to explore, especially in Toronto where there are so many culture/ethnic specific streets. There seems to be much more things to see and experience than the corporate logos and glossy photos that are increasingly filling the city.
