Derive and Psychogeography
A group of us from the class 'art, culture, and politics' imitated the Situationist International by 'deriving' and gathering phsychogeographical data.
We went to a local grocery store to examine the space from the perspective of an un-assuming observing, considering forms such as parking spaces, check out lines, security camera, and the apparent mood of shoppers. It was interesting to observe the direct and indirect forms of control that were built into the environment. Going through this process caused us to relate to this familiar space, the grocery store, in a new manner and have a moment of interacting with the space in an un-intended way--as psychogeographers. However small this shift might seem, it was still a 'mini-revolution' within our day and was in the spirit of the Situationist's effort to disrupt the everyday with our actions within space.
‘Dérive’ is described as “goal-less ‘drifting’” and was a mode of interacting within an organized space in an unintentional and organized way in order to cause “behavioral disorientation.” In certain instances for the Situationists this manifested itself as bar hopping with friends and acting belligerent in order to shake things up.
‘Psychogeography’ examines the relationships between one’s physical environment and their psychological state. The Situationists used data collected from the research of psychogeography to inform their dérive’.
