The term psychogeography was invented by the Marxist theorist Guy Debord in 1955 in order to explore this. Inspired by the French nineteenth century poet and writer Charles Baudelaire’s concept of the flâneur – an urban wanderer – Debord suggested playful and inventive ways of navigating the urban environment in order to examine its architecture and spaces.
Psychogeographers advocate the act of becoming lost in the city. This is done through the dérive, or “drift”.
In a dérive one or more persons during a certain period drop their usual motives for movement and action, their relations, their work and leisure activities, and let themselves be drawn by the attractions of the terrain and the encounters they find there…
But the dérive includes both this letting go and its necessary contradiction: the domination of psychogeographical variations by the knowledge and calculation of their possibilities
Psychogeography gained popularity in the 1990s when artists, writers and filmmakers such as Iain Sinclair and Patrick Keiller began using the idea to create works based on exploring locations by walking.
Psychogeographers idolise the flâneur, a figure conceived in 19th-century France by Charles Baudelaire and popularised in academia by Walter Benjamin in the 20th century. A romantic stroller, the flâneur wandered about the streets, with no clear purpose other than to wander.
Because purposeful walking has an agenda, we do not adequately absorb certain aspects of the urban world.
This is why the drift is essential to psychogeography; it better connects walkers to the city.
“The study of the specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organised or not, on the emotions and behaviour of individuals.”
“And in broad terms, psychogeography is, as the name suggests, the point at which psychology and geography collide, a means of exploring the behavioural impact of urban place”.
Psycho-geography is defined as the study of the specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organised or not, on the emotions and behaviour of individuals. The creator of the psycho-geography group, Guy Debord, said that the definition has “pleasing vagueness” meaning that the term can be applied to a wide range of situations.
Snow Hill Psycho-Geography
I will be looking at snow hill for my area of interest. Snow hill has some history behind it; in the 17th century it was the eastern limit of St. Helier and was called La Pompe De Haut because of the public pump found there. In the 19th century a theatre was on the site. Between 1873 and 1929 it was the terminus of the Jersey Eastern Railway which ran trains from St Helier to Gorey. The building of the Harbours in the middle of the 19th century used huge quantities of rock for infilling between the outer walls of the harbour and much of this rock was taken from the area now known as Snow Hill car park.
My Archival Image Response
We visited Snow Hill on the 18th January and took archival photographs of the area. There is lots of history behind the area as it has been for used for multiple things such as a railway station and a cable cart station so it was an interesting place to use for comparisons between the new and old. This showed us how much the area has changed and how the past often gets forgotten.
General Photos of the Area
We took some photographs of the area just to show what Snow Hill is like now compared to what it used to be. It is obviously a lot more plain and run-down now as seen in the photographs below.
Due to the urban landscape and the development of humans and man made landscape soon forming the way In which we can travel and the directions in which we are now only capable to go.I want an industrial landscape full of urbanisation,perhpas this would be done thought out the use of combining old fashioned images of the area in which I am in now and the way in which this contrast to the current continuation of modernisation and the contrasting enforcement of time and the evoltuion of buildings.
Due to this I will be taking my shoot in the centre of town accompanied with old black and white image and how it has diversified overtime to become the landscape in which we live today.The images I will be using can be seen here:
I will visit all the locations on king street in order to correctly find and accompany these photos in their official situation to which they were originally taken. I chose black and white photos due to the larger historical impact for the overall image, and also the lines and stutter within the images due to the history of wars in jersey.
This is the beginning of the street in which I will find suiting image and replace them in the new scenario, this will be accomplished by the direct angles and correct placement, it will be easier due to the common areas and the well known areas as a whole.
As well as more urban shots around town I also wanted to show edited comparison of jersey as seen as above, although I wasn’t able too capture many as there was a lot of wind to the print image itself wasn’t able to stay straight without support.
Here I wanted to edit the images In both black and white and also colour to show the Morden comparison and then also present the similarities of the town and present the only diversity of time.
wihtin my images I also wanted to demonstrate the focus within the hand and the black and white image and then the attraction of light and colour and a lack of focus to draw attention to the composition and the matching lines that once would occur down that street.
The New topographics was a term used by William Jenkins in 1975 to describe a group of American photographers such as Robert Adams and Lewis Baltz whose pictures had a similar banal aesthetic, in that they were formal, mostly black and white prints of the urban landscape. Bernd Becher and Hilla Becher. Pitheads 1974.
Many of the photographers associated with new topographics were inspired by man-made features, selecting subject matter such as. Parking lots, suburban housing and warehouses. An exhibition at the International Museum of Photography in Rochester, New York featuring these photographers also revealed the growing unease about how the natural landscape was being eroded by industrial development leaving human footprints.
An artistic and intellectual movement originating in Europe in the late 1700's and characterized by a heightened interest in nature, emphasis on the individual's expression of emotion and imagination, departure from the attitudes and forms of classicism, and rebellion against established social rules and conventions.
Romanticism was developed in the 1700’s. Originating with paintings, the romanticist movement was later applied to photography. Romantic photography can be identified through the heightened detail concerning nature and the beauty of the natural world, which encourages the expression of emotion and feeling through photographs.
Psycho-geography is a hybrid of photography and geography that emphasizes playfulness and “drifting” around urban environments. It has links to the Situationist International.
Psychogeography was defined in 1955 by Guy Debord as “the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals.”
Another definition is “a whole toy box full of playful, inventive strategies for exploring cities… just about anything that takes pedestrians off their predictable paths and jolts them into a new awareness of the urban landscape
The originator of what became known as unitary urbanism, psychogeography, and the dérive was Ivan Chtcheglov, in his highly influential 1953 essay “Formulaire pour un urbanisme nouveau” (“Formulary for a New Urbanism”).
The idea of urban wandering relates to the older concept of the flâneur, theorized by Charles Baudelaire…and is similar to STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
PETAPIXEL definition of PsychoGeography CLICK HERE
What will you see on your journey…and how will you respond and adapt to it ???
Koyaanisqati : Drawing its title from the Hopi word meaning “life out of balance,” this renowned documentary reveals how humanity has grown apart from nature. Featuring extensive footage of natural landscapes and elemental forces, the film gives way to many scenes of modern civilization and technology.
Superflux : explore over-surveillance and the prospect of intrusion in our everyday lives…has the concept of psycho-geographies evolved into something dystopian-like and Orwellian (1984- “Big brother”)…governments, town planners and the authorities design how we live, where we live and essentially control popluations of towns and cities.
Marcus Desieno creates de-humanised landscape photography by hacking surveillance camera networks…but avoids privacy problems normally associated with urban and residential areas…
What you need to do…(3-5 blog posts)
Research thenDefine, describe and explain what Psycho-Geography is…
Choose an (urban) area of Jersey that you are interested in exploring
Find the area on google maps and zoom in so that you can make a screen shot to add to your blog post.
Add the “street view” too if you can
Find as much information and images online as you can about the street / area you are exploring and include these in your blog post
Add any archival information that you can too (see below)
Then go to the area and explore on foot…photographing everything you can, and all that appears of interest to you at that time. Photograph up, down and across…creating a film or time-lapse is good too as is drone footage / imagery…
Record the time, date and place of your journey in your blog post
Add any thoughts, feelings or emotions you can about the place your are exploring…and as you develop a connection and familiarity with the place/ people / buildings etc.
Refer to Mishka Henner and Edward Burtynsky (aerial photographs) and The Boyle Family in your blog post…and discuss how they interact with an area and create art / photography inspired directly by the location and its uses / functions.
Analyse and evaluate your process…show your selection, editing and presentation of final images.
What Are Archives?
In the course of daily life, individuals and organizations create and keep information about their personal and business activities. Archivists identify and preserve these documents of lasting value.
These records — and the places they are kept — are called “archives.”Archival records take many forms, including correspondence, diaries, financial and legal documents, photographs, and moving image and sound recordings. All state governments as well as many local governments, schools, businesses, libraries, and historical societies, maintain archives.
Your task
The images above are Archival Images from iconic areas of Jersey…and these areas have changed over time.
Find archival images that correspond to your own landscape photography and contrast and compare. Include any info you can find about the image itself / photographer / time period etc
OR…you may find that you are intrigued by a particular landscape image and want to respond to it and create a comparison / composite image. For this you must conduct a photo-shoot aiming to document the area from a similar viewpoint and edit your images accordingly
OR…you may want to explore the concept of JUXTAPOSING Old and new buildings / parts of Jersey…either by photographing them in situ, or creating a composite image using photoshop
Public archives in Jersey
Jersey Archives: Since 1993 Jersey Archive has collected over 300,000 archival records and it is the island’s national repository holding archival material from public institutions as well as private businesses and individuals. To visit click here
Jersey Archive can offer guidance, information and documents that relate to all aspects of the Island’s History. It also holds the collections of the Channel Islands Family History Society.
Societe Jersiaise: Photographic archive of 80,000 images dating from the mid-1840s to the present day. 35,000 historical images in the Photographic Archive are searchable online here.
Societe Jersiaise also have an extensive library with access to may publications and records relating to the island’s history, identity and geography. Click here
Archisle:The Jersey Contemporary Photography Programme, hosted by the Société Jersiaise aims to promote contemporary photography through an ongoing programme of exhibitions, education and commissions.
The Archisle project connects photographic archives, contemporary practice and experiences of island cultures and geographies through the development of a space for creative discourse between Jersey and international practitioners.
Research and explore how Lewis Bush engages with and photographs the city and its development / over-development.
Click here to check out an interview as he explains how he uses aerial / satellite imagery to home in on secret data stations used in the Cold War and produce abstract imagery influenced by the radio waves of secret information being mysteriously broad-casted.
As cities gradually formed newer building and more industrial sites are formed in order to produce and cope with the necessities that are essential for the growing population,The new trphogrohics tarted to raise attention Joel Sternfeld (born June 30th 1994,)Started his fine art color photographer ,he usually works within large formats of documentary picture from within the united states.He became a highly respected artists throughout his medium for color and his many works in the permanent collection off MOMA within New York City. Sternfeld started teaching at Dartmouth college and teaches photography after he himself learning all about color theory. Sternfeld’s most successful book was American Prospects and explored the irony of human altered landscapes. Sternfeld has many different aspects of exhibitions in order to try and capture and represent people in different manners, furthermore his work was very much influenced by the new trophgorhics,his exhibition was called the American prospects and had many different aspects o human life within nature.
I chose Joel Sternfeld due to his edge of nature but how he looks at the image as if it is a a whole set prepared image.I also liked his color within the image and how it compliments the setting.He has such a wide shot it enables a connection with the whole area of the image and a successful composition.
Mind map
All these images above all successfully convey the theme of presence of people the evolution of society and how nature has a mass significance.He has a clear color variation due to the type of surrounding scenario that the photographer is in.
Best image analysis
This is my favorite image, this is due to the way in which you can see the effect that humans have and a certain type of deterioration to nature you can see the slow development of man made houses falling down and the gradual spread of rubbish mixed within the nature.the composition is interesting in the way of how the tree is closest to the foreground and has a large area of significance. Then you have the petrol station that too is falling down.conceptually he wanted to connote how people use land and then leave and what they leave behind is a constant effect and to the defect of how people abuse nature.
My idea for the shoot
His images have a very strong aspect of planned or at least a strong com-positional aspect,So with my small experimentation of his work i too would want to show these aspects to create a successfully image.I also like his use of color and the way in which it is somewhat removed but also very much present within the large tonal range of colors.Areas In which I could take this work ,All these photos have a strong resemblance to isolation and a removal of presences themselves,due to this I will go to remote areas in which there is a high presence of nature and a lack of city scape of fast moving action.
For my shoot I wanted to continue using my artists inspiration of the new topographic’s and of rich urban landscapes but a clear view or traditionalism and nature aspect contrasting within the background of the image.For my photo shoot I will try and visit Scrapyards, building sites, cranes, restoration yards, derelict ruins,additionally to this I will also look for any area that has pipework or a clear decoration of man made activity.
For my second artist who has more of a humane feel to the area and the way in which nature and buildings has a strong relevance to peoples lives I will photograph shops and long distance views of roads and such,this could also be seen within theaters and large populated areas.For the title and main inspiration for my shoot I have chosen the themes of juxtaposing urban and isolated compared to sky and habitats. This means that my images will have a strong sense of new upcoming society and how it can be isolated from other areas and a clear vision of separation of lack of nature within that area.
How I will edit my images
Once again I used HDR in order to get a crisp image with lots of light and vibrancy of color and or tone.I also want to use some of my own development ideas such as slow shutter speed to capture an urban effect during nighttime,this can be done from being high up above traffic and brightly lighted town and also within the areas and also develop the focused nature aspects,these would look like:
I chose this image as an example due to its high over towering view so allowing a clear focus on light but also how nature is wrapped around all human light and presents clear lines and paths within the image itself.
Secondly I thought this was an accurate perception of my idea due to the large presents of nature within the center of the urban landscape,it shows a subtle formation of the two elements.
panoramic development
Additionally I also want to capture panoramic shoots,i will achieve this by developing my images into one after taking a course of many over an area with small movements in between. I would want to displays this in a straight forward lines and then secondly with separations of lines and cuts to show repetition of a scene and lastly a divided area in which i can present the image in many different levels such as:
I will still be focusing on my theme of urban isolation contrasting with nature and sky,this allows me to use all my techniques and capture all these themes in different mannerisms. Overall I still want to use the same elements and angles that the new topographic achieved but in a more modernized and inventive mannerism.
Edits:
I decided to divided my edits into color and black and white dependent on what is the most appropriate and effective.I really swatted to nature the contrast between he deep architectural lines and with colour on the background.
first shoot:day time shoot
SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES
I think this piece is really effective as its composition is centred and then further enhanced by the light background of the image. it also has a structure due to the ladder , but has a delicacy to the line lines reflected within the water and the rhyme and form that bring to the piece itself.
all of this images above I clearly wanted to focus on stature and how it can be enchanted by a natural background,it creates an effect of nature formed within a harsh man made structure.
further editing:
with this image I wanted to form a romanticised background and then form this with the architectural structure from this shoot.i do think though it is not as effective as the small detailed liens when edited do not achieve the same realism and are not as effective.
here I wants to from an interesting architectural piece using a repletion and building using lines to from a large building going through he centre,i think this makes an interesting composition yet still forms a line and stature overall.
wihtin this edited I wanted to try and from both interesting clouds to show the strong presence of nature and then also from and lit in the industrial aspects of human development that I wanted to capture.
night shoot:slow shutter speed light capture
I wanted to experiment within night shoot in this method as it is more abstract and would be effective in an overlay within other images too.it also allowed more to capture the night city scape whilst also forming a slow light pattern.This method also means I am able to from the shape and not dependent on wirer the light is already.
panoramic development:
I did not take many sets of image such as this is I knew I did not want to develop within this method, although for my final I think the overall prevention would look successful hung in size order alongside each other.
Overall analysis
overall I think I have developed within many methods and shoots and now I am able to see and decided what will be the most successful and effective within the future of my work.
now_hill_old7.jpg)
This is my favorite image, this is due to the way in which you can see the effect that humans have and a certain type of deterioration to nature you can see the slow development of man made houses falling down and the gradual spread of rubbish mixed within the nature.the composition is interesting in the way of how the tree is closest to the foreground and has a large area of significance. Then you have the petrol station that too is falling down.conceptually he wanted to connote how people use land and then leave and what they leave behind is a constant effect and to the defect of how people abuse nature.
