Psychogeography

Before reading this article, psychogeography was a foreign term that I had never heard of before. However, I found the concept very interesting to gain knowledge about and learned how it can be related to contemporary art. After doing some further research, I discovered that some contemporary artists produce works that incorporate the idea of societal structures manipulating our mannerisms/behavior by shifting the way we move and view objects around us. One artist I found who incorporates this idea into her work is Janet Cardiff. She created an audio clip titled, "Her Long Back Hair" which takes the listener on a tour through Manhattan's Central Park. The listener essentially becomes a participant, walking through the park while listening to the narrator's experience in the park. The audio makes many references to Baudelaire, which is a clear connection to psychogeography. As the listener walks through the park listening to the sounds for the headphones they slowly become wondering whether they are actually in the park that the narrator is speaking of or if they are just listening to sounds from the headphones. Essentially, this is creating a dimensional world for the listener. Cardiff created a psychogeographic map that presents the viewers with a subjective experience/her own wonderings around a park and presents them as an exploration while constantly changing locations. This audio clip/journey causes art and life to become blurred, allowing psychogeography to be understood.