Brittany Kowalski, Brady Wolchansky, and Corey Smith: GPS Drawing

Our drawing was constructed by randomly chosing cars to follow.  Once we started to follow a car, we trailed it until it reached its destination.  At that point we picked a new car to follow.  The first car took us from MIAD to an apartment near UWM. The next car we followed turned a corner and parked.  The next car took us to a parking lot on the corner of Plankinton Ave and Kilbourn Ave.  Our final car led us to the Aurora West Allis Medical Center on Lincoln Ave.  In our car we discussed if the lead car's driver knew we were following him or her.  In addition, we hypothesized what his or hers destination was.

Our return trip to MIAD was significantly different than our original drawing.  This inspires questions about "the journey" one chooses to take to a destination.  How does one select a route?  How do we navigate?  Major influences include but are not limited to: available modes of transportation, access to technology, environmental factors, time, aesthetics, knowledge, preference, and personal experience.  While navigation is not uniquely human, our relationship with choice and travel is.  

Navigation has evolved from hardwired survival instincts into an amalgamation of complex components embodying individualism.

View From the Top

For Doors Open MKE I visited the U.S. Bank building. Although I had been to the bank building many times before I had never gone quite as high. After a 15min wait I finally got to the observation deck. Since Sunday wasnt a very nice day my view was pretty grey but still very visible. Living in Milwaukee makes it seem very small but looking at the city as a whole totally changed my perspective. It was an experience I am glad I got to take part in.

micro/macro

After my original walk the entire class stopped for a long amount of time by the Marsupial Bridge. During this time I collected rocks from the area, for silly reasons including:

• one was sunburnt
• one was a crystal
• one was amber
• one was a booger
• one was misunderstood

I went home with those rocks that day and they've been on my nightstand ever since.

For my intervention I brought my rocks back to the site where I found them. I laid my souvenirs out on a bench and wrote down why I kept them. Then I filled a jar full with other rocks I picked from the site for safe keeping. I think that this piece may become nostalgic to some. Many people collected things like rocks and such when they were children. To see evidence of someone collecting things for memory may bring back a memory of their own.

Personal/Public

A few years ago, in Chicago I was a volunteer for a non-profit art school. I had a fling with one of the other volunteers, which wasn't necessarily against the rules, but something that our supervisors wouldn't approve of, not to mention we would have probably been separated into different tasks for the day. Since we had started a secret affair, the most exciting part was leaving, after volunteering together all day, with the satisfaction that we still hadnt been found out. After we walked out of the building we would turn on to the next side street behind the

school where we'd finally be able to kiss and hold hands. Even though this "affair" is long over, every time I pass this street or walk down it I remember how great it felt walking down it when I was being a sneaky teenager in love. If a stranger were to see me walking down this street I would probably have a huge smile on my face and they would never really know why.

(41°53'50.37"N, 87°38'8.69"W)

3 Days 3 Ways

My three ways in three days were walking, biking, and taking a bus. Walking had to be the most personal of the three, I had time to myself and could do what I wanted and go where I wanted. Biking was the most distracting and the scariest, being on the road with other bikers and drivers meant I mostly had to focus on the road and the literal path I was taking rather than enjoying the scenery. The bus had the least amount of view and the most social interaction, or social observation. Around 5:30 pm, the bus is extremely crowded leaving no space to sit or really move around to see all there is to see.

In concluding that my favorite experience of three ways was walking, I am able to connect with the Nato Thompson reading. The idea that "a sidewalk has a plan" rings very true to my discovery, the art of the pedestrian is VERY much about the relationship to the city. When walking I was able to experience, and really live freely in the city by allowing the sidewalk to guide me on a safe path. On a bike I was very restricted by the rules of the road. The time I could have spent exploring was spent making sure I wasn't hit by another vehicle. On the bus I was not allowed to follow my set plan or explore the city at all, I was literally shuttled from point A to point B, I spent most of my time forced listening to the other passengers. I think walking, the most directly lived experience of my three, would be the best way to learn and get to know a city.