GPS Drawing Adventure

Our group did the GPS drawing in a different approach. Our group of 5 split into two groups. 2 of us took the route of the train tracks to get to our designated location both groups decided to meet at. Although the journey there was interesting and we encountered a few interesting things, the final destination was really where the adventure was. We decided to meet at a plot of land with 3 abandoned buildings and 1 abandoned trailer. It was there that we met 2 homeless men who chatted with us and told us the history of the buildings along with a variety of other interesting information. The history of the buildings and the state they were in now was very intriguing and the fact that these men lived in these buildings now really made me interested in the history of this place.

Micro/Macro

On my original walk I found one specific observation I came across to really stand out in my mind. A small cross, leaned against the inside of a window, the blinds were closed and I took the cross out of context and viewed it as a symbol. I'm sure we all relate a cross to some kind of religious holy meaning, but I wondered how it would be read out of context, in a different part of the city, in a contradicting scene, would it lose it's importance? I made my own cross and traveled my path once again to find out.
The cross held its symbolic power. In certain circumstances, coming from a catholic family, putting the cross on a dumpster or the ground made me feel uncomfortable, even if it was just a piece of paper I had cut in the shape of a cross. The baggage I carried from my family and past told me that a cross was a powerful symbol, it symbolized blessing and faith. As I re-traveled my original footsteps I could just hear my grandmothers voice saying don't put that cross next to those dirty cigarettes. For me this experience not only had to do with the act of moving this symbol around the city, but the baggage and power this symbol carried and no matter where I placed it, it held on to that.

3 days 3 ways

The difference in the quality of observation between driving and walking was expected to be large, but what I did not plan on was the imagery that I would capture. As a photographer I am not interested in photographing the city whatsoever but allowing myself to leisurely stroll and observe left room for exception. As a commuter I drive through the city on a regular basis, rarely ever walk unless it is from a parking lot to a building. I found myself enjoying the stolls on the what I now call a familiar path. From MIAD, through the alley, to Broadway, than Milwaukee, continued on Milwaukee past MSOE, curved down to Water and onward to our original meeting location. On all my journeys I found myself finding something new, unusual and unfamiliar. Discovering things I would normally cruise by and realizing the oddities and out of context objects were thought provoking. Photographing each oddity allowed me to visually remember and create a visual map of my repeated travels.