Psychogeography by definition is an exploration of urban environments that emphasizes playfulness and “drifting”. This translates to my walk because I took a walk around campus just based on the shape of the letter “G”. A psychogeographic walk is supposed to be fun in a way to see where you will end up and what you will see along the way.
Like I said, I based my route off the shape of the letter “G.” I began by walking out of my living center: Living Center South. The first sidewalk I approached after crossing the bridge was located on Collings Drive, I called this spot Point A. I took a right on the sidewalk and followed it towards the Ryder Center. I then followed that sidewalk down it’s loop until I arrived at the stop sign of College Drive. I took a left at this stop sign and walked until I saw the bridge connecting Brown Hall and Wickes Hall. I walked under the bridge and took another left until I stopped at the library, making that Point B. I took a screenshot of where I was and drew a line to illustrate my walk which can be shown below.
When I started my walk it was snowing, but I had already begun to pay attention to detail and get lost in my own thoughts. I made a mistake of forgetting to take pictures at the beginning, but I was so focused on finding new things on this walk towards the Ryder Center that I have taken many times before. ALthough my walk was very cold, the snow allowed me to see further. Next to the Ryder there are trees that I have never really noticed before. I thought this part of campus did consist of woods, but the trees were more spread out than I expected and did not go as far back either. This was my first real observation during my walk. After that, things were beginning to appear everywhere. Anything from the details on the Hamilton to the land that stretches out past the gymnasium. When I noticed some sort of cage and a small building with some bright, light blue coloring on it this is when I remembered to take pictures. I still don’t know the purpose of this structure, but I will be doing future research out of curiosity. My next big sighting was the outside statues of the museum at SVSU. I never noticed how one appeared to be green and the other a charcoal color. I wondered if this was based on the age of the statue. Continuing my walk I looked up under the bridge connecting Brown Hall and Wickes Hall. There was nothing special to see here and the only exciting thing that happened was a water droplet fell to my face as I looked up. The last thing I saw was a couple packages of gummy bears spilled by the fountain. I wanted to take a picture of this, but my phone shut off due to the cold. I was upset because I am short one picture, but the walk did change my perspective on a couple things throughout campus. I was completely focused on what was around me and forgot about other issues going on that day. I think a psychogeographic walk could be used as a quick refreshing therapy session if used the right way. It is a good way to take one’s mind off of things. This walk could potentially release stress and help one reconnect with their surroundings or even nature itself. The pictures of my walk are provided below.
Below is also a brief description of the “clown” statues I viewed.
All in all, I really enjoyed this experience and will probably redo it somewhere off campus. I do recommend a psychogeographic walk to anybody, especially if someone is having a bad day. It could truly by a “do it yourself” form of therapy.
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