Design Study 2 - The Case of Betty and Barney Hill

My Locative Narrative is modeled after America’s most famous UFO/alien abduction case, the case of Betty and Barney Hill. The narrative takes place along the route the Hills took on their trip home from Quebec to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, U.S. Route 3. The trip took place during the late night and early morning hours of September 19–20, 1961.

The objective of the narrative is to see/explore the areas where this phenomenal event took place while learning all of the amazing overlooked details. It’s goal is to raise awareness and contemplation of the event. We are never educated about things like these in school, despite solid evidence and documentation. Is it because our government dismisses extraterrestrials as fictional, or is that just what they want us to think?

The couple’s encounter with the UFO began along U.S. Route 3, so I set the narrative’s trigger points along U.S. 3 in correspondence with the events in their story. I decided to borrow an idea from the Murmur project, and have participants call a telephone number designated to each trigger point. This way, participants can stop at each point of Route 3 that Betty and Barney did and call the designated trigger point number to hear what Betty and Barney were experiencing at that same spot that fateful night over fifty years ago.

Each Trigger Point is mapped out, and marked along side of U.S. 3. by signs like these:

Each triggerpoint is identified by a large UFO sign with the trigger point # as well as the telephone number to call. These signs would be located alongside U.S. Route 3. For convenience, each Trigger Point telphone number matches the Trigger Point number. Every number is 1-800-HILL-TP# --replacing the number symbol with the Trigger Point number, for example, this is the sign that would mark Trigger Point 3 in the Narrative, just a mile south of Indian Head, New Hampshire along U.S. 3.

The Narrative Instructions are simple, Follow Betty and Barney Hill’s route home from Quebec to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Stop along the trigger points located on U.S. 3 and call the designated number given at each trigger point.

The four major trigger points:

1. Quebec, Canada – The Hills begin their drive home, roads are mostly empty

2. Just south of Groveton, New Hampshire - Observe a bright point of light in the sky,

3. About one mile south of Indian Head, the craft descends and approaches the Hills Chevrolet Bel Air, causing them to stop in the middle of the highway.

4. The Hills arrive home at Portsmouth, New Hampshire- but can’t recall all of the trip home, or account for 2 entire lost hours, among other strange things...

Design Study #2: Merrill Creek - Ryan Bercaw

Merrill Creek seen on Google Earth

Points of interest and trails

Visitor's center

Wildlife blind

The area that I have chosen to use for my Design Study #2 is Merrill Creek Reservoir. Merrill Creek is located just outside my home town in Warren County, NJ. It is a 650 acre artificial lake that holds water that is released into the Delaware River when the water level drops too low. The surrounding area consists of over 290 acres of protected woodlands and a series of hiking trails. The reservoir itself is stocked with many varieties of fish and has been featured on ESPN for its brown trout fishing. The area is unique because a pair of bald eagles have been using the area as their nesting ground since 1997, making it the 2^nd known bald eagle nest in the northern half of New Jersey. Merrill Creek also offers public educational programs and grounds tours that are popular with surrounding school districts. I thought this place would be interesting for a Design Study because even though it is a populated public area, it is also rather isolated and doesn’t fit the norm for today’s standard of a public environment.

For communication, I’d want to stick with the idea of a technologically low-key space, and use a form of GPS. People participating in this design study could use the GPS to see where they are in relation to other people, but would have to rely using walkie talkies for verbal communication (as almost no cell carriers have service there).

From looking at the diagram, one can see that there are multiple intertwining hiking trails. The trails are written in terms of basic colors, yellow=Y, red=R, ect. The spots where these trails come together would be trigger points. Each trail set up in terms of difficulty and points of interest, so by crossing from one to another the walk could be greatly altered. The participation of others and communication come into play here as the other participants choose where the person will go when they reach an intersection. They would send a message saying either ‘two’ or ‘three.’ Two would suggest a simple split and three would mean a 4-way intersection. The participants then take turns responding ‘right,’ ‘left,’ or ‘center.’ By switching paths in a sporadic nature like this, more paths will be traveled and more points of interest met. Many small spots exist on the trails including wildlife blinds, the stone remains of farm houses dating back to the 1700’s, docks, and the enormous stone dam of the reservoir itself. Each trail intersection at Merrill Creek contains a map of the area. That way, participants would still know where they are when walking around. The historical remains and small nature exhibits are also marked with small descriptive signs.

The overall nature of the event is based on Kaprow’s Happenings. There is no defined order of progression, nor is there much instruction outside of the basic rules. This helps the environment take over in a way that psychogeography and its key aspects become prominent. Rather than relying on human interaction, regular street signs, or streets full of multiple establishments, the natural environment creates its own serene backdrop that emotion and situation can then build from. The area is already commonly used in a similar way by hikers. Various areas are swampier or more thickly forested than others. Nature enthusiasts walk across multiple trails to record the wildlife they encounter in the various areas. The wildlife blinds are used heavily for bird watching. The wildlife interaction would be a major draw for someone interested in participating in such an experiment, making discovery a heavy element.

To summarize the way the local narrative would work, multiple people would meet at the reservoir. There are multiple parking lots set up throughout the area so the participants would not have to start at the same spot. From there they begin their nature walk. At each intersecting trail point they will notify the other participants with cycle commands as to where the original person will need to travel to. From there the participants can take it upon themselves to take in the wildlife and surrounding natural environment as well as all points of interest they may encounter throughout their cycle of trails. The use of GPS means all people will know where everyone else is. If someone is displayed as being in a parking lot they can be considered done with the narrative. The locative narrative is meant to be for personal gain and relaxation, so there is no requirement for the amount of time of involvement.

The locative narrative makes use of the area in its simplicity. The environment stays in the forefront as participants navigate the trail system of the area. The wildlife stays significant as the people I’d expect to take part in the exercise would be doing so for the wildlife aspect. Protected forests are shrinking, along with nature trails, so Merrill Creek in itself becomes interesting as one of the few places where wildlife is in full abundance. As a child I was often taken to Merrill Creek, took many school trips there, and I did a small video project for it at Northampton Community College. To me, it’s a very relaxing place to experience nature and hope it doesn’t get shut down as so many places like it already have.

Design Study #2 Food Court

For my Design Study #2, I wanted to elaborate on my previous idea I used for my weekend assignment where I gave certain rules to a given place. Although I changed the location, I wanted the general idea to remain the same. The location I picked is the food court located in The Gallery mall on Market Street.

Project Overview: The basis of this project, and someone willingly participating, is the attempt to randomize a food selection when many options are available without bias towards previous experience, personal taste, and food advertisements. The objective is for someone to order a meal through the use of trigger points and improvisation that they normally would not order, in hopes to try something new and open up new doors for personal taste.

1. This is the published map of the food court area. My trigger points (that will be explained in the narrative) are given as red stars. (take note that the trigger points are randomly located, and may change every time a participant takes part in the design study.)

A listing of the Food & Restaurant locations:

2. My communications method is a non-technical form; the use of verbal speech. Participants will confront a venue employee that is out front sampling food and ask them for two random numbers between one and ten. (this will be explained in the narrative)

Example of a venue sampler:

3. A participants interaction with the space is quite simple. Before entering the space, a participant will be prompted that the trigger points may be random and not have a set location. The trigger points throughout the food court are the venue employees that are out front sampling food. The only rule is for the participant to confront one of these employees and ask for two random numbers between one and ten. With the first number given, this is the number of venues farther down the line of restaurants that they will travel. The second number they were given is the number of the meal they must order from the menu of the new restaurant that they are now located.

4. The narrative aspect to this project is the random selection of a meal that could vary every time someone takes part in the design study. In a hypothetical situation, a computer would be located in the food court where participants could log their individual experiences. They could state whether they enjoyed the randomly selected meal, if they would try to design study again (given that it could change each time), and if any new doors were opened within their personal taste. The key aspect to this study is how the outcome is left up to chance, and improvisation that is outside of the user's hands. The obvious downside would be if they disliked the assigned meal, but the factor of randomness is what this project thrives off of.

5. This project makes use of the narrative location of the food court because it is a collaboration of many restaurants within a small, congested area - each with a different style/ethnicity/genre of food. The elements that become significant within the project are where the trigger points (venue samplers) are located. The fact that this is random and can change is what makes the outcome interesting. Because of this randomness, each participant's experience has the potential to be different. In class we discussed the importance of semiotics and how signs influence our lives day to day. Food advertisements certainly fall under this category and are completely disregarded as to the outcome of this design study, which adds character to the project. Also, this can be related to psychogeography. This random practice of city walking thrives from a set of implemented rules on which direction you walk. These rules affect people's experience differently and the same can be said for the rules of this design study.

Design Study 2 - Pizza Mission

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*This was done when Septa was on strike last week.**The last map right above this is the main one to view**

Being in a recession, the change in the weather, and public transportation on strike can depress a Philadelphia resident. However, a slice of Lorenzo & Sons pizza can place a smile on one's face, stomach, and wallet. On this journey from the start point (my corner) to the end point (the pizza shop), one will collect coins and information about Philadelphia celebrities. Many celebrities and tourists visit the pizza shop located on South Street. Many of them are from the area or have done projects in the area. The person on this mission will collect facts in the money machines placed inside the gas stations.

The communication on where to go and what to do will come from instructions on the Mac money machines inside the gas station. The person will slide a special card given to him/her. He/she will enter a special transaction code that is also given at the start of this mission. Then, a fact about Philadelphia entertainment and directions to the next Mac machine will appear. They will be able to be printed on receipt paper.

Participants will navigate on foot; however, there will be no direct path until they reach the special gas station. Lastly, a car will be provided as the reward for continuing the mission and not giving up despite a few back tracks. I chose the gas station on Spring Garden Street to keep the car because it also happens to be a maintenance center. The trigger points are gas stations. They feature a clip and bio from a Temple University graduate who has made in the entertainment industry. Since I plan to use Temple students in this, the graduates will inspire them to keep going throughout the game. Since there is backtracking, the person must trust the directions given.

The narratives are in short video clips that will be displayed on the Mac machine along with the receipt printing a mini bio that you can also find online in addition to the next place to go. The participant is learning about famous Temple graduates. Being a college student, pizza is in the budget. Therefore, the game is supposed to inspire the student to keep working hard for the “pie in the sky.”

Gas stations hold significance because of their components. They keep people moving. Fuel is essential.


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Bethlehem Steel Walk

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1.) The place I am choosing for my locative media project is Bethlehem Pennsylvania. Bethlehem is located in the Lehigh Valley and is about an hour and a half away from Philadelphia and New York. Bethlehem is well known for it’s once booming steel company that eventually closed down. Bethlehem is rich with history and is now a growing spot for the arts, with places like the Banana Factory, a center for education and other artistic outlets. The city of Bethlehem has been recently put back on the map due to a new casino that has been built upon some of the old steel company’s property. Another interesting fact of Bethlehem is that is was used for the filming of the opening scene in the film Transformers 2.

2.) The communications method I would like to use for this project would be video and audio by use of an iPod or other mobile device. This method of technology will assist with a narrative because users will follow along like a tour with the video in front of them and listen along.

3.) The way my narrative will work is by beginning at a specific spot. The video they are watching will instruct them when to stop, and when to proceed. By using this locative media activity users will be able to experience the area in a way they couldn’t before. Instead of just walking around they will be guided by the video and audio which will allow them to gain knowledge of an area that they may have lived in for awhile or an area that is brand new to them. Participants will know when specific “trigger points” are because the video will notify them. Text of audio will instruct the users to either look at something specific or stop and pay attention to something else. Each “trigger point” in my narrative will have something to do specifically with what the user is hearing or seeing. Without the iPod and being there the sense of history and a city that has changed wouldn’t be as drastic and interesting.

4.) The way my narrative will work is by first having the users begin at a specific location. The spot that start at is a monument built in honor of the workers of Bethlehem Steel. At this location participants may read the bricks with men and women’s names on them, also some of the other plaques in the vicinity. There is also an impressive statue of a steelworker lifting an I-beam at the spot. By beginning at this place participants will get a feel of what the workers went through and how important the steel industry was for not only the town of Bethlehem, but for the entire country. From the start of this activity users will be wearing headphones and watching a video screen (an iPod or cell phone). On the screen will be a guided tour of where they are going. From the headphones the users will hear interviews with old steel workers and families of steel workers that had a chance to know the town when it was the 2^nd largest steel producer in the country. From the monument, participants will follow the video guide onto other parts of the city. The interviews that users are listening to will coincide with where they are walking, this way they can not only hear about what Bethlehem used to look like, but they can see what it looks like at that very moment. The majority of the walk will occur down 3^rd street, which has drastically changed throughout the years, especially within the past 10 to 15. By the end of the walk the participants will be at the site of the new casino. This casino was a topic of controversy for the past few years in Bethlehem for obvious reasons. At this point in the video and audio I would have Bethlehem resident interviews on what their opinion of the casino is and whether they think it is good for the city. Another idea is to have some old archival footage of the steel company on the iPod as they look at the brand new casino this way viewers may see how much its changed while listening to residents’ views and opinions on the matter.

5.) The reason I chose this specific location is because I grew up pretty close to the area. I never truly understood how big of a roll Bethlehem Steel played in the growth of the nation. By having a historical walk through what now is somewhat abandoned, out-of-towners or even residents like myself may find out new and fascinating information on a city that has changed so much within the last 20 years. I think hearing how Bethlehem residents and old steelworkers feel on the casino project and the shutting down of the company itself while walking in the city would be a really be great experience. Anyone can drive down 3^rd street and see the old mills and the abandoned warehouses and think nothing of it. However like previously mentioned, the company was the 2^nd largest supplier of steel during the first half of the 20^th century, and to be able to listen to the accounts of workers and the people of the city while walking through would put an entire new perspective on the city. Every place has a story and to hear it from the mouths of its people while walking in it, you can almost feel how much the city has changed, and feel how important it was to those you are listening to.

Design Study #2: Garbage Narrative

Map:


View Hatboro's Main Street in a larger map

Communications Method:

A cell phone will be the primary form of communication in this Locative Narrative. Text messages will be sent to numbers left on pieces of litter and an audio message from the person who left the garbage will be sent back to the participant's phone.

Instructions:

Much like Kaprow's happenings, the interactions of this project will depend completely upon audience interaction. The participants on both sides of the narrative are equally important and their participation is what drives the narrative forward.

The setup is that, prior to experiencing the narrative, people will have left pieces of litter along the way with their phone number scribbled on the side. The litter will be a piece of trash that the person feels defines them and that they can tell a story about or relate to themselves. Whenever someone who has left a piece of litter gets a text message that says "Who are you?" they will respond with a personal story or anecdote that relates to the object, themselves, or the place it was left.

The trigger points and the narrative are interwoven because the person who leaves the litter has the choice of where to leave it. Me, the designer, has nothing to do with the placement of the trigger points. It is all up to the participants. I feel like it is a way of getting to know the people behind the trash. I pass so much litter on a daily basis that I always wondered who was behind the litter? What was going through the person's head when they decided to litter? Is there any kind of dialogue between the litter leaver and the litter finder? What implications does this have? These are the questions I considered when designing this study.

Much like the ants we studied, people initially will start out walking around like chicken's with their heads cut off. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. However, over time, patterns will begin to emerge. Some places for leaving litter will be more popular than others. The type of trash left behind will start to have patterns emerge. There will be more and less common pieces of trash. Everything will depend on what came before it much like the life of an ant.

1. Walk up York road in Hatboro from Old Mill Inn to Daddypop's.
2. Search for pieces of litter along the sidewalk as you walk.
3. Pick up any pieces of litter you find and text "Who are you?" to the phone numbers scribbled on the sides of the pieces of litter.
4. Listen to the audio messages returned to your phone.
5. Find something in your pockets that you feel defines you at that particular moment.
6. Write your phone number on the side of the object and leave it in place of the litter you originally picked up.
7. Throw the original piece of litter away.
8. When someone texts "Who are you?" to your phone, send back an audio message telling a story about the object or about yourself or about the place you left the object.

Narrative:

The narrative of the study is based entirely on its participants. The stories held within the pieces of litter are entirely up to whoever left the piece of litter. It is all improvisational. The stories being told could be lies or not but they still function as an indication of the person behind the litter. For example, someone could have left a cigarette butt outside of Gamburg's Furniture on York road. Maybe the person was stressed out at work or had just gotten fired and was walking briskly and angrily through the streets. Maybe it was their last cigarette and they were so annoyed that they threw the butt to the ground in anger. It is all about the sense of discovery by the participants. It's like a scavenger hunt for finding out things about new, unknown people. Because of this improvisation and dependence on participants, the stories may be fragmented. It is not one, overarching narrative, but rather a narrative of fragmented narratives. It is all about getting to know something about people that you usually think very little about.

Assessment:

My project makes use of the place I've chosen because it is a fairly consistently busy shopping district. It's a small town main street where everyone is supposed to know one another, but they really don't. Despite the small size of the town, there is still a large barrier between people. It is designed as a storefront type town and shopping district where people can window shop as they walk by, but what about the people and the objects that you pass on the street? What do they tell you about other people, your environment, and yourself? The instructions help engage the participants with their environment and with their own identity and memory since they are the ones creating the narrative as well as being exposed to other people's narratives. This is much like Kaprow's happenings because it depends so heavily on audience participation. Also, elements of Algorithmic Psychogeography are also present within the study as it calls into question the setup of a town and how, despite its friendly environment, people are still so separate and unconnected to each other. It makes one consider how the architectural setup of a town and its social dynamics are not one in the same. The street starts to become part of the narrative because it is the page upon which the stories are being read from. It becomes a canvas for experiences and sharing and a form of personal art that depends wholly on the creator and what they want to share of themselves.

South Street Talk, Design Study #2 by Caitlin Cherry

South Street Talk

South Street Talk Map

Project Overview:
South Street Talk is a Locative Narrative project that takes both natives and visitors of South Street on a walk to four coffee shops. The walk begins at the Lombard- South subway stop and continues to 4th Street. Each coffee shop has been selected because it exclusively offers local or free trade products and also serves as a showcase for local artwork.

In South Street Talks, participants will chose a coffee shop to conduct routine business, whether that is reading, working, or friendly conversation. At the end of their stay, participants will utilize a booth, or table, equipped with a computer. The computer will record whatever story the participant feels like contributing. More specifically, a story about what happened at the shop during their visit such as what was talked about, why they came, or what they saw and heard.

Project Objective:
South Street Talk aims to bring the community of a specified space closer through the opportunity to share stories.

Place:
This project utilizes one main path, South Street between Broad Street and 4th Street. It takes place in four coffee shops: Chapter House, The Bean Exchange, The Bean Café, and Philadelphia Java Company.

Communication Tools:
Each coffee shop will have a booth, or specified table, that holds one computer. Customers are invited to use this computer to record a story about what has happened in the coffee shop. Customers may chose to report on a conversation had, why he or she chose this place, or to explain why he or she came to a public place to conduct private business, whether that be reading, working, or holding a conversation with a friend. The user-friendly technology already exists in applications such as iMovie. Users would simply click ‘record’ and begin speaking. Other visitors may come and listen to stories left by previous customers.

Examples of Narratives:
Stories would be recorded and reviewed through the audio equipment previously described. These are examples of transcriptions of the stories:

Story type #1, event:
I came here on a first date. It wasn’t explicit that it was a date, but we knew it was. I got here second and he had gotten me a cup of coffee. My mug was black with white glazed stripes. Throughout the whole date I ran my fingers of the smoother repetitious rings. He said great things but we knew we would what we were doing was against policy, and we wouldn’t be able to meet again. I wanted to steal the mug. I don’t even like coffee.

Story type #2, routine:
I come here every evening at 5p. I tell my wife I have a meeting so I don’t have to pick up the girls. I have a croissant and cappuccino every day, like clockwork.

Story type #3, meaning:
The two girls next to my table were talking rather loudly, but I was listening closer than I should have. The one girl said “When does sex start for you?” her companion was caught off guard and laughed, nervously. The first girl tried to ease the tension, but pushed on with her question, “You know, like does it start with a kiss, a look, actual touching? When?” I don’t know why she would bring this up in the middle of the afternoon over coffee, but it was a good question.

Importance of Place + Narrative:
This project would likely materialize because these businesses serve as community centers already. They depend on community food businesses for their products. They also already serve as art galleries. The installation of this proposed booth would likely be welcomed as a piece of art. Art-friendly community members are the business clientele, suggesting customers would be more inclined to utilize and become part of an art movement, rather than reject it as an intrusion or interruption.

The Place + Narrative relationship is also of specific importance in South Street Talk because coffee houses function as a destination and an event. People frequent such places to feel comfortable and social. Individuals chose to take private matters such as conversation, reading, or working and decidedly make them public events, opening their lives up to the community. Life changing events occur in these public places without much notice from others in the environment.

Summary:
This project invites eavesdropping on your neighbor in order to build closer ties within the community, as well as define the history of a place. It relies on the theory of the derive or random wandering through a neighborhood in that you could pick just about any coffee house in the area and it would have this set up. Ordinarily just walls and windows, South Street Talks gives a human pulse to empty structures.