8 Matching Annotations
  1. Feb 2021
    1. Those who believe that the automobile is eternal are not thinking

      Although his helicopter idea didn't quite work out, I do think that this idea is worth engaging with. As he has outlined throughout this essay, automobiles contribute very little to society. They eliminate, or greatly reduce, the public sphere as well as accentuate the class divides.

    2. universal isolation

      This idea is so fascinating! It's true! Cars are a way of carrying the private sphere wherever we go. It restricts our encounters with the other and with the public realm. They're too comfortable? And yet I do love being able to hid away in a car in the city — to come back to a safe place wherever I am. I do believe that it plays into (and is in a direct parallel with) social hierarchy. The less you have to appear in the public space, the higher you are. How can we move around this? Even the playing field?

    3. psychogeography

      I love this idea conceptually, but it seems difficult to put into practice. In creating an art installation, how do you cater to all the people who move through that space? How do you make the piece in line with the existing psychogeography of the space?

    1. occupy public space in order to inscribe their specific narrative about the past

      This is really interesting. Many people rightly look to monuments to tell them their history. It is a big responsibility to create something in the public realm and an easily abused power. Is it possible to create a monument that does not have an authoritative hold on the past? Or should it?

    1. The city

      This also feels like it would create some sort of comradely between the people who live in "the city." A shared sense of belonging brings people together and makes them feel like they are a part of something greater.

    1. forced him to develop trust in someone

      This trust is so incredibly important in community. Trust between people living in proximity to each other provides a space of safety. It opens the heart to the possibility of deeper relationships. How do we build trust? What activities can we engage in to nurture this care for each other?

    1. has agreed to be a public

      I love this idea. The space bonds the community through a social contract. It is something that the people have created intentionally, and therefore declared themselves (as individuals) a part of something greater (the community).

    2. in the form of a watch

      This feels like a fairly direct reference to the individualization of communities. I had never thought of time and the rhythms of a community as being so central to holding a place together. But it's true — as we move away from placing ourselves in time by noticing the pulse of our neighborhood, we lose track of that community. It separates us.