ICE Protest
WALK 1: MAPPING SENSES:
As I walked through the streets of downtown Los Angeles on a cloudy day, I am saddened by what I see, hear, and smell. The experience was like nothing I had experienced before. While I’ve seen other protests on television or on the internet, I have never been so close to it. The streets were filled with people protesting the ICE raids that have been going on in Los Angeles, California for the past three days. The protestors are expressing their anger, hurt, sadness, and frustration with the ICE raids and what they believe is unfair and inhumane treatment of human beings.
The vision of what was happening was clear, but I allowed my other senses to take over to experience the environment in a different way. I became aware of the sounds I heard. It was very loud. I could hear the police sirens. They were on every street that I turned on. I could hear the protestors screaming and yelling and the police officers yelling back at them. Police were making public announcements warning protestors to stay back and follow their orders. There were horns honking and loud music being played in cars that were passing by. I could hear the popping of firecrackers that protestors were setting off. All of the loud noises made the environment feel chaotic and full of anxiety and sadness.
I also experienced the environment through my sense of smell. The first smell I noticed was the smell of the smoke from all of the firecrackers. I could smell dust in the air from the boards people were using to try and board up their businesses. I smelled the hot dogs and tacos from the vendor stands that were cooking food. I was also able to smell the large amount of trash that overflowed in the trashcans and filled the streets. The smell that affected me the most was the smell of urine and stench from the many homeless people that were walking the streets. I was reminded that homelessness is another problem in our country that needs our attention. This experience through the different senses allowed me to focus on different aspects of the environment and experience it in many ways and with different emotions.
WALK 2: Desire Lines
LOCATION: Ladera Park and Westchester Park
Desire lines are paths that a pedestrian may prefer to use other than the sidewalk or other official route to get to a designated location. I was able to locate some desire lines in two local parks. I walked through in search of desire lines that pedestrians would likely prefer to use instead of the designated sidewalks used to get to their destination. I walked both paths to record which path would get a pedestrian to their destination using less steps. I found that all of the desire lines allowed me to get from one location to another in less steps. I noticed people using the desire lines while I was there. The locations they are getting to are locations where they will enjoy an activity so the idea of getting there in a shorter amount of time is understandably desirable.
DESTINATION: Car picked on street located at the park
Desire Line: 37 steps
Sidewalk: 89 steps
DESTINATION: Basketball courts
Desire Line: 23 steps
Sidewalk: 85 steps
DESTINATION: Baseball Field
Desire Line: 37 steps
Sidewalk: 68 steps
DESTINATION: Playground
Desire Line: 25 steps
Sidewalk: 40 steps
DESTINATION: Picnic table
Desire Line: 31 steps
Sidewalk: 53 steps
Writing 1: Ephemeral Site
The article Walking the Line: Affectively Understanding and Communicating the Complexity of Place written by Laurene Vaughan discusses many ideas related to walking. Some of the ideas presented are the practice of walking, mapping as a creative space, and walking and creative practices. The idea that I chose to discuss is walking as a mapping practice. This section of the article first describes walking as a way that we can make a sensory connection to the space we are in while also transitioning from one location to another. Walking allows us to learn about the environment and make a connection to it through our different senses. Vaughan describes the concept of walking as a mapping practice by stating that as we transition from one specific locale to another, we create an integrated trajectory, a line drawn by a body across a terrain (p.321). Walking is seen as a form of mapping as our bodies move leaving a trail of what we have explored. Vaughan argues that walking is a mapping practice where we have the ability to create from and communicate about the environment in which we have taken up space. Walking can be mapped out with our feet in the path we travel just as if someone would draw a map on a paper. Both are creating but in a different way. After completing the mapping senses assignment and reading this article, I have viewed walking in a different way. Before I considered walking as a form of transportation that helped me to get from one place to another or as a form of exercise. However, I now understand the concept of walking as a mapping practice. When you think about the concept, it is understandable that we create a map with our bodies. If we take the time to experience the environment with our different senses (as we did with the mapping senses assignment) we can create a map in our minds of where we have walked and what we experienced as we traveled by foot. Walking as a mapping practice allows us to experience the environment in any way we choose.
The concept of walking as a mapping practice can be connected to Andy Goldsworthy’s documentary Rivers and Tides. In this video, Goldsworthy walked through many different places where there were rivers and tides and created art along the way. He becomes one with nature and begins to create art using things in nature like ice, branches, and leaves. As he walks through these environments his mapping practice is leaving art that he created. He creates his own path and leaves his mark showing that he has connected with this space. Goldsworthy’s map maker is his body which he uses to create art. Through his art, he practices the idea of walking as a mapping practice by creating from and communicating about the environment in which he has taken up space. His art is unique to his experience and how he views the specific space. Vaughan’s idea of walking as a mapping practice and Goldsworthy’s Rivers and Tides is a great example to show how walking is not just about movement but more about becoming one with your environment and learning to experience it in different more meaningful , creative ways.
Walk 3: Social Territory
The social territory I explored for walk 3 was the Westfield Culver City Mall located in Culver City, California. I chose this site because it is a place that I have visited many times growing up and I am very familiar with it. As a big sports fan and someone who has played sports for most of my life, my focus was to determine how many stores the mall had that could meet the needs and wants of sports fans like me. The many times that I have been to this mall, my only focus has been on pleasure and to purchase sports/athletic attire that I needed or wanted. I have never paid attention to exactly how many sports stores were in the mall. During this walk, I counted, observed, and photographed all of the sports/athletic stores. As I walked through the stores, I observed the layout of the merchandise, the displays, and customers that were shopping in the store.
My General Observations:
- The mall has three levels with 104 stores, 12 of those stores being sports/athletic stores.
- There were at least two of the stores on each level. The first level had seven, The second level had three, and the third level had two. It was interesting that the store, Lids, was on the second and third level.
- The majority of the customers seemed to be between the ages of 20-30 years old. This may have been influenced by the time that I was at the mall which was 2:00 pm.
- I noticed that many of the displays were sports related, however, there were some that were focused more on the fashion aspect of the attire and not necessarily on a specific sport.
- When I entered each store, the sales associates greeted me and were very friendly. They let me know of any sales that they had. They were also dressed in sports/athletic attire.
The map displays the three levels in the Westfield Culver City Mall. The green markers represent the stores that were not sports/athletic stores. They are not labeled because they were not significant to the focus of the walk in this social territory. I wanted to show the layout of the mall and where the sports/athletic stores were located in relation to the other stores. The sports/athletic stores are yellow and labeled so that they are the main focus of the map.
Both Lids stores were focused on the sports aspect of the athletic gear. As a customer, I would have liked to see more displays (i.e. pictures, posters) of athletes from the teams represented in the store or fans wearing sports gear. There were opportunities for this in the display windows of the stores.
In Pro Image, I noticed that all of the jerseys were very high up which made it difficult for customers to view them. As a customer, I would have liked them to be more accessible.
Rookie Kids displayed both the sports and fashion aspect of the attire. As a basketball fan, I liked the large picture of Jayson Tatum in the store.
Champs had two separate sides to their store both displaying clothes and tennis shoes. I liked the words posted behind the cashier’s counter that read “ We Know Game”. This was a direct representation of their connection to the sports aspect.
Foot Locker had a temporary location because it seemed that their permanent location was under construction. It would be located on the same level (first) but further down from the temporary location. Although it was a temporary location, I felt that there should have been more displays of sports related posters or pictures to make the store more appealing to customers. Foot Locker is usually one of the first stores I go into when I go to the mall, but the way the store was set up I would not have gone in if I was there for shopping purposes.
Shiek is one of my favorite sports/athletic stores in this mall. They represent both fashion and sport aspect of the attire. There is a section in the store dedicated only to Jordan shoes and attire which displayed great pictures of Michael Jordan and his number 23. The layout in the store made it easy for customers to shop.
Adidas store focused on wearing their brand as a fashion. The display represented this focus. There were opportunities/areas in the store for the sports aspect to be displayed.
Kids Footlocker had an opportunity for more of an appealing display in the window of the store. There was only a big red sale sign which I can only assume they thought would attract parents who would be buying the clothing or shoes.
Heads Up was a small kiosk in the middle of the mall that only sold “LA” caps and lanyards. It is convenient for customers who are only looking for these caps, which are very popular in Los Angeles.
Walk 4: Cocooned vs. Engaged
Walk 4 was done at The Runway in Playa Vista, California. The Runway is an outside area with small shops, restaurants, eating and sitting areas, and play areas for children. I started my walk at the beginning of the Runway with my air pods on to listen to music on my phone. I started listening to one of my favorite rappers NBA Young Boy. While I was walking I noticed that people seemed to be in their own world. They weren’t really focused on anyone else. I wasn’t focused too much on other people either. I began to enjoy the music and focus more on the music than my surroundings. I really only noticed things that were right in front of me as I was walking. Some things that I noticed were parents walking with their young children and several people walking their dog. I noticed a UPS worker that walked in front of me to deliver a package to a business. There was actually one lady that made eye contact with me and smiled, and I smiled back.
Halfway through the walk, I changed the music to jazz. I was listening to an artist named John Coltrane. I don’t listen to jazz music so I wanted to see if anything would change while walking and listening to music that I don’t listen to. The music wasn’t enjoyable for me, so I wasn’t focused on it like I was focused when listening to the music I liked. During this part of the walk, I seemed to notice things that I made a personal connection to. For example, I noticed 3 young boys sitting on a bench talking. They had on back packs and sports gear. They looked like they had been playing basketball. They caught my attention because it reminded me of when I was younger and my friends and I would go play basketball and hang out together afterwards. I saw a billboard that displayed something about summer, but I noticed it had “LMU” in the corner which stands for Loyola Marymount University. This reminded me of when I used to go to basketball camps at LMU in the summer when I was younger.
On my second walk when I removed my air pods, I started to notice more things. I found myself looking all around, looking up more and paying attention to the buildings. I noticed colorful art walls that I thought were interesting. I noticed a store named “Modern Animal”. The name stood out to me because I like dogs. There was a sign on the door that said they were closed on June 19th but would be opened the next day. I was curious why they were closed then wondered if they were closed in honor of Juneteenth. I also noticed a store that didn’t have a name on the building. I walked up to see what kind of business it was, and it had a paper posted on the door with the name, “Dan Modern Tea”. I had not noticed either one of these stores on my first walk when I was listening to music. One thing that stood out to me when I wasn’t wearing the air pods was that although there were a large number of people walking and sitting in this area, it was fairly quiet. You could hear some people talking, but most of the people there were walking alone or sitting and eating alone. I also noticed that people weren’t really on their phones, which was surprising to me. As Michael Bull described in his article No Dead Air! The iPod and the Culture of Mobile Listening we live in a sound-consuming culture where reproduced sounds have become a major part of our daily lives (i.e., music, social media platforms, etc.). To see the majority of the people just walking or sitting and experiencing the environment I thought it was very interesting. They seemed to be in a relaxed and calm state and were there to enjoy the peaceful environment on a nice summer day. As stated before, everyone seemed to be in their own world and not making eye contact with others.
Pictures of what I noticed on first half of the walk with air pods listening to music I like
Pictures of what I noticed on second half of the walk with air pods listening to music I didn’t like
Pictures of what I noticed without air pods
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHello Jonathan, I find it very interesting that the approach you went with on your first walk with showing the ICE protests and how you used your senses for what you could see and smell when walking near that location. Your documentation and the way you explain what you saw and smelled really help highlight the community and how much of an impact it has not only on the community but also on the environment around you. Think about adding audio if you can, of the protesting or documenting pictures of the different signs people are holding. Stay Safe, and I hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteAs for the second walk, I really like the organization and the documentation of how many steps are between the regular sidewalk and the desire lines. I think something you could add would maybe be a map of where the desire lines are and the sidewalk walk, just to see the difference between the two walks if you went one way or the other. Great work, and I hope this helps!
Hi Jonathan, I've seen the protests against ICE all over social media and even in person here in Tucson as well. I think that you documented this historical protest really well. Your descriptions of what you noticed and the photos you added highlight the aspects of both a strong community but also the sadness of the reason for the protests. Maybe also including photos of people's signs that they held would add to your documentation.
ReplyDeleteAs for your walk 2 post, your photos really help with understanding why these desire lines were made. Including the number of steps it takes to get to the location through either the sidewalk or the desire line was a really nice touch and showcases the human activity in the area. I think that maybe including side by side photos of the original sidewalk and its dedicated desire line would help with showcasing the sense of space.
Hi Jonathan, I truly appreciate your documentation of the protest, it’s one thing to see it on television and through social media but to see it through a classmate’s perspective is really interesting. It’s very much more personal through your work rather than an overall viewing that the News would capture. It’s quite a lot of different things happening through sound as well as smell compared to the everyday world. Hope you’re staying safe out there!
ReplyDeleteFor your 2nd walk desired lines, I appreciated your effort of capturing the distance between desired lines as well as the sidewalk, I think in the future it could be interesting if you edit over text to display the distances through the photographs rather than to leave it as a description.