[Imc-makerspace] Bureau of Public Secrets: Theory of the Derive (Debord)

[Stewart Dickson]

de rive: (French) to drift

http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/2.derive.htm
> One of the basic situationist practices is the /dérive,/^(1) 
> <http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/2.derive.htm#1.> a technique of rapid 
> passage through varied ambiences. Dérives involve playful-constructive 
> behavior and awareness of psychogeographical effects, and are thus 
> quite different from the classic notions of journey or stroll. 

When I was living in Asheville, NC, one of the members of the Western NC 
Media Arts Project proposed a Derive.
The actual night of the planned Derive turned out to be horribly cold, 
so we quickly abandoned it.
But, in connection with Situationist filmmaking, I keep thinking about 
ways in which conscious mediation or augmented reality
can be injected into the intent of the Derive.

How can the handheld camera convey the psychogeographical effects of the 
experience?
Augmented reality -- psychology can be injected into the physical 
geography via graffiti or projected images.
I was also thinking that the physical experience of the geography can be 
mapped back into
virtual reality -- the psychosphere or noosphere -- by very accurately 
recording the camera's
position and orientation via GPS, digital level and digital compass at 
each point where images are recorded.
Then the psychology of the geography can be processed in VR.  (Or Google 
Earth)

So, in short, agile, portable technology is essential:  Portable image 
projector with self-contained power supply;
A "SteadiCam" rigged with GPS, digital level, digital compass and the 
real-time recording of orientation with image.
I was thinking what it would take to be able to create stencils of QR 
Codes.  They contain a lot of floating squares
that would need to be suspended in the stencil on thin strings or 
wires.   Better would be prints on paper applied to
the geography with wallpaper paste.

A portable media production studio including a printer could be housed 
in a car with a 12VDC-120V AC Inverter.
It changes the character of the derive from Parisian (pedestrian) to 
automotive (Los Angeles).  But, I have been
thinking of similar, mobile digital production in connection with my 
'Monumental Lite-Brite' project:
http://emsh.calarts.edu/~mathart/sw/LiteBrite/doc/toLiteBrite.html
The components are large-format light boxes (4'x8') with 
'Lite-Brite'-formatted perforated boards (Aluminum @ $125
per 2'x4' panel), digital camera, printer and participants at an outdoor 
festival, such as Burning Man.
http://www.burningman.com

Or, quicker is to hack Adams Outdoor Advertising to put up your own 
images on their LED billboards.
http://filetrans.adamsoutdoor.com/login.cfm?CFID=362828&CFTOKEN=10c7da1cf6f45a69-66CB0D28-3048-D277-CACD4462E3F80151
Here's the portal -- how does their internal network work?   Ever seen a 
Windows "File not found" error message on a
Adams Outdoor Advertising e-Billboard?   I have!

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