Flâneur

Flaneur

The word means 'To stroll,' with the idea of 'strolling (through the city, to experience it).' To me, it means that I look at, explore, learn about, and experience the city around me. I also take pictures to show people why I do the crazy things I do.

Originally applied to Parisian citygoers, the idea has been captured by writers describing society and life in the years since the word was coined in the 19th century. Charles Baudelaire called it "Botany of the sidewalk," looking at the effects of cities on society, and vice versa. No city would be possible without many complex, interconnected systems that represent years of engineering, countless hours, and millions of dollars; but these systems are entirely out of sight, only noticed when they inconvenience us. Most people in the world depend on these invisible arteries for water, power, and heat, for the removal of waste and water; and without their tireless performance modern life would be fundamentally different.

As we have transformed the face of the world, our changes have changed our lives and attitudes. The very ideas of freedom, space, distance, and location are affected by our networks of systems that make the modern life possible. The effects of living in cities are rarely noticed, because we've known them all our lives. Having the natural human interest in the effects of something so deeply ingrained in the world, I try to learn about the systems that support the life I unconsciously live.