Transit Interpretation Project (TrIP)

Trip Biennale Day 22 – Lymmo Photos and Field Recording – Greg Leibowitz

https://soundcloud.com/whatsyrdamage/trip-nov-22-2015-sunday-12-38pm  

TrIP Biennale Day 21: Date Day by Nathan Holic

More about Nathan: Read His Novel: American Fraternity Man Or Maybe His Novella: The Things I Don’t See Or the Campus History He Wrote: University of Central Florida Or the Anthology He Edited: 15 Views of Orlando But no matter what, read something. Click here to see what Nathan is currently reading.

TrIP Biennale Day 20: A Small Glimpse into the Lives of Three People Who Happened to Get on the Bus and Sit Down Next to Me by Aaron Harriss

| By Aaron Harriss | As I started the three-mile walk from my house to the bus stop a feeling of dishonesty nagged at me. I don’t use public transit. I don’t own a bicycle. I never even rode the school bus as a kid. Now I was supposed to spend the day riding the LYNX as a voyeur with a free pass because I somehow fell into the broad and self-important category of “artist”? Then present my…

TrIP Biennale Day 18: A New Perspective on a Familiar Landscape by Danielle DeGuglimo

Bike parked next to the “Mayor” – a 325+ year old live oak tree. My TrIP began on Pennsylvania Ave. in Winter Park, it was a sleepy over­cast Wednesday morning and I was on my clunky blue road bike. Somewhere along Pennsylvania is a very understated side entrance to Mead Botanical Gardens. The heavy gate opens to a short wandering trail that takes you over a stream that connects Lake Sue to Lake…

TrIP Biennale Day 18: Fashionably Late by Bethany Mikell

As a native Orlandoan, I have grown up in a city where public transit has been historically underused by large swaths of the population. I myself have rarely used public transportation in my hometown, yet I have used it almost exclusively everywhere I have traveled around the world. I lived in London briefly, and that is where my affinity for trains developed. My dad has always been a train buff,…

To be carless, to be a person walking or biking, to ride the bus is almost a disoriented way of living – a queer way of moving. Welman (2014) writes “the rise of personal automobile, some scholars suggest, sustained old inequalities like segregation and lack of access, and promulgated a new type of inequality—an inequity over the power of space and time” (p. 334). To occupy space outside of personal car ownership in Orlando and other cities like it with limited alternative transportation options means to embody a coerced slowness of movement – to experience limited mobility that perpetuates inequality and encourages social isolation, ostracism and even violence towards bodies perceived as straying from the value norm of travel.

It’s quite easy to find yourself stranded in Orlando without a car. Carless/car free living in Central Florida can be a challenge at best – utterly incapacitating at worst. My TrIP 2013 project – @deadquarewalking – harped on this issue.  I rode the bus to the Parliament House on Halloween night and then walked home to UCF since the buses weren’t running (approx. distance of 13 miles over the course of six hours).  Below is a 15-minute montage of Instagram video I took on the walk.

@deadquarewalking, in many ways, was a protest walk.  I was pissed off that I felt my life and my desire to feel connected to communities that mattered to me were insignificant to Central Florida’s transportation plan. All because I didn’t have a car – my community was not designed for me or many other people.  Though I purposely stranded myself then, there were many times prior where I had been stranded for real – and it was not fun.  The limited transit schedule continues to be an issue two years later.

There is hope.  Since TrIP first launched in 2013, the landscape of mobility in Orlando has definitely changed for the better.

More options (if you can afford them).  SunRail. Juice Bike Share. Über. Lyft. These new arrivals to O-town can help connect many gaps left wide open for years by an underfunded public transit system and a monopolized, regional taxi cab/shuttles service. Unfortunately, SunRail has its own limitations (no weekend service for starters), and I’d argue that much has not changed with LYNX service over the past two years.  Still no dedicated funding.  Still no real-time tracking.  Still no competitive, digitized ticketing system (SunRail managed to get a reusable card that you can load money on to from the get-go even though LYNX has existed for over three decades). So many awesome BRT projects collecting dust on the shelf stuck in prioritized project list hell (the 192 BRT may be making progress).

More still needs to be done.  Especially about these gaps – gaps in service, in speed, in information-sharing, in basic access to getting around town.  It amazes me how many LYNX bus routes…

only run hourly (two of three buses connecting UCF to Downtown Orlando and other destinations only run hourly)

have limited to no evening, late night or weekend service (this includes SunRail which only runs Monday – Friday)

can’t be tracked on a mobile phone app (ALL with the exception of some routes undergoing beta testing such as the LYMMO)

accept cash only (ALL..the limited sale of bus passes is also perplexing. It would be nice to be able to buy a pass at Publix or other local businesses versus just LYNX Central Station)

I could probably go on a long, long, long rant about who’s at fault, what we need to do to fix this and so on and so on but I’ll save that for another day. Let’s talk about my TrIP Biennale project instead.

My contribution for TrIP 2015 is still a work in progress called The Dark Hours. It’s an interactive website that visualizes the times Central Florida’s transit system is not operating.  The first phase I am developing focused specifically on LYNX fixed routes connected to the University of Central Florida as well as SunRail.  Below you can an abstract map of the routes when they are dark and when they are operational.

The large, grey circle represents the city of Orlando. The second, largest circle represents the UCF area, and the two, small, grey circles represent Valencia College and Seminole State College. The small, white dots are SunRail stops.

  The routes represented in this abstraction are Links 104, 13, and 434 as well as SunRail.  Not pictured are the weekend KnightLYNX routes which run seasonally or the privately-operated, UCF shuttle system.

For my solo TIP Biennale ride, I took the “late-night” train (last south-bound train of the night leaving at 9 p.m.) out of DeBary to the Sandlake station then rode the LYNX bus back to downtown (Link 18 which also happened to be the last bus of the night around 11ish p.m.).  I worked on The Dark Hours website design while I rode (and took lots of #sunrailselfies). Photos from my TrIP are below:

SunRail selfies I took at each of the 12 SunRail stations while I worked on The Dark Hours:

More photos from the SunRail and LYNX rides:

References:

Wellman, Gerard C. “Transportation Apartheid – The Role of Transportation Policy in Societal Inequality.” Public Works Management & Policy 19.4 (2014): 334-339.

As owner/manager of a small indie bookstore, Bookmark It, we are often sent Advance Reader Copies (ARC) of new books getting ready for distribution.  These ARC’s intent is to solicit feedback and early reviews, but the one caveat accompanying them is that they cannot be sold.  So once the ARC is read, the dilemma becomes ‘what do we do with them?’.   TrIP, as it turns out, provided the answer.

On Monday, November 16th at 10:15am we set out from the Winter Park station on our round-trip expedition, armed with our Sunrail passes, 45 ARCs of a variety of genres to pass out (for free), and these handouts:

The responses were fascinating.  Some people politely declined, saying that they already had a book or just were not interested.  One mother traveling with her teen, even pulled her closer saying “No,no, she doesn’t want one” (despite her daughter’s eager attempt to take one of the middle-grade books from the stack).   But for most that were asked, we were met with incredulous response of “what… for free?” followed quickly by an excited preview of the titles available.  We met business men traveling on their morning commute, college students going to class, retirees just trying out Sunrail for the first time, and even a delightful foursome of women on a lunchtime adventure who were in the same neighborhood bookclub.  Laughter and conversations between once-solo passengers now filled the quiet railcar.  The heartfelt ‘thank you’s’ as riders exited with their new books were our payment.

Although a month later, we never received a single book review, the experience of shifting the perception of public transportation from necessity to delight stayed with us and we vowed to do this on a regular quarterly basis.  Next time we’ll tackle LYNX, so watch for us ! 

TrIP Biennale Day 15: I love Sanford by Genevieve Tyrrell

I love Sanford. Since moving to Orlando in 2010, it’s been one of my favorite places and inspires me to create. The artsy and culinary parts can be glorious. So I picked up my pass from Pat Greene at Gallery at Avalon Island for this trip and decided I’d depart from the Winter Park station. Before heading out, I went to Barney’s Coffee on Park Ave for a salad to go and an iced latte (their coffee…

TrIP Biennale Day 14: 313 Revisited by Jeremy Adams

TrIP2015-313_Revisited (preview) from Jeremy Adams on Vimeo. The difference between public transit in a city like Orlando compared to major metropolitan areas can be most felt in the amount of time spent waiting compared to actually traveling. For my TrIP, I started at Stardust Coffee where I met Pat Greene to get my tickets. I had a simple objective: navigate from…

TrIP Biennale Day 13: Impressions from a First Time Rider by Chris Carr

There we sat at the Lynx bus stop, waiting on the 9:53am 51 Lynx bus to appear in the distance. I felt confident that I had prepped and planned for our first trip on Orlando’s growing public transportation system adequately. My plans for my wife and I were rather simple, leave our vehicles parked for the day while still being able to go where we wanted to travel around Orlando. With our bus…

Once upon a time, instant was special and it could actually yield an object. (queue the drama)

An object of beauty and wonder, An object of art,

An object that was personal,

…the instant photograph!

But this wasn’t always the case; most of us are old enough that if stop and think, we can actually remember what it was like to be without the instantaneous and never ending entertainment provided by our magic handheld rectangles. We are so accustomed to it we don’t even notice how extraordinary our instant satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) really is. Instant is the prerequisite to life, and physicality is secondary.

It was the product of the instant process that made it so special, not the amount of likes received. For this reason we resolved to work with Polaroid Land Cameras. Patricia had one already and Brittany, without knowing, bought a nicer one online for the project because as Patricia puts it, “she’s always one‐upping me.”

As we rode, we worked within other mediums as well (such as video and digital) but our objective from its conception was to utilize one of the original “instant” communicators to create something unique as evidence from our day on the bus. Using our land cameras, we shot our images on Fuji 100‐C film (a replacement to the long lost – and sorely missed – Polaroid 669 film), as well as one pack of expired 669 film Patricia was able to find on eBay.

One thing we really enjoyed about riding the bus was how it made us slow down. Our mission was to carefully look at the world around us, to interact with others, to seek out and record what details we could to share the experience.

For our trip, we took the Lymmo Orange Line around downtown Orlando. We used the bus not so much as the subject of our art, but as the vehicle to get us around to the experiences wherein we could create.

At about 9am, we hopped on the bus at the info center on Church and Orange, and rode around to the Orlando Public Library, Orange County Courthouse, Heritage Square, and even stopped into the Avalon Gallery for a quick Hello to Mr. Pat Greene.

We got off at each stop and walked around, spending time documenting our experiences along the way with the help of our lovely assistant Vikhy. We spoke with multiple riders and transit employees, photographed, and archived what we were shooting.

I should mention that an assistant was necessary. This process requires development time, dry time, and results in quite a bit of waste that needs to be disposed of properly. Not to mention Brittany was hauling around a giant headless #manontherun. In summary, we had a lot of stuff, and Vikhy helped us manage it.

We love the playfulness of this medium. It’s not intended to be a planned endeavor – you go, you look, you shoot, you fuck it up, you shoot more, you eventually succeed and have one print to show for it. There are no negatives, there are no copies; you

get what you get and you don’t throw a fit! The process does have the potential to be expensive if you aren’t careful. With a limited amount of photos delivered in packs, you aren’t allowed the option editing in post‐production. Using instant pack‐film is exciting but also risky.

We wanted to work in this way because it is less about creating the perfect photograph and more about the experience itself.

At the end of the day, you’re left with a one‐of‐a‐kind print. Just one print.

You could stop there, but we decided to take our project a step farther. We actually set out not just to work with instant film, but also to work with Emulsion Lifts. Patricia recently taught a workshop on the process and Brittany was interested in the process so we brainstormed all the ways we could use these lifts to create a mixed media sculpture (combining both of our worlds).

Emulsion Lifts are fun, experimental, and relatively easy, but there is no going back once you lift that image. You can’t curate it easily and you can’t duplicate these photos. Lifting is permanent and you can’t go back because there are no negatives, no digital file. It happened, it is, it was.

What you have now is not a photograph anymore, but something else entirely – a delicate, floating, see‐through, plastic‐like image that you can then adhere to other objects. We are putting the lifts on plexi glass, providing a window into our experience through a snapshot narrative.

Just as public transit and navigating the city can be, we believe our piece and process is beautiful, diverse, and unpredictable.

We are in the process of making this sculpture and look forward to updating TrIP with images as well as exhibiting our work.

For more information about the individual artists and their work:

Brittany Metz‐ brittanymetz.info

Patricia Lois Nuss‐ patricialoisnuss.com

TrIP Biennale Day 11: Transit Map by Judith Zissman

For several years in my mid-twenties, the only dreams I had were transit dreams. I’d board a bus and it would break down by the side of the road. I’d be on a plane and discover it was headed to the wrong city. I’d stand at the subway doors and the train wouldn’t stop at my station. Every single night, my brain would find some new way to remind me that I really had no idea where I was going with…

For the month of November, I wanted to see if this could be true.

For 1 week I drove my car… For 1 week I road my bike… For 1 week I carpooled… For 1 week I walked…

My TrIP to work one way is 3.5 – 4 miles

Driving My Car: distance of trip – 7 miles Time- 30 mins

Riding My Bike: Distance of trip – 8 miles Time – 50 mins

Walking to Work: Distance of trip – 8 miles Time – 2 h and 40 mins

Carpooling: distance of trip – 3.5 Time- 30

Which commute was more enjoyable?

While riding my bike or walking, I had more interaction with human contact. As I would pass local people, 90% of the time they would wave, say hi or good morning to me. I would also do that same and wouldn’t think twice about it. Which is more relaxing then being in a car and hearing beeping / honking. On my way home from work with walking or biking home I was able to see and ride by Lake Ivanhoe while the sun was setting over the lake. A few times I would stop and reflect on my day or week.

Could commuting be make you feel more connected to the community?

With walking and riding your bike I would say yes. I was more into looking at the local shops and walking or riding my bike makes me want to stop into a coffee shop, a food place or a store to shop. I am more interested in doing so while walking or riding my bike. With that being said. If more locals were to do that would business do better? Would you know your community more and what it has to offer an the people in it?

Being more awake or tired during work depending on the type of commute?

My findings were I was more awake if I walked or biked. I left more alert and more calm and less stressed about my daily duties at my job. To my surprise I thought when it was time to commute home at the end of the day I would be more tired, it was the opposite. It became a way for me to move my body around before and after sitting at my desk for 8 hours.

These articles have similar findings:

Want To Reduce Stress At Work? Try Commuting By Bike

4 Ways to Use Your Bike to Beat Stress

The most random incidents that happened during the month of my TrIPs was when I was walking. I had a bunch of people stop and ask if I was okay and needed a ride where, even people I would pass on the sidewalk would say the same thing.

What commute was least enjoyable:

Carpooling / my car…. was more worried about getting to work on time.

End result:

I choose TrIP – riding my bike to work would be my number 1. For an extra 8-10 mins more than riding my bike day. I am getting exercise, being outside and enjoying the fresh air.  It is also fun.

The last TrIP I took was on Day 14 of the first TrIP project in 2013, resulting in The Sensory Space of A Bus. I wanted this year’s trip and this post to be a continuation of the first and a continuation of my past experiences riding mass transit. So, I’ve thought about the title. Here are some that didn’t work: The Sensory Space of A Train; The Sensory Space of a Subway; The Sensory Space of a Metro.

HERE IS THE SUN

The word “Sun” frequents the Sunshine State. Before getting “on” the SunRail I got “in” my car and drove to the SunTrust parking garage in Winter Park. From there, I walked to the Winter Park Station. I took the SunRail specifically for Day 9 of this project. I wanted “Day 9” because things in threes often surface in my works and 9 is a triple of 3. I wanted to wake up early. I took notes.

6:05 a.m.        Wake up

6:30 a.m         Get in my car

On the car ride in, I notice that the sky looks like insulation or dryer lint. On NPR a man is talking about some sort of “comfortable underpants.” Traffic is moving so I can’t write down the name of the underpants.

7:05 a.m.        Arrive at parking garage

7:11 am.         Get on the SunRail

The interior ride: bright lighting, airport-like smells, cold air flow to the nostrils. Being in this space makes me feel like I’m travelling in from out of town. I don’t have a plan, other than seeing, hearing, smelling, and feeling. I don’t particularly want to touch anything other than my notebook and my SunRail ticket.

7:13 a.m.        Arrive at Florida Hospital Health Village

7:16 a.m.        Stop in Downtown Credo

ON AND BEYOND THE PLATFORM

There are remnants of potential rust, the remains of a leaf, numbers and crossed-out numbers. The color yellow is everywhere: painted on the ground, in the line of a sandwich bag, and on the vest of the workers surrounding the station. And white: lab coats and dishes and details printed on large sheets of paper. There is a sense of efficiency brewing. A control valve. A fan being pushed on a dolly. A coffee being poured-over.

8:04 a.m         Get on the SunRail

8:11 a.m.        Arrive at Winter Park

On the ride back, and walking back to my car, I think about what might resurface in future works: the yellows, the whites, the lines, the flaws, the notes on paper, a glow, grass green, and turquoise.

Dina Mack is influenced by experiences that are “quiet, personal, fragile, and beautifully imperfect.” Documentation or research related to sensory effects and rituals are a part of her work. She has exhibited locally and internationally and her work can be found in a variety of public and private collections. More at Dina Mack and Destination Journal. 

TrIP Biennale Day 8: Getting to and from A Place by Paul Finch

  After I signed up to participate in the TrIP Biennale, I started talking about it a lot. People were always surprised when i told them i was going to take the bus. I think i told them i was going to do it to reinforce to myself that i was going to do it. People seemed to think it was a waste of time to use the bus for even one day. I thought it would fun. I initially wanted to take the SunRail,…

For my entry in the TrIP Biennale, I took several different buses, but as always I ended up at the Orlando International Airport.  I realize TrIP is about the trains, buses, walking, and cycling in the Central Florida region, but one of the main arteries for people to come into this region is the airport, so I ended up making two bodies of work to reflect my experiences of bus rides and time at the airport.

 The black and white images were created using a 4X5 pinhole camera, because I wanted to address time travel.  The need of being on time, scheduling my day with the LYNX system, determining the duration of the trip, and determining what time I have to catch the bus to get to my destination on time.  For each leg of the journey, once seated on the bus I opened the shutter on the camera and it would remain open until I reached my destination.  The images reflect the duration of each bus trip and my time at the airport.  The images taken on the bus are blurry because of the vibrations from the road and the bus, and they are without people because people moved before they could be captured on film.

436

23

11

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Airport Day

Airport Night

  Once at the airport I decided to sit under the display for flight information, creating my second body of work.  Using my phone, I captured people’s expressions while they were obtaining information of arriving and departing flights.

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Ivan Riascos is a conceptual artist that was raised and resides in Central Florida.  Working in various mediums, his primary interest is in photography and its history, which he uses to create diaristic perspectives in his artwork.  He earned his BFA from SAIC, and his MFA from UCF.

Website: http://www.whitelightbulb.com

  A big part of my art practice involves taking something discarded and making it into something fabulous.

That’s the plan anyway.

But with my day to day work it’s sometimes a bit harder to polish an otherwise turdy moment. All those Instagrammers out there do it with the aid of a fancy filter. Something that makes your whites whiter and your brights brighter. Sunsets become more sunsetty. Your face becomes less dead corpse and more blushing bride with the swipe of your greasy finger.

But sometimes you need an industrial strength plunger to just shove all that crap out of your toilet day.  Some sort of filter that could inject a little magic into a trip to the grocery store or your dead aunt’s funeral.

Hence #magicfilter. The train is a perfect spot to use a little photo prop.

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Find Brendan on Instagram at @bkeepz and visit his website here.