Samara Smith

documentary + technology + social practice

Participant Comments

Anyplace, Brooklyn

“What a great way to make us stop and realize how much people factor into how public space is used. The visual impact was very effective… What a great walking tour and project. Please continue working on these great projects and know your work is greatly appreciated.” (By Debbie Gordon on Nov 24, 2007)

“What I found most striking on this tour was the stark contrast between the older part of the neighborhood and the new development. It was eerie and really brought out that the vibrancy of city life is something that you take for granted, and that really is a product of the sorts of physical structures that surround us. I think this tour is a really interesting and immediate way of gaining an understanding of the implicit relations we all have with our built environment and, of course, with the explicit issues of this one particular neighborhood.” (By Sarah K. on Oct 30, 2007)

“Samara, thank you for this experience. It was sublime.  I came because I am a huge fan of Janet Cardiff’s audio walking tours and other audio art in general (check out http://loveandradio.org/ for a good one).  I ended up experiencing a whole lot more. Social studies, local politics, and race relations were all explored while examining buildings and neighborhoods I had previously only breezed through without really stopping to notice anything.  This audio walk made me think about my community in a richer, deeper way.  Thanks again, and good luck with future projects. I eagerly await what’s next! (By Josh Johnson on Dec 4, 2007)

“the tour provided a clear, well-planned overview of the pressures urban “re”-development places upon neighborhoods and its inhabitants. in this case, the tours guides you first through vibrant and bustling downtown Brooklyn, then through the sterile, sprawling campus of Metrotech.  the contrast between the two environments is striking, even more so when you are focused on your own sensory experiences of the two landscapes during the hour-long walk. the perspective offered in the audio tour is based on facts and these facts are strongly persuasive. this particular development has displaced people, businesses and avenues of commerce. it has literally taken usable space away from the people who live in this community.  this tour was a great way to spend a saturday afternoon and left me encouraged to explore more of brooklyn and better informed about Brooklyn’s changing landscape. thanks very much for putting this tour together!”  (By jesse on Nov 11, 2007)

“i was deeply impressed by the work. i found that the blend of the elegiac, the subversive, and the conspiratorial was strong in the headphone mix – as strong as the text itself. there is a kind of love there for that erased community and the flecks of it remaining and this brings a lightness to the heavy going. i also took to the instructions well – the start/stops and the lookup/lookdowns and the doubling back on the trail. i don’t always take directions well but i felt i was in good hands.  bravo to the reliable narrator also.  a work of this sort could be well applied to a number of sites around the city and that, i suppose, is too bad for us. this project ought to be heard wider and i hope that this will.
thanks for the experience.” (By Spike Taylor on Nov 28, 2007)