dérive: engl. to drift

In the 1960s, by letting themselves drift around cities artists of the Situationist International group explored their urban surroundings. They named this method that is based on the principle of chance the dérive and recorded how built-up environments affected them with mappings from memory, which provided a basis for psychogeography.

Referring to these methods of artistic research while drifting on walks across the city, we will leave behind familiar routes in order to open up to a diversity of environments, to discover new places and rediscover the familiar in a new light, as well as to let ourselves be surprised. Recordings/Drawings of the impressions gained on these walks should subsequently configure a kind of subjective cartography of urban space.

Field trips to exhibitions, studios, project spaces, art in public space among other things will offer insights to and an overview of the diversity of places and organisational forms where art is presented, made, dealt with and debated. They will present a concrete cartography of the densely woven network of art sites in Vienna.

The course is especially also for fresh students at the Site-specific Art department.

Show up regularly and participate actively in the course.

Participants are required to practice the dérive method, making drawings or recordings. The format can range from cartographic drawings, soundscapes, video, collections of found objects to texts and interventions.

A collection of reference books (Handapparat 47 / Urban Drifting) can be found in the library.
Search "HA Pacher" in the online catalog to see which publications have been added.

Kick-off: Thursday, March 4, 10 a.m. at Paulusplatz (Seminarraum): presentation of the course

Restricted number of participants.

When:    Friday afternoon, 2–4.30 pm

Where:   at different locations every week.
                 Each meeting point will be announced in advance in the Base and via email.

As needed, the course will be held in German and/or English.

Face to face and distance teaching:
If, due to Corona restrictions, face to face teaching is not possible, I will provide material online (on artists, institutions, art in public space, as well as reading recommendations).