GeoCaching

quotes:

Andrew King is wrapping three original paintings in weatherproof packaging and stashing them in different places in the Ottawa Valley. To find them, and keep them for free, you’ll need a GPS, the Internet and an ability to solve puzzles.

On Feb. 2, the Cube Gallery is hosting an event entitled Canadiana. King will have seven pieces on display, three of which will contain clues to the GPS co-ordinates of the hidden paintings. “It will be kind of like The Da Vinci Code,” King said in an interview.

- Christine Huang

Spiritual geocaching is a project based on the idea that certain physical locations on this planet may hold spiritual significance. From Moses on the mountain top, to Jerusalem, and Mecca, many cultures have embraced the idea that certain locations may hold a spiritual value.

The concept of this project is that certain areas in the wild are extremely calming, and in this state of relaxation a person residing at this location will become more meditative and approach the spiritual. By using a combination of biofeedback and gps data, it may be possible to locate these locations and then post them on the internet so that others may enjoy the healing properties.

-Heather Clark
http://digitalarts.ucsd.edu/~wild/clark/


Analysis:

Well, I stumbled upon this activity through my research of of geopolitics and spatial relationships. It really seemed odd at first. But then I thought about it, and what I am currently doing is similar with my art. In GeoCaching, people go out into the world on...basically...treasure hunts. They need to be hooked up with a GPS phone or device and also to the geocaching website to be able to find coordinates to places where people have hidden "Treasure" in waterproof boxes (it seems they're usually ammo boxes or something along those line). It's a modern day treasure hunt for the tech people. Although it seems like i have been doing the same thing with my art, except the treasure to me are these bike trails and ramps that are hidden in the state parks, local parks, forest preserves, national forest, etc. I feel that this is an odd thing to blog about on my research page, but it seems to fit in quite nicely. My work is involved in mapping and specific places in America (to some degree, I still haven't fully realized what exactly it is or how to explain it). I go into primarily remote and isolated areas that are usually devoid of, let's just say most people, and i explore the terrain and the given paths. But before i get to these places I use a map and internet tools and forums to find these places. The directions on the internet are always vague and usually not that precise, so there's an element of the hunt and the journey that revolves around my work. So i go into these trails and hike. I hike for miles with a camera and tripod on my should in search of man altered terrain. The trail markers, the ramps, the remnants of people are my treasures. Just like in geocaching, people's little treasures are there somewhere. Like i said, i too feel this is an odd entry, but i feel that it's just crazy enough that it makes sense. Or maybe I'm just sleep deprived. But it seems like there's a place where my art making and this geocaching intersect like on a map.