SITE Jean Paul-Sartre said that the American street is "a straight line that gives itself away immediately. It contains no mystery." While downtown Pasadena is made of many such streets, I think that the opposite could be said about the intersection at Colorado and DeLacey, containing diagnols and a central rectangular formation as it shuts off for 24 seconds at a time, opening a cement thoroughfare for pedestiran traffic only. The mystery is contained within a myriad of factors.
It is one of the few cross-diagonal interesections for pedestrians I've observed , creating a large space where only people can inhabit a space normally for cars, resulting for large amounts of time over the day. It has a time constraint built into it, making it a challenge to do anything but cross the street. It carries the challenge of constant movement and energy generated by existing traffic, lights, and commercial signage. I felt the ability to take back this space , which was currently only used for one purpose, and then to repurpose that into a form of expression would be a worthy research project. My design approach to the site was to examine the space as a potential performing area, as well as to develop a way to create an additional layer of animation that would compete with the busy background . It's main function exists as a transporation hub, but how could it be subverted as a public forum for expression and communication, while competing with noisy traffic and pedestrians?
FIELD STUDIES:
Research not only consists of finding the content looking at the past, but also looking at the present location. The site was initially selected for it's very interesting affordance of letting the pedestrian walk diagonally, unfettered by cars sharing the intersection. The time constraint of 24 seconds was also an interesting way to look at conveying a narrative in such a short burst of time.
I conducted field studies around this site to evaluate factors like traffic, pedestrians, and weekly activities. My intention is to study the circulation patterns around this retail area so I could have a better understanding of the environment, and find the best time to perform. My research yielded there was a little more foot traffic on weekend mornings than on weekday afternoons. I concluded that staging performances under both circumstances may yield interesting results.
I also observed the different vantage points that a crosswalk performance could take place. The pedestrians crossing the street would be able to view the performers up close, in a way they couldn't at a formal theatre production. There was also the people waiting in their cars for the lights to change- they probably had the best seats in the "house" in the safety and comfort of their own cars. There were also people on the sidewalks and sitting at the cafes, and there were even "balcony seats" at a restaurant located on the second floor of a building, with tables at the windows looking down at the intersection.
There was also the question of legality and permits. I didn't want to go straight to the city for permission, as I was worried that they'd object despite my reassurances that I'd follow all traffic and safety laws. While it was risky, I felt the best way to accomplish my goals was to work closely with the performers to ascertain they would not interfere with pedestrians and that they needed to be back on the street corners at the necessary time.
SITE DOCUMENTATION
FARMER'S MARKET
Over the course of my research, I felt that staging a smaller designed performance for the people that came to the farmer's market would make for an interesting design intervention.
For my farmer's market experiment, each vendor served as an informational area people could shop and also watch the migrating performers singing about the products that were seasonal and were highlighted as desirable products in the market. I created a brand of the event, deemed "In Season", and distributed graphic elements throughout the vendors of the market. My intent was to inform the shoppers about the market performance as well as to inspire further dialogue between shoppers and and farmers.
This was also an opportunity to learn how to collaborate with other others on a project. I worked with musicans, farmers, and lyricists to create the performance. With the farmers I focused on the logistics of where the musicians could stand, when I would drop by to give information to pass to the shoppers, and basically uphold a positive rapport. The musicans and lyricist I had to convey the information I learned from the farmers about what was in season, and what content the lyrics should contain.
dirtpiles & oasis 
