FLÂNERIE: TEHRAN
Personal ProjectBook Design / Print Design / Illustration / photography
2012
Flanerie comes from the French verb flaner, which means to stroll.Flaneur is the man of leisure, the idler, the urban explorer and the stroller of city streets. Walter Benjamin described the flaneur as the essential figure of the modern urban spectator, an amateur detective and investigator of the city. The flaneur is fascinated with street life and while displaying a critical attitude towards the uniformity, speed, and anonymity of modern life in the city, has an active participation and a key role in understanding and portraying the city.
Flanerie : Tehran is the documentation of an unplanned journey by Golriz Behgoo through the urban landscape of her hometown Tehran in 2012 with the ultimate goal of encountering new and authentic experiences. Acting as modern day flâneur, her journey is directed entirely by the feelings aroused in her as an individual influenced by her immediate surroundings. This serves as the primary means for mapping and investigating the psychogeography of different areas.
This experimental project aims to describe Tehran’s visual and urban image from a personal point of view. During her passage through varied ambiances, Behgoo identifies representatives of Tehran that can be felt and experienced within the city. This includes not only present and speculative future impressions but also evocative memories:
“I remember playing beside the giant blue swimming pool, trying to find the most beautiful stones by washing them under the water. The sun was shining. I used to wear a boys swimsuit and had my haircut really short. I was running without the towel and with bare feet around the swimming pool, which was in the middle of the gray concrete tower blocks…” (Behjat Abad Apartment Complex)
This experimental project aims to describe Tehran’s visual and urban image from a personal point of view. During her passage through varied ambiances, Behgoo identifies representatives of Tehran that can be felt and experienced within the city. This includes not only present and speculative future impressions but also evocative memories:
“I remember playing beside the giant blue swimming pool, trying to find the most beautiful stones by washing them under the water. The sun was shining. I used to wear a boys swimsuit and had my haircut really short. I was running without the towel and with bare feet around the swimming pool, which was in the middle of the gray concrete tower blocks…” (Behjat Abad Apartment Complex)
