the more pleasant way

Selected webcam photos (above) Ox-Bow Saugatuck, Michigan. 2016.

A series of attempts to reroute a pathway through the woods at OxBow and direct people to take the slightly longer but more scenic path.

What began as shoveling an alternate route and lining it with aluminum cans and glass bottles to  indicate the "more pleasant way" and deter people from taking the shortcut by blocking it off, ultimately led to an experiment in surveillance and conditioned response. Where the main path diverged, I installed two large makeshift switches under the snow and wired them up to a laptop running a custom program. When the shortcut was taken the "NO" switch was stepped on, triggering an alarm sound.  When the “more pleasant way” was chosen, the "YES" switch was stepped on which resulted in applause, cheers, and music.  Both switches turned on a webcam to snap a photo - and in the final version - record the time and which pathway was taken.

The switches being built.

A switch being covered in snow.

Maps of pathways through the snow.

Map of Ox-Bow with highlighter indicating the more pleasant way.