Locative media project City Drawings turns cities into canvases by driving a car with a tracking device while using an on-line open source tracking system. This project is about traces we leave, routes we take, possibility and limitations of making a drawing in the urban realm, incorporating a new media. It is an alternative way of revealing the structures of the cities, their character, physical and wireless connectivity. Project City Drawings started in New York, USA in 2009. The ultimate goal is to make drawings in 59 cities around the globe (first come first served).

Manhattan is a place to visit. Brooklyn is a place to live and work. Ratio 5:9. On 10/30/2009 Irina Danilova and David Ross drove around Manhattan and Brooklyn (Hiram Levy was monitoring from Princeton) as part of Interrupted Correspondence with Five Years Collective from London. It started at 8:43am at the corner of Greenwich and Watts street in Manhattan and finished at 12:23pm in Brooklyn on Fulton Street at Classon Ave.

What do Miami and New York City have in common? They both have multiple 59th streets and for a week in December Miami becomes a center of world art. The Miami drawing was done on December 5, 2009 (Miami Beach on December 6, 2009) during the Basel Miami Fair. Irina Danilova drove while Hiram Levy tracked and navigated the car’s movement from Princeton. The December 5th performance started at 5:25pm at the corner of N. Kendall Drive and SW 86 Street and ended at 8:11pm at the corner of Andalusia and SW 37th Ave. The December 6th performance started at 8:45 am at the intersection of SW 87 Ave. with SW 72nd St. and ended at 11:20 am on US I95 above NW 19th St.

San Francisco has a year round probability of the best (coolest) weather: 59 degrees, along with numerous possibilities of 59 feet elevation. The Beatitude magazine was founded there in 1959. On December 12th, 2009 Ruthie Ayzenberg drove and Irina Danilova navigated. Trudy Levy and Mike Gutman tracked the car from San Jose. It started at 11:55am from the Pacific Ocean at the beginning of John Daly Blvd, and finished at 3:24pm on Monterey Blvd at Southern Hwy. Mount Davidson was climbed (unexpectedly for the car’s old brakes and for Mike Gutman who lived there in the 70's). Such legendary places as the Castro (59 feet elevation at Harrison Street and Treat Ave), Fisherman's Wharf, and Geary Blvd (59 feet elevation between 10th and 9th streets) were passed. Ruthie drove near San Francisco State University where she had a final exam that morning.

“Los Angeles is the New York City of the west” (Steve Fels). NYC Pier 59 Studio has a parallel office in Santa Monica. Both world records of 59 seconds in men’s 100 meters butterfly were made in Los Angeles (by Fred Schmidt and Lance Larson). The LA drawing was made on December 23rd, 2009 by Ignat and Ruthie Ayzenberg (driving and navigating). Irina Danilova was tracking online from Brooklyn. It started at 10:35 am on W. Manchester Blvd. at S. Oak Street (elevation 59 feet) and finished at 2:10pm at E. 59th Street. 1959 was the Golden Age for Hollywood (“Some Like it Hot”, “North by Northwest”, “Ben-Hur”, “Anatomy of a Murder”, “Tiger Bay”, “Sleeping Beauty”) and the year LA acquired its first sister cities: Eilat (Israel) and Nagoya (Japan). This trip was 76 miles long. Ignat suggested that figures be made 59 miles in length next time.

Cleveland lies 59 miles west of the Ohio border with Pennsylvania. Elevation in many places around Cleveland is 590-599 feet. Industrial Cleveland peaked in 1959. When Clevelander Lena Lidsky was asked how number 59 may be significant for Cleveland, “59 inches of snow” – was her answer. The City Drawing performance of 01.08.10 was canceled due to a heavy snow storm. The ground was covered with 59 cm of snow. A 59 inch ice cone was hanging from a roof. Drawing was made on 01.10.10. Irina Danilova’s “MetLife” (climbing 59 floors) was first screened in Cleveland in 1995 during The Cleveland International Performance Art Festival. Next year her performance “Route 59” was realized: 59 passengers (including a team of cardboard football players #59) in bus number 59, traveled at 59 km/hr from Ravenna to Akron, along Ohio Route 59.

Houston is the only big city on US 59 from Laredo (Mexico) to Winnipeg (Canada). The City Drawing performance in Houston was made on February 20, 2010. It started at 5:54:05pm on US 59 at West Loop Fwy and finished at 7:19:59pm just before the intersection of Gulf Fwy with US 59. Hiram Levy was driving, Irina Danilova was navigating and the computer was tracking the route from the hotel room.

The Chicago drawing took 2 days due to a sudden loss of signal while finishing number 9. On June 27th Irina Danilova was driving with Yelena Lidsky navigating and Hiram Levy tracking from Toddy Pond, Maine. The Chicago trip started at 8pm on W 59th Street at S. Hadam Av. and stopped at 11:59 pm at South Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and E. 37th street. The next day Irina finished this drawing on W. 59th Street and South Campbell Ave. with an artist from Chicago and one of the finalists of the 59 Seconds Video Festival, Dubi Kaufmann. Chicago's area is almost 590 square kilometers and the average elevation is 597ft.

Hiram drove alone on July 23, 2010. Irina Danilova navigated and tracked from Brooklyn. It started on W. 59 Street at 7pm. 59 miles and 59 turns later, it finished at 9pm at South Mississippi River Blvd. Minneapolis is (almost) 59 square miles and the Minneapolis Days Inn Mall Of America/Airport hotel had, at the time of the drawing, 59 reviews on TripAdvisor. There is also the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Local 59.

The drawing in Perth was done in two days. Number 5 was drawn on August 19th and number 9 on August 20th. Aleksey Danilov was driving his car while Irina Danilova was navigating. Renata Smenda with Orion and Watu were tracking from home in Hilton, WA. Renata’s i-phone was used as the tracking device. The beginning of the 5 was just a few blocks away from the UWA Fencing Club and the beginning of number 9 just next to ECU Fencing Club. Aleksey, a ranked fencer, was affiliated with both clubs. In December and January in Perth the average low temperature is 59 degrees and there are 359 sunshine hours in each month. 59 Seconds Video Festival was first screened in Perth in January, 2007.

The Ekaterinburg Drawing was made during The First Ural Industrial Biennale of Contemporary Art, on September 12, 2010, with the participation of Darya Kostina and Polina Lapteva, two young art historians. Polina Lapteva drove her metallic grey Toyota RAF4, while Irina Danilova and Darya Kostina navigated (using Polina’s i-phone). The trip started at 1:15pm, not far from one of the Biennale’s spaces: Worsted Factory, and finished at 4:31 pm not far from another Biennale’s space, one of Ekaterinburg’s biggest industrial complex’s - Uralmash. As Darya Kostina pointed out, there were 59 projects at the main program of The Bienniale on Lenin Street (passed by at 1:59 pm, while drawing the top of number 5). Fire distinguisher #59 was discovered at the entrance of the project space at Worsted Factory.

Washington, D.C. has 159 sq km of land (excluding water). 59 foreign embassies are located on a section of Massachusetts Avenue informally known as Embassy Row. The Washington DC City Drawing was made on November 26, 2010 (Black Friday), when resident population of Washington was 599,659. Drawing started at 9:45am in Arlington, VA and finished at 13:59pm on East Capital Street, above Lincoln Park (59 ft elevation). Hiram Levy drove with Irina Danilova navigating and Joshua Levy tracking from his and his wife Darcy's residence in Vienna, VA. The trip was modified to pass by the 59th Ave and Café 59 (discovered by Joshua Levy).

On April 23, 2011 city drawing in Tulsa started at the intersection of Creek Turnpike and Okmulgee Bee Line Expressway at 15:37 and finished at 18:36 on East 91st street, just before the intersection with Sheridan Rd. The 59 mile trip took 2 hours and 59 minutes. Hiram Levy drove with Irina Danilova navigating. Hiram’s friend Susan Dunlap Kasibhatla, who was born and raised in Tulsa, was following on-line from Durham, North Carolina. When the lower part of the 5 was drawn, Susan noticed that it went between her old school and old family home. Hiram and Irina visited both. The drawing of number 5 was modified to visit one of several short 59th streets in the southern part of Tulsa. Director of Living Arts Of Tulsa, Steve Liggett, helped prepare for the drawing. Steve and his girlfriend Shirley were 59 y.o. The average altitude of Tulsa is 590 feet. It is positioned on 95th Longitude and 36th Latitude. The difference is 59.

On April 30th 2011 Hiram Levy drove and navigated in Detroit, starting at 10:45am on Oakwood Blvd at Culver Ave. and 59 miles later, after making 59 turns he finished at 13:35 on Grand River Ave. at US 94. Irina was tracking online from the SET Gallery in Brooklyn. “Motown” was founded by Berry Gordy in Detroit in 1959.

Denver City was founded during the gold rush just before 1859 (November 1858), with major development investment in May 1859 leading to a railway connection. A century ago the total population of Denver was 59% of population in 2010. The first school was a log cabin that opened in 1859. On May 4 Hiram drew this drawing on his own; Irina tracked on-line from Brooklyn. It started at 12:42 pm on US285. Part of the 9 was drawn through the central area of the city with zip code 80259. Weather was 59 degrees.

The Drawing in Boston was made in memory of Blanche "Ma" Zerner, 102, buried in Hull, MA on June 27, 2011. She was a renowned realtor for more than 59 years and mother of Hiram’s best friend Mike, who was born on January 31, 1940 and died on February 2, 2000. His father Maurice died at 59. Hiram lived in Cambridge in three places: 45 Mt. Vernon St., 10 Chatham St. and 24a Shaler Lane. 45-10+24=59. The Boston Braves left Boston 59 years before, and 59 years before that, in 1893, they claimed their third consecutive National League Championship. Urban Area of Boston is 4,595 sq. km; city population - 617,594. This City Drawing started at 16:10 at 10 Hills Rd. and finished at 19:59 on N. Jewish War Vets Drive. The GPS registered 59 feet elevation in 9 spots.

“I am proud to be part of it... now as I am alive” – Mandy Morrison. On July 3 Irina was multitasking: driving, navigating and videotaping, with Mandy Morrison in the passenger seat. Hiram was tracking intermittently on-line from New Hope, PA. The Drawing started at 2:20pm on US 95 at the Navy Yard and finished at 8:31pm on Island Ave. The City Drawing in Philadelphia was done backwards, first figure 9 then 5, in order to be on time for the Art Museum (spent 2 hours). A significant part of figure 5 was drawn through South 59th Street. After the drawing, Irina and Mandy had dinner not far from 59 North 11th Street. Café 59 (215-568-5559) was already closed. In 1959 in Philadelphia, lobbying by the Artists Equity Association helped create the Percent for Art ordinance, the first for a U.S. city. As of the 2000 census, there were 590,071 households in the city. On the trip, the GPS registered an elevation of 59 feet 14 times and once – 1059 feet.

Melbourne City was established in 1859 during the Victorian Gold Rush and first Australian football matches were played there in 1859. In 1959 Australians were permitted to sponsor Asian spouses for citizenship (crack in White Australia policy) and a notable film, On the Beach, was shot and set in Melbourne. Melbourne Tram route 59 from the city center to the airport has 59 stops. Melbourne Bike Club 59 meets at the Station 59 pub. The National Gallery of Victoria has elevation 59 feet. 59 was drawn in Melbourne in August when the average high temperature is 59 degrees(F). It was drawn in three parts. The route was modified to pass by the Danilov-Smenda residence in Fitzroy. Aleklsey Danilov drove and controlled the device while Irina Danilova navigated. They started drawing 5 at Port Melbourne on August 18th at 11:03 and stopped at 12:15. The 9 was drawn on August 22nd from 12:29 till 14:46. It finished on Alexandra Ave across the river from Olympic Park. Part of the 9 was drawn with Renata Smenda and their son, Sev. Renata helped to navigate and Sev was riding in his car seat.

The Quad Cities actually consist of 5 cities (5 and 9: 5 + quad). It used to be the Tri-Cities that became Quad and remained Quad for so long that when the fifth town grew up the name Quint Cities was not adopted. Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa, Moline, East Moline and Rock Island in Illinois cover an area of 5,993 square km, with a highest elevation of 259 meters and lowest of 590 feet. The Mississippi River (the largest river system in North America, with an average flow of 593,000 cu ft/s and minimum of 159,000 cu ft/c) is the dividing line between Iowa and Illinois in the middle of the Quad Cities. The Drawing, with Hiram Levy driving and Irina Danilova navigating, started at 11:35am at Sunset Line exit of Centennial Expressway in Rock Island (Illinois) at a point with elevation 459 feet. After about 10 minutes the route ran into the POW Wow Festival at Black Hawk Park, an annual regional Native American’s gathering. Drawing was resumed at 12:30:59 after taking part in native dancing, rituals and prayers. At 12:50 downtown Moline was reached (elevation 590-597 ft) and at 12:59 the Mississippi River was crossed entering Bettendorf (Iowa) where Hiram and Irina visited Hiram’s first Iowa family house, two blocks off the route. The Drawing passed by the Putnam Art Museum; the spot where Hiram’s father, Mort Levy, ran the Syndicate-Hub Clothing Store in downtown Davenport; Maid Rite, a local chain decorated in 1959 style, serving ground meat burgers; and Whiteys a local ice-cream chain. Heavy rain fell for the first time around 2pm. 59th Street in Davenport is broken into pieces and appeared here and there a few blocks above the top of number 5. The trip was altered to visit one of them. Number 9 started in Bettendorf and finished back in Illinois in East Moline at 5:07 with a few small towns along the way, including gravel roads among corn fields. This drawing was made during the memorial trip for Candace Carmichael, elementary school art teacher, passionate artist and quilter, who passed away a few months before turning 59.

In December and January the average high temperature in San Jose is 59 degrees. It hit 59 once on December 13, 2011, during the 59 miles long City Drawing that started at 11:09 and finished at 15:09. Irina drove a rented red car with plate number A----59, Ruthie Ayzenberg navigated, and Hiram Levy tracked on-line from Princeton. There were 3 stops along the way: first was ICA, Institute of Contemporary Arts; next a meeting with local artist Trudy Levy (and Mike Gutman) at her art-box, a public art project painting utility boxes; the last stop was Santa Clara University (where Ruthie entered graduate school), which surrounds the Santa Clara Mission that was built just before San Jose was founded in 18th century and was the first mission of a female Saint.

The Phoenix City Drawing was made at the very end of 2011, symbolically for “phoenix”, finishing a year, to resume the rest of the project in 2012. On December 27, Olga and Kesha drove and navigated while Irina monitored the car's movement from New Hope, PA. Phoenix was established on the ruins of the ancient civilization of the Hohokam peoples, who had created hundreds of miles of irrigation canals. In 1859 a new series of canals was built by Jack Swilling, thus laying the foundation for the modern city of Phoenix, which was first called Swilling's Mill. The tracking device recorded an elevation of 1059 feet a few times and, along North 59th Ave, the car had a heading of 359 degrees. The trip started at 10:39 on W. Indian School Rd, near N83rd Ave. and, after 59 miles, finished at 12:47 on W. Indian School Road at Grand Ave. The Phoenix Art Museum was founded in 1959.