Following footprints

photography, writing, and the artist's book in art walking

Bridget Sheridan

pp. 99-114

in: Klaus Benesch, François Specq (eds), Walking and the aesthetics of modernity, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016

Abstract

As we move into the twenty-first century and as general mobility seems to count on the development of new technologies and diverse means of transport, walking appears to have been cast aside. However, there are still many who value our most natural activity whether it is through research, events, or art.Walking artists make use of photography and writing in their artwork, sometimes combining both in the artist's book. I shall discuss the use of lines and trails in both photographs and writing. How do photographs or words evoke the pace of the walk, the rhythm, and the footsteps? And how does the artist's book play a role in emphasizing the walk itself?