Hamish Fulton Walk, Penzance

The walk was a strange thing. Something I found really odd was the lack of drama, the normality of it, how there was no klaxon to initiate its start and stop, no great talk at the beginning by the artist to impart some expectation, either of what we would experience or how we were to behave; I imagined he would be more protective when allowing us to participate in his work.

 

I also imagined more of a climax. I thought it might suddenly dawn on me what Fulton's work is about and why he is dedicated to walking. I thought about various things, the wind, the cold etc, what people on the opposite row were wearing, what time I thought it was. I guess these things all point to one positive aspect of the walk (which may or may not be part of Fulton's concept) ..because my familiar walking pace was slowed so dramatically, I was given time to notice and examine my surroundings: I was thinking about each individual stage of my body reacting to the cold, I noticed the moment my body started shaking in an attempt to warm itself, I felt the warmth of the sun and the lack of it; I was able to observe the reflections of Penzance on the beach, the clock tower, the cars on the roads, imagining them seeing us.

 

A question asked at the lecture came to mind, where the crossover is between walking, pilgrimage and protest. I was thinking it felt like a kind of prayer, perhaps subconciously because of the ceremonial set up of it, the procession as if to an alter. Maybe because it was in silence, and I didn't understand it, I was just doing what I was told - and this certainly reminded me of chapel or school assembly, where you are bound to conform by expectation alone. I found this particularly hard to fathom, because of Fulton's emphasis on the 'freedom of the pavement', and because beaches and the sea are places I associate with freedom; the strict order of the lines was a stark juxtaposition with nature and the seagulls flying freely around us.

 

Having said this, I was surprised at how quickly the time went. There were moments where it felt quite meditative,  and I slipped into long unconscious moments of thought.

 

Rereading the NatGeog article, and experiencing what he does for myself I think I am starting to understand and therefore appreciate his interpretation of art. The description "eschewing objects in favor of journeys" helps me comprehend the work a little more; just as there are different objects that artists create, there are different walks that do, or point to, or are informative of different things. Just as manipulating a material can be used to explain or express something, so can journeys.

 

I still don't get his typography though.