The Walking Encyclopaedia: The Walking Encyclopaedia - DAY NINE

05/02/2014

The Walking Encyclopaedia - DAY NINE - something new from Alec Finlay

One of the delights so far in the process of putting together The Walking Encyclopaedia has been the interest and generosity shown in and towards the project from a full spectrum of practitioners.

The idea seems really to have had an engagement - a sense of validation, and fraternity has shone through - and part of the importance, we believe, has been in the open nature of the project. And part of the success in terms of word being spread lies in the quality of the Network - the Walking Artists Network.

Each day, as parcels and packages have arrived, we have discovered new gems, unique approaches and unexpected treasures.

Today's surprise came in the form of an insight into some new work sent in by hugely influential walking artist, Alec Finlay. Finlay is a Scottish-born artist currently based in Edinburgh, whose beautiful work takes various forms and media, including poetry, sculpture, collage, audio-visual, neon, and new technologies; often it reflects on human engagement with landscape.

His Blog is a real treasure of emotion, and great imagery, and a sense of presence and existance and movement through a landscape - check it out here.

Alec has sent us an insight in to some new work he is making specifically for this blog.

Alec's presence in The Walking Encyclopaedia will be in the form of two publications - White Peak | Dark Peak and 14 VIEWS ON THE ISLE OF SKYE - plus a brand new piece of work, which will be unveiled on Friday's opening.

Thanks Alec, and to all contributors to The Walking Encyclopaedia.

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The Walking Encyclopaedia

A brief look through Roget’s Thesaurus offers us a sense that a walk can be many things. It could be a stroll, a saunter, a hike or a ramble. For those with time to spare it might be a promenade or a perambulation or if the mood has taken a turn for the worse, the walk could turn into a traipse or a trudge. The political walker might consider a march or a parade, whilst the pilgrimage or the crusade would be more pertinent for the spiritual.

Walking as a cultural activity stretches from the 18th century philosophy of Rousseau, who famously “thought with his legs”, encompassing the Parisian flaneurs and the psychogeography which sprang from the Situationists and which still endures today. The conceptual walking of Richard Long and Hamish Fulton brought the artistry of the act into the Gallery and the consciousness of the art theorists to the point that today; the act of walking and the walking artist are at the forefront of contemporary art.

AirSpace Gallery has noticed the recent surge in popularity of walking as a cultural activity, and the validation afforded it by the Art World. In collaboration with The Walking Artists Network, The Walking Encyclopaedia seeks to present an overview, or a survey, of walking as a contemporary cultural activity.