The Solitary Stroller and the City

In chapter 11 of Wanderlust: A History of Walking, Rebecca Solnit discusses how pedestrians use the city. This ranges from prostitution to leisurely strolls. When reading this chapter I was drawing relations to the practice of Parkour. A city always contains more than any inhabitant can know and a great city always makes the unknown and the possible spurs to the imagination. People who practice parkour may already know the cityscape really well or may have never seen the area before once they begin using the city. Their focus is "how can I use this space to move around?" The urbanite is on the lookout for particulars, for opportunities, individuals, and supplies. Guard rails turn into tight-ropes, walls are climbed, ally-ways are a place to jump from wall-to-wall. The city is transformed into a playground. Solnit discusses the problem of American cities becoming more and more like enlarged suburbs, controlled and segregated designed for no interaction. Parkour challenges this by providing a new function for urban planning. Its opportunity to go against the system of control. Solnit goes on to say that Urban walking has always been a shady business, easily turning into soliciting, rioting, protesting, loitering etc... and parkour certainly is seen by many as shady business. This leaves me with the question why people are against parkour or see it as a problem. Is it disruptive to the city? somehow interfering? My only concern with the sport is safety. Have you seen what those people can do!?!

Ground Beneath My Feet

For my continuation of surface exploration I took pictures of the surfaces I came in contact with- gravel, pavement, grass, carpet etc... I initially wanted to mark my day out with pictures of the ground I made contact with- however I wasn't getting a final product I was pleased with. I played around with crops, lighting, zooms and through looking at them I went out to collect more images. I wasn't sure exactly where I was going with this, my goal was to get a variety of surfaces to analyze texture but I found the most interesting to be the concrete and gravel. The textures and patterns from the spills, garbage and cracks was very appealing to me. There was such variety in something I saw as just a sidewalk. Something we walk across everyday and pay no attention to had something beautiful to reveal. My final piece resulted in a video format with over 150 photographs. I am not completely happy with the final as I want to investigate man-made surfaces further.

A Walk Against The Plan

I wish I was rebellious as this man...or better yet, thought of this idea.

Walking The Spirit

"Movement in the body brings movement in the mind. It is a natural alchemy. So many us seek this kind of movement in our lives, a fusion of being and doing. We long to restore wholeness within ourselves and to connect with one another and with the spiritual values that sustain and guide us." - Wendy Bumgardner

Upon researching ideas for a walking project I became interested in Meditative Walking. Meditative walking is about mindful experience of walking while trying to keep our awareness involved with the experience of walking. There can be many forms of this.

How does this differ from seated meditation?

An obvious difference is that our eyes are open while we are walking. We are not withdrawing our attention from the outside world to the same extent that we do when we are doing the Mindfulness of Breathing or Metta Bhavana (development of lovingkindness) practices. We have to be aware of things external from ourselves (objects we might trip over, other people that we might walk into) We become more intouch with nature, feeling the wind in our hair, sun on our skin etc.. For a lot of people, myself included it is an easier form of mediation. I feel it hard to concentrate, my mind wonders, I start complaining about the little aches in my back and knees from sitting up straight and am too distracted from the task at hand. When your body is in motion, it is generally easier to be aware of it compared to when you are sitting still. For those with a restless mind, walking mediation can be used every day during routine tasks from walking to campus or going for a walk to the grocery store. (One benefit of not being able to drive is I have lots of time to practice this!)

Getting Started

You can start by practicing in your home if you’re a bit nervous about trying outside. There is obviously a lot more distractions with people, traffic etc...


1. Relax your body and walk slowly with your spine upright. Relax your arms and hands.
2. Pay attention to the feeling of your feet touching the floor. The sensations in the feet are your meditation object. The feet carry the weight of your entire body which puts a lot of pressure on them. What does that feel like? Give relaxed attention to any sensation in the feet. Focus on one foot at a time.
3. When you reach the end of the room, stand still for awhile and feel the sensations in both feet, including the pressure against the floor and possible tingling. This is a good moment of standing meditation.
4. Turn around and walk slowly while giving relaxed attention to the sensations in your feet. Only focus on one foot at the time. The souls of the feet are sensitive not unlike the palms


Tips
• Don’t try too hard, just relax. Look straight ahead, not at your legs or feet. Relax and feel the body movements.
• If you are having trouble connecting to the ground, just go barefoot




Credits and Helpful Links

http://www.spiritedwalker.com/
http://www.controlstress.net/stress/reduce-stress-with-walking-meditation/

Happy Thanksgiving

Just a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! It is a wonderful day to get out enjoy this lovely, unseasonable weather. I went for my annual trip in the country to walk the apple orchards and wooded paths and brought my dog along. I think we both equally got excited by our time outside.

To be Continued?

As part of an assignment I had done last year, I had photographed every surface my feet made contact for the day from the shower floor, to carpet to sidewalk, cement stairs etc... I then layered the photos into two images. One being the hard surfaces and the other the soft. I wanted to see if the textures could be differentiated especially since there was not an equal amount of hard and soft surfaces. I wish to continue something like this, perhaps where i do composite all the photos into one image to see what that gives me or to analyze surface texture in another way.

Walk This Way

Today, another excursion. This time inside! We had traveled to Markham to visit Pacific Mall- North America's largest Chinese mall. I had been there a few times prior, but never with a mission. One of today's missions was to create a collection. I had a clear idea that I would take business cards from all the stores and restaurants. Some places did not offer so in the end I ended up with 49 business cards. I felt sort of awkward walking in the stores asking for a business card and just walking away. I got tired of repeating the same thing as well as I was sick so asking turned into just taking. They're free right? It was still very strange I do not think I have ever asked for business cards or even taken one unless the guy who helped me with my cell phone gave me his. I really enjoy my collection. Theres such a variety of patterns and colours and frankly, some are just cute.

The second objective of the day was to walk against the plan. Essentially this was to steer the visitors in a prescribed way. I would change a 'normal' behaviour and so would they. I would walk around the mall then take a seat. For this, I sat on the floor, with feet on the bench/chair. Some instances I sat beside someone. Some people would either stay, laugh or walk away. No one ever said anything.

Lastly, an action. A quick gesture, stunt or act. I really enjoy Erwin Wurm's work with 1 Minute sculptures. I had already planned this in advance and when I came across a chair missing a seat-I knew it would be perfect as it already had this wonderful sculptural form, and i would have it as an extension of myself.

Below an Interview with Erwin Wurm.

http://youtu.be/-y3RW9pwJfI

Our exersion was quite fun and I had accomplished what I wanted to this day. With time left over, I wondered around the mall and came across a sculpture. Not quite a 1 Minute sculpture this time. Maybe 5? But still wonderful to see. Three benches stacked in a walk-way. Confusion struck custodial staff and myself and a friend were 'accused' of doing this. Security asked us if we knew anything and in all honesty we did not. We walked away to see some friends having a tea party in one of the pathways. Apparently this is threatening dangerous behaviour and security broke up this riot. Our class had a talkin' to courtesy of one security guard who thought he was serving and protecting the public? Anyways we were escorted out to the mall in perfect timing with our bus waiting to take us back to the University.

Parkour

I did some research on Parkour for an assignment, not knowing much about it. I was particularly drawn to this sport for it's use of urban space as a playground.

So...What is Parkour?

It is considered as a discipline or art in which the practitioner called the tracuer (a person who draws a line or path) adopts other ways that go against architectural or cultural norms. The tacuer choses their own way thought the space and runs along a path set out for them self while clearing any obstacles that may arise as quickly and efficiently as possible, focusing on a controlled execution of the movements.

Parkour has history leading back to start of the 20th century in the training philosophy of the French Naval Officer Georges Hebert (1875-1957). Hebert was impressed by the physical and mental abilities of the people from the African continent, who he had met during his travels. While teaching at University of Reims in France, Hebert led the groundbreaking physical lifestyle. He was the first to popularize the training of movement techniques and physical training on an obstacle course for non-military purposes.

Art of Displacement

L'art du deplacement was intitally used as a synonym for the word Parcours and heavily influenced by the French group Yamakasi, taken from the movie - The Samurai of the Modern Age 2001.

The current spelling with a "k" and without the "s" arose from a separation from the existing terms (le) parcours and l'art du deplacement. This movement first gained its widest public attention courtesy of a video by David Belle (original member of Yamakasi) and his brother which was shown to a French TV show in May 1997.

Click here for a history, and intro to parkour

Enchanted Forest

Today I went on a mushroom foray at the arboretum at the University of Guelph. I previously had no knowledge of this place other than hearing people talk about it. I am glad I finally got to go. The site is off limits to the general public so it was a special treat to venture inside the old growth forest. With baskets and knives at hand, our class began our adventure of hunting for a variety of mushrooms. I had never paid attention when I'd pass mushrooms growing on a tree or log as I passed by in a forest. I think I will give them a second look now. I did not know there was such variation within mushrooms. To be honest I thought all mushrooms were a shade of white or looked like the one's from Super Mario.

It was fun discovering something and people would gather to have a look. It made me feel like a child again. You know when you would catch a frog and have to show everyone? It was that same feeling of excitement through discovery. I really learned a lot today. Not just about the types of mushrooms and their bizarre names (Witch's Butter), but also that I really enjoy going for walks in nature. Theres something so calming about removing yourself from the hustle and bustle of the city, work and school. Its great to have a look at the smaller things in life and discover how wonderful they are.

A Walk in the Park

On Thursday September 15, I took a trip to Oakville Galleries where I had the opportunity to experience Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, Audio walk - A Large Slow River. It was a cool windy day, but the sun was shining, a fitting climate for the context of the walk. Much of the audio walk deals with the natural elements, especially water. The Oakville Galleries provides the perfect location to create the experience as it sits along Lake Ontario. There are mentions of a pond, river and lake which you explore first-hand in the walk. The walk begins in the gallery, as you listen to the soundtrack you are immediately greeted and told to follow the woman speaking. You are lead through the gardens as you follow her walking, and pausing to talk to you. The sounds aside from the primary voice have an entrapping quality. You find yourself under the control of the voice(s), as if you are with this person and she is only speaking to you. From the footsteps, to children speaking in the background- you begin to think there are people around you making these sounds. (I found myself taking of the headset to sort the noises from the audio from the outside elements.) The piece has quite a personal quality to it. Memories of family, friends and strangers are shared and sparked from so many varying sights and sounds. There is story within everything from the rose garden to wood chips.

I would suggest experiencing the walk with the audio and without to compare your experience in the space.

The following link provides background information of piece according to Janet Cardiff.

http://www.cardiffmiller.com/artworks/walks/largeslow_river.html

First Step

I have become used to relying on public transit for getting around the city Guelph, ignoring the fact there are a number of trails I could take to get me around the city. On September 8^th I decided to take a trail I have often walked past or caught a glimpse of from the bus. I had no idea what the objective of my walk would be. It would be discovered along the way. I began my walk by taking out my camera scanning the area for anything of interest, plants, trees, flowers etc... When I was taking these photos I was unimpressed with what I was capturing until I began capturing the industrial objects integrated with nature. I found the contrast between the natural and the man-made to be quite appealing. The colours from the plants and weeds were complementing the colours on the pipes, and electrical boxes. As well as the similar shapes and colours.

It was impossible to escape the human impact in our surroundings. As I was walking down the designated concrete path, I saw quite a bit of garbage tangled in branches and overflowing from garbage cans. I was hoping to get an experience where I felt more connected to nature and distanced myself from the city. This was not the case at all. I did appreciate the more scenic and quite route home, however escaping the sights of houses peeking over the trees, and telephone wires was impossible. My walk home led me to think about the paths constructed for humans, the placement and removal of trees, flowers and trails leading from the main path. The extra 30 minutes I spent taking this alternative route home made me think about the human impact on our surroundings and the construction of paths which dictate our ways of travel.