Share the love: Richard Long's walking art

Richard Long’s land art makes me think new things, or think things in new ways. His walking pieces are exciting because they offer a space to reflect on the nature of both walking and art.

Rather than analysing his works (there are plenty of places you can find analyses, and Long is also articulate in his artist statements), I will simply link to some of his pieces, along with some of the questions they raise for me. I highly recommend you click the links and have a look!    

"A Cloudless Walk", Richard Long, 1995. Click on the image to visit his website.

Lines made by walking

• A Line Made By Walking (1967) 
  
• Walking a Line in Peru (1972)
  
• A Line in Bolivia - Kicked Stones (1981)
  
• Dusty Boots Line (1988)
  
• Mahalakshmi Hill Line (2003)
  

• How do walkers interact with the environment?
  
• How does the way we walk through a landscape change the landscape?
  
• What if we do it deliberately?
  
• Is it sculpture or performance?
  
• How can walking be recorded and presented?    
  

Maps and stone lines

• A Hundred Mile Walk (1971-2)
  
• Dartmoor Walks (1972)
  
• A Line in the Himalayas (1975)
  
• A Line in Japan (1979)
  
• A Line in Scotland (1981)
  

• What is a map?
  
• How do we make maps?
  
• Can the experience of a solitary walk be social in its existence and the record of its existence?
  
• Is walking a performance?
  
• How do we perform it?

Texts

• White Light Walk (1987)
  
• High Tide to High Tide (1992)
  
• Walk of Seven Cairns (1992)
  
• A Cloudless Walk (1995)
  
• Dartmoor Time (1995)
  
• Fibonacci Walk (2009)
  

• When does a walk become an expedition or a meditation, visual art or poetry?
• Does a walk need to have a purpose?
• Is there art in the act of walking, the act of recording the walk, the act of presenting the record of the walk? 
  
• What is walking? What is a walk?

These questions are not abstract. To me, they are deeply connected to the physical, mental and emotional experiences of walking. They encourage me to think of different ways to map, record, approach landscapes and conceptualise my experiences.

I have no idea what Richard Long's opinion might be regarding the ‘penis runs’ recorded by Claire Wykoff in San Francisco, but I like to think of Wyckoff as the latest in a long line of people engaging with and interpreting the landscape in new ways!

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My partner and I will be heading off on a walking holiday soon. I'm feeling inspired to record it in a different way to usual.  One word per kilometre? A poem per day? The name of every dog we meet? What do you think? Share your ideas in the comments - I'll try to produce a record using my favourite of your suggestions!

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