The Art of Walking: A Field Guide

The Art of Walking: A Field Guide is a unique look at walking as a mode of artistic practice and is the first book to explore this fascinating subject of how walking can be used as an artistic medium.

An introductory essay identifies breaks and continuities between walking artists now and the pedestrian activities of the historic- and neo-avant-gardes of the early- and mid-20th Century, respectively. Subsequent visually-led sections deal with recent art engaging with different types of walkers including pilgrims, peripatetic writers and philosophers, dandies, drifters, marchers, stalkers, tour guides and dog walkers.

Artists to be evaluated include Marina Abramovic and Ulay, Vito Acconci, Dennis Adams, Francis Alÿs, Keith Arnatt, Tim Brennan, Stanley Brouwn, Bruce Nauman, Sophie Calle, Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, Jeremy Deller, Simon Faithfull, Hamish Fulton, Regina José Galindo, Mona Hatoum, Akira Kanayama, Richard Long, The Long March Foundation, Melanie Manchot, Yoko Ono, Adrian Piper, Simon Pope and Kryzysztov Wodiczko.

David Evans is a writer and picture editor who teaches the history and theory of photography at The Arts University College at Bournemouth, England. Recent publications include Appropriation (Whitechapel Gallery and MIT Press, 2009) and Critical Dictionary (Black Dog Publishing, 2011).