A lively and thought-provoking tour of the intertwined histories of art and walking
“A broad-ranging book [that] has something for every rambler.”―Benjamin Riley, New Criterion
What does a walk look like? In the first book to trace the history of walking images from cave art to contemporary performance, William Chapman Sharpe reveals that a depicted walk is always more than a matter of simple steps. Whether sculpted in stone, painted on a wall, or captured on film, each detail of gait and dress, each stride and gesture has a story to tell, for every aspect of walking is shaped by social practices and environmental conditions.
From classical statues to the origins of cinema, from medieval pilgrimages to public parks and the first footsteps on the moon, walking has engendered a vast visual legacy intertwined with the path of Western art. The path includes Romantic nature-walkers and urban flâneurs, as well as protest marchers and cell-phone zombies. It features works by artists such as Botticelli, Raphael, Claude Monet, Norman Rockwell, Agnès Varda, Maya Lin, and Pope.L. In 100 chronologically arranged images, this book shows how new ways of walking have spurred new means of representation, and how walking has permeated our visual culture ever since humans began to depict themselves in art. Published by Yale. £25 UK for hardcover. Published April 2023.
Post navigation
Also check out
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Street WisdomNew
[Guest post] Inner Outings – by Street Wisdom Walkshop host Nicky Torode
· 4 May, 2024 -
Walking PieceNew
Walking in the time of coronavirus: a walk from Queen’s Park to Ladbroke Grove Sainsbury’s
· Since 2020 -
Street WisdomNew
[Guest post] The power of being present – a write-up of a Street Wisdom Walkshop by host Anna Look
· 4 May, 2024 -
Walking EventNew
Street Wisdom In-Person Walkshop in Spitalfields Market, London, UK, 12.30pm BST
· 2024-05-15 12:30 -
Street WisdomNew
[Guest post] Inner Outings – by Street Wisdom Walkshop host Nicky Torode
· 4 May, 2024
A Walk Through Time: From Stardust to Us
Stories from your neck of the woods
5 May, 2024
Announcing the winners of the Neighbourhood Narratives non-fiction writing competition.
Walking Around the Internet
4 Dec, 2023
Walking around the Internet with Amelia Hodsdon our writer-in-residence
Bridging History
The Bridging History series tells the tale of the colonisation and settlement of Dubbo, on Wiradjuri Country in Central West NSW Australia, through built infrastructure that changed the Wambuul Macquarie River forever. The bridges cross water and land with a much older story to tell. Today, you can cross all three bridge sites by walking, running or cycling the Tracker Riley Cycleway that loops around the river.
Hope you like the new me
29 Dec, 2023
Poet-in-residence Shani Cadwallender provides an introductory text to the new year.
The Art of Walking
2024-04-23 18:00
Online
We are delighted to have William Sharpe join us as our Café guest. This time last year, his book on The Art of Walking: a history in 100 images was published to wide acclaim. So how did he come to choose which images best represented the art of walking, and what did he choose to leave out, and why?
[Guest post] Inner Outings – by Street Wisdom Walkshop host Nicky Torode
4 May, 2024
Walking in the time of coronavirus: a walk from Queen’s Park to Ladbroke Grove Sainsbury’s
Queen's Park, London, UK
[Guest post] The power of being present – a write-up of a Street Wisdom Walkshop by host Anna Look
4 May, 2024
Street Wisdom In-Person Walkshop in Spitalfields Market, London, UK, 12.30pm BST
2024-05-15 12:30
16 Brushfield St, London E1 6AT, UK
Join Urszula (Ula) Caroto (LinkedIn) for a 2 hour in-person Street Wisdom Walkshop in London, UK on 15th May 2024, meeting at the Herd of Hope Elephant at Spitafields Market (Google Map). It is t...