Abstract
To Michel de Certeau, walking is more than a physical movement. It puts a walker in imagination through, in his words, “a series of turns (tours) and detours that can be compared to ‘turns of phrase’ or ‘stylistic figures.’” This imagination turns walking into an artistic activity. Walking as a creative practice also engages a walker in cultural politics. Walking weaves a city as an artistic text and liberates the text, the city, and the everyday. A city is read in this essay more as an artistic text than as a context. It discusses how walking can turn a city into a piece of art with reference to Benny Au’s script photography (Hong Kong), Tanaka Tatsuya’s mixed media art (Japan), and Auggie’s photographic project in the film Smoke (1995) (Hollywood). We do not understand the city better through artistic texts. The context, in return, does not make them more comprehensible. Understanding, perhaps, should not be the key. What matters most is nurturing a deeper affection and appreciation towards the cityscape, probably through walking.
Presenters
Ian FongPart-time Lecturer, Department of Comparative Literature, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
The Arts in Social, Political, and Community Life
KEYWORDS
Walking, Everyday, Textual Practice, Defamiliarization, Cultural Politics
