This pilgrimage was crucial to my understanding of, and appreciation for, walking. I began at nine am and walked to my first home where I poured myself and my host a glass of wine from my backpack. The pack was filled with four large bottles, and with each house my load became lighter as I became increasingly intoxicated. I visited every home I had ever entered by people who I was aquainted with. The conversation was never directed, but rather every different home I visited provided for unique conversation based on my relationship with that person. Some of these visits were incredibely awkward, as I saw people who I hadn't seen in years, and visited some people I didn't particularly like. Every visit contributed to an emotional instability that was mimicked by the wine's effect on my walking.
I did not return home until two thirty am, and I am estimating that I walked at least twenty kilometers throughout the course of the day-evening.One of the most hilarious events that ocurred throughout this walk was my attempt to purchase pizza.. I legit stood infront of the till for ten minutes trying to find my money in my coat before the manager kindly asked my drunken ass to leave. As I became increasingly intoxicated I also began to start jumping fences instead of taking the paved path in order to save time. These incidents lead to some pretty painful cuts and bruises.
In my final presentation I decided to exclude the audio takes that I had made in between visits as they didn't really seem to fit in.. Apparently I like to rap when I walk and drink, and try to find "a coexistance between my energy patterns and the energy of the trees". Even with the exclusion my brilliant audio, I am ultimately happy with how my video turned out. I put in almost the same amount of time walking the project as I did editing it!
After taking on this walk, every other walk seems achievable. Places that seemed far before seem far no longer. I want to walk! I also had a much better sense of direction on foot then when I was in a vehicle because I was able to pay more attention to everything around me, even under the influence of alcohol. People also SEEMED more open for conversation once they noticed that I was in a position of drunken stupor. I literally had aforty minute conversation with a man at the corner store who infromed me about his muslim religion and the misconceptions that Western culture has of it.
The walk is ultimately something I would consider doing again, even without artistic purposes. It was challenging, but it was enlightening in its' own strange way.
Hey Laura,
ReplyDeleteI can definitely appreciate the sense of awakening for a love of walking you had. I liked walking before but after the pilgrimage, it seems like the only way to get anywhere meaningful!
I especially liked the aspect of your project concerned with people opening up more to someone who is intoxicated. While perhaps not a direct intention when you began, I think it was an important observation you made after the walk's completion. Its an interesting social nuance that surprised me as well. Perhaps it is because the person believes you won't remember or because they feel less vulnerable around a drunk person. Whatever the case, I found that it was one of the most interesting parts of your walk and a wonderful inclusion in the discussion. Great job! :)