Today's Work It, Wednesday! Post features a noveau idea, Urban Hiking. Do you live in a city? Do you live near a city? Do you need a little respite from the everyday grunt and grind of the office cell block? Let's go for a walk.
Basically, you put on a pair of tennis shoes and walk through your city. How well do you really know it? Make a game out of it! Let's plan a scavenger hunt. Make a list of the most ridiculous things you can think of, and spend all day searching for them. Can you imagine how fun it would be to find a fifty-year-old biker wearing a pink bandanna? What about a toddler with a fun mohawk? What about a toddler with a fun mohawk wearing a pair of yellow shoes? What else could you find?
How about an algorithmic walk? Plan your route so that you decide to take the first left, second left, first right, and so forth. Turn around at dead ends, and start again. How far can you go without getting lost? What happens if you shake the pattern up a little bit? Think of all the fascinating places you could wander into.
Bring a friend! You two (or three or four or eleven) could work on exploring the city. Better yet, plan a little Urban Hiking in a city you've never been into. What better way to learn a new locale than to scope it out as the pioneers would have done?
Plan on walking for a long time. Plan on stopping for lunch. Plan on walking your lunch off. Just move. The goal is to use your body, use your limbs, use up your energy. Exercise doesn't have to be hard! Look for elevation. Climb those stairs. Walk down that slope or hill, then power walk your way back up. You will feel great!
And start looking for all the secret hodge-podge art in your city. How does it affect the environment? What statements are being made about the city you are in? What do you learn from it? Street art is inspiring! Many of the elements of street art involve working off of pre-existing structures or conditions. What is your own street art? What can you do to express yourself in this location? How can you be a better part of the world around you?
Street art is any art developed in public spaces, "in the streets" — though the term usually refers to unsanctioned art, as opposed to government sponsored initiatives. The term can include traditional graffiti artwork, stencil graffiti, sticker art, wheatpasting and street poster art, video projection, art intervention, guerrilla art, flash mobbing and street installations. Typically, the term street art or the more specific post-graffiti is used to distinguish contemporary public-space artwork from territorial graffiti, vandalism, and corporate art.
Artists have challenged art by situating it in non-art contexts. ‘Street’ artists do not aspire to change the definition of an artwork, but rather to question the existing environment with its own language. They attempt to have their work communicate with everyday people about socially relevant themes in ways that are informed by esthetic values without being imprisoned by them.
Prepare to have a great day of exercise that enriches your mind and nourishes your body. Have fun being in the sunshine. Wear the Perfect Yellow Sundress and have fun flirting with those deli boys, being THAT girl, that beautiful girl enjoying the city. Breathe the air. Cough. Then find a park, and breathe THAT air.
What's your story? Why are you here? Don't you know that YOU are that fascinating girl in this city? YOU are the one everyone is watching prance through the streets, visiting the cafes, and chatting with local folks? You are a beautiful woman, and this day is a smart, workable choice you have made. Way to go, girl!
No comments:
Post a Comment