Thursday, August 4, 2011

In My Day



































Performance art project I did in 2008 where I walked to work from Seattle, WA to Mukilteo, WA. Upon arriving I sent out this email to friends, family and co-workers:

Today I walked to work. 16 miles. I left at 3:45 AM from my house in Seattle and headed up Hwy 99. The sky was clear. The moon was half empty. I was armed with pepper spray. There aren't many people out at 3:45 AM on a Friday, just a lot of cops and cabs. I saw the first glow begin on the horizon at 4:30. My feet started hurting at about 5. I arrived at Accoutrements in Mukilteo at 8:42 AM. So door to door, it took me 4 hours & 57 minutes. That makes my walking speed 3.23 mph. I went through 41 stop lights (or somewhere close to that, as I was a bit groggy). I wore a pedometer. When I arrived it read 32,308 steps. I recorded the event with some photographs. I took a picture of myself every 15 minutes or so. I've included a few below. I'll post the rest on Flickr later. I'm currently experiencing some serious discomfort in my legs. I think I'll pull the shoelaces out of my shoes and frame them or something.

Artist's Statement: The Search For Meaning. Why did I do it? I did it because it was absurd. I did it because it was liberating. I did it because I knew it would be challenging. I did it because I'm inspired by the the unexpected, the unannounced and the completely unnecessary. Is it art? Who knows, but I walked 16 miles to work today for no reason and it made me feel alive.

I documented the project in two Flickr sets, one with the pictures of my face and the other with pictures of my surroundings.

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