Hamish Fulton
When most people conceive of what visual art is, an image of a beautifully painted vase, an amazingly real sketch of a model or a peculiar but eye-pleasing piece composed of abstract lines and brushstrokes is usually what comes to mind. From the sensual, beautiful works of the Rococo movement to the emotional and expressive works of the Post-Impressionism movement, the finished piece is seen as the result of an artist's imagination, the product of a skilled hand working on a surface. It is evident that throughout the past centuries art has evolved subtly in methodology, style, impact and form, to name a few. These movements, periodical transitions of style are often a reflection of society, issues and events that had an effect on lifestyle. Sometimes and artist chose to defy the standards of art at the time by altering styles. Sometimes social outrage would spark an artist to create a controversial, scathing piece and sometimes change in the arts was inevitable, as the people, their audience and patrons desired new and unique works. The twentieth century marks the greatest period of change and achievement in the history of mankind. With endless technological achievements, scientific accomplishments, social revolutions and
"The photographs are magnificent, the texts and drawings, the gathered bits and pieces, are always evocative and through these we are able, give measure of good will, imaginatively to reconstruct the journey, the now-vanished work itself. Such an act of imagination is a privilege, the next best thing being allowed to accompany the artist, and it should be said that Hamish Fulton, as he appears through his work, is very good company indeed: alert, open-eyed, resourceful, often humorous. His work constitutes a true adventure, both for himself and for anyone who attends sympathetically to it." One of the key artists of this genre of art is British walking artist Hamish Fulton. Hamish Fulton studied in London and graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1969. Although he trained as a sculptor, Fulton developed an artistic activity based on the act of walking. Through this activity, the experience, the walks themselves become the artworks. It was his interest in the landscape, the experience of the journey that Fulton shied away from the commonly accepted practices of traditional landscape painting. It was at that time, in the 1970's that Hamish Fulton and his group of conceptual artists emerged. As Fulton became increasingly interested in the idea of art as experience, he aimed to establish experience and performance as a legit and accepted artistic practice. Hamish Fulton's philosophy is, "No walk, no work." Thus, the end result, the finished piece is not the most important, the most important aspect being the process and experience itself. During a walk, Fulton takes photographs to convey the essence of his journey. Since the walk for him is a spiritual experience, and the taking of the pictures intrudes on the intimate relationship between himself and nature, numerous pictures are not taken. Fulton does not consider himself a photographer, as he does not use a highly sophisticated or complicated camera, rather only a simple camera with an orange filter, to bring out the contrasts more effectively. He also leaves the job of developing the film to a printer in London whom he as worked with for many years. During a walk, Fulton takes notes in a journal to help provide the text for objects he later creates. Up to this point, both the photograph and text are equally important to the finished image. Often the finished work could be composed of words alone, as Fulton has created works made up of words alone to describe his journey, a photograph would not be adequate indepen
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Approximate Word count = 1688
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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