LAMAGPLAY ACTIVITY:  Walk with Me 

Written By: Holly Tempo

 

This activity will give you insight into my artistic process, which is intrinsically tied to my daily practice of walking my dog in my community.  I take in everything I can from each micro-journey, pass it through the filter of my experience and artistic sensibility, and manifest it as abstract paintings and site-specific installations. For a truncated version of this experience, just choose one item to do from sections III-VI.

 

 

Preparation:

 

Select a route for a 10-15 minute walk. It is best if it is familiar (e.g. your neighborhood, favorite hiking trail, a bike route, or commute). 

 

 

Experiential Research:

 

Pay attention during your walk and take it all in. What do you find yourself focusing on?

-Make note of what you see.

-Make a note of what you hear.

-Make a note of what you smell.

-Make note of any tactile sensations.

-Make a note of how you feel when you encounter these experiences—especially anything that makes a strong impression.

 

 

Follow-up Research:

 

After you get home, review your notes and decide if you need to research any additional information. Below are some ideas for further research:

-Identify the geographic area of your walk and locate in google maps

-Research the demographics of the area 

-Research the history of the area 

 

 

Use Your Filter:

Now you will interpret what you encountered during your walk and through your research. 

 

-Identify a minimum of 3 colors that you associate with your experience.

-Identify a minimum of 3 types of marks, gestures, textures, or patterns that you associate with your experience.

-Identify a minimum of 3 types of shapes that you associate with your experience.

-Identify a minimum of 3 words that you associate with your experience.

-Identify a minimum of 3 images that you associate with your experience.

-Identify a minimum of 3 sounds that you associate with your experience.

 

Think about the scale and breadth of your experience:

-Is it large or small?

-Is it one thing or many things?

-Is it about an instant, one-time experience or a lengthy time commitment?

-Is it personal and intimate or a community experience?

 

 

Make Something:

 

Use your responses from step IV as inspiration to create something new. Here are some ideas for what you can create: a painting or drawing, sculpture, photograph, video, poem, story, performance (music, dance, theatrical, or community action), installation.

 

 

Document and share on social media, tagging @LAMAGbarnsdall.  

 

 

 

About Holly Tempo

Holly Tempo, who received an MFA from Claremont Graduate University, has a professional career spanning nearly three decades. She has shown at many venues in the LA area, including recent solo shows at Launch LA and SoLa Gallery; and internationally in Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. A former faculty member at Otis College of Art and Design, Tempo lives and works in Inglewood, a community in South Bay. In 2017, she created a collaborative public artwork funded by the City of Inglewood. A Minnesota native, she is a 2012 recipient of a Pollack-Krasner Foundation grant.