L_O_S

I was in a printing house in Hell

It is becoming clear that a BlakeWalk must have:

1. some means of connecting with people (Guiding Spirits!) who work & live on the Web, so that a BlakeWalker may Receive Immediately the Thoughts and Creations of Others;
2. materials locally on a Mobile Device to Guide and Stimulate the BlakeWalker – in particular Materials to listen and respond to as one walks;
3. printed Materials that acts as a Guide, a Map, a Provocation, a Set of Instructions, and also work as a Notepad on which to draw, take notes and share BlakeWalk Visions.

It is to Giles Lane of Proboscis that I have turned for help with point 3: the Printed Materials. We lunched together just off the route of the 'O' and he demonstrated that not only could his Diffusion Generator allow us to generate BlakeWalk Booklets easily, but he also has the skills and the software to produce other Printed Provocations such as StoryCubes.

As a result of this Encounter, I am currently struggling to create a Booklet for L:BlakeWalk1. I make Slow Progress, although I am much Reassured to read in Ackroyd's book that Blake himself had a reputation for Tardiness and Delay.

Giles also tells me that in the near future it may be possible to complete a BlakeWalk with your digital devices and remotely author a booklet automatically, simply by walking and recording one’s Perceptions and Movements on the hoof. The resulting Booklet could then be printed from the web as a solid memento of a BlakeWalk adventure – or as a Booklet for Others to take on subsequent BlakeWalks!

My Business is to Create

On Tuesday 21st April, the 1Man undertook the L:BlakeWalk1.

I prepared some Materials for Him which I placed upon his Device, and I also accompanied Him some of the Way. As he Walked, the 1Man was also accompanied by William Blake.

When I was not accompanying Him, I followed the 1Man and sometimes Filmed Him. He does not know this.
 
As the 1Man Walked, the 1Man made Observations mainly on Film:
 
He also marked his Way with Short Texts (publishing as L_O_S on Twitter):

Someones returning - Photo: http://bkite.com/06J9s

http://twitter.com/L_O_S/status/1583683176

And also took Photographs (publishing as L_O_S on Flickr):
 

I am Finding it very Hard to understand what the 1Man was Seeing, Thinking & Imagining during his Walk. I have watched his Films several times, and have even created a Computer-Edited Film so that I might See what He Sees, Imagine what he Imagines:
 

I tried again, the 1Man this time marching to a different Tune.

I note that He observes Shadows and Reflections often, in particular those that Shift and Change slightly with every passing moment. He Inspects them closely as if they might be not Shadows & Reflections but quite separate Bodies or Entities.

He seeks out Doorways and Open Windows, perhaps hoping to pass through them into another World, or waiting for Something or Someone to jump out at him. Perhaps he is simply Envious of those who have a Place where they Belong.

 

Whenever there is any Danger of an Actual Person confronting him He seems to Jump or Shrug and Move on Quickly. He is not concerned with People it seems, or even the Physical World that is in front of him. And as a result he appears to be very Solitary, standing outside buildings or on the corner of the Street, peering into his Devices or consulting his Maps, his Ears blocked by EarPhones.
 
Sometimes He was rather Hard to find, getting ahead of me or taking a slightly different Route to the one which I expected. He did not escape me for long, however, and I was always glad when I found Him again.

He did, in fact, Honour me with an Audience at Lunchtime and sometimes the Conversation became quite Personal and Emotional. We read Blake together and wondered what it might be like to Write: a Prophesy, perhaps, or even a Song – something that might accompany us on another BlakeWalk.

I came away a little Unsure as to whether the 1Man had Himself been a Vision, a Ghost of some sort, an Illusion. I sat by the Thames and watched the boat pass under the Bridge and heard the Clock chime and realised a whole Day had gone and what was left behind? The traces of the 1Man’s BlakeWalk and perhaps the beginnings of... what?
 

A Book, perhaps? I still don’t know what to write.

Far a so bo ro/Far a bo ra/Sa bar a ra ba rare roro

Jo is painting pictures in sound. #blakewalk #blakewalk3 - Photo: http://bkite.com/06t3x

http://twitter.com/L_O_S/status/1515818733

My first BlakeWalk with a fellow Guiding Spirit! Exhilarating and Exciting! And Daunting!

Walking the ‘S’ with Jo Tyler allowed us to concentrate on our Ears. Making use of Special Recording Equipment, Jo captures the Sounds of the S:BlakeWalk3 beautifully and is looking to inspire the 1Man and other BlakeWalkers with a Portable Auditory Experience of her own Making.

I discover also - with the help of @markrock -  that it is now possible to Map not just Pictures and Text as we walk, but whole Conversations:

@moongolfer and there's your Blake walk: http://bit.ly/11xGqN

http://twitter.com/markrock/status/1517033371

This should allow the 1Man to speak (to sing?) and to hear as he walks.

Jo tells me she has been drawn to Blake’s 'Island in the Moon' and for part of our walk we refer to this text: 

Jo also guides us to several urban oases, quiet courtyards, collections of benches, cemeteries and gardens. It feels as if the 'S' is a network of such places which can only be reached via a Hazard of Noise and Commerce.

Note: It is slower BlakeWalking with Two, but the Conversation and the Company together allow Ideas to Flow and Take Form more easily. We see and hear more and make Plans for Action more easily when we BlakeWalk in pairs. Perhaps, too, contrarywise each Person is Overwhelmed & Dominated by the Ideas of the Other and can easily be led from their own Imaginative Path.

Friends can be Enemies.