Thinkers in Residence spend time on 14th Street over the festival weekend reflecting on 14th Street, patterns of movement, artists, pedestrians, publics, personal reflections, and participation. Their responses take the form of writing, walking, image-making, poetry, or on-the-spot conversations with the public.

And now the observations of Davidson Garrett, Day 3.

Walking In Circles: Listening To The Invisible with Riva Weinstein

 by Davidson Garrett

With so many artists, performances, and installations to choose from—in the Art In Odd Places Festival, I was struck by the title of this presentation: “Walking In Circles: Listening To The Invisible,” with Riva Weinstein. Like most people, at times it seems we all walk in circles, and we find ourselves ending at the same place where we started. Being a daily walker myself, I was curious what this event would be like. I decided to check out this happening at Avenue C and 14th Street on a beautiful Saturday morning. 

Avenue C and 14th Street felt like the end of the earth by the time I arrived, shortly before 11:30 am. Most of the festival took place near Union Square and the westside of 14th Street. This corner near Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, was about as unartistic as one could imagine. However, there were some trees planted in sidewalk planters, and there were residents strolling around on their weekend errands. Luckily, I saw a lone woman standing by herself, and I remembered meeting Riva Weinstein the night before at the opening reception for Art In Odd Places. She was happy to see me on this forlorn part of 14th Street. A delightful artist, who projects a radiant aura, I was very comfortable speaking with her before the other participants gathered. To give me a clue about what was about to take place, she handed me a small slip of paper with the following words written on it.

“An invitation to slow down, focus our attention on our feet and breath, and experience walking as a way of listening to the unseen earth beneath our feet by walking in circles, spirals and figure 8s for 18 minutes in contemplation and celebration of life”

I was intrigued by these spare words, and soon four other people appeared who must have been as interested as I had been. We also were joined by two photographers who would document our movements. Riva began by having everyone introduce ourselves, and give a little information about what prompted us to come this morning. She then gave out the same slip of paper given to me, and she read aloud the printed words. There was a sense of the spiritual immediately, since several people said they walked a great deal for relaxation and contemplation. 

Riva informed us we would be walking for eighteen minutes. The number eighteen is a special number in the Judaic tradition, and that is why she chose this amount of time for the introspective exercise. She went on to explain that walking in circles was suggested as one of Five Gestures by the performance artist, Ernesto Pujol. He was a mentor and inspiration to Riva in her own artistic growth.

Before we began our walk, Riva explained that part of walking in circles was to be aware of new surroundings, and to really look closely at the environment we were in. She said to erase whatever thoughts were running in our heads this morning, and to let the walk take us out of the noise of life, and notice the wonder of the ordinary things we encounter on our own individual routes. We were instructed to stay in the vicinity where we were, but that we could walk in circles or figure 8s, or wherever we wanted to walk within the near confines of 14th Street and Avenue C. Riva advised us to find new ways of examining the commonplace sights of the neighborhood. 

When it was time to begin, our leader started walking in a circle around an empty guard’s house a few feet away, as everyone else embarked on our own mental journeys. In the beginning, it was challenging to let go and get into the rhythm of a reflective walk. I kept looking at the others to see what they were doing. Some were walking back and forth on the sidewalk, a couple edged out in looping spirals on the service road next to Avenue C.  After a few minutes, I was able to feel my body and feet enjoying the patting of my steps, as I tried to observe even cracks in the sidewalk. There was a large tree growing out of the pavement—surrounded by a flower bed squared with cobble stones. The bark on the tree looked ancient, and if I had not been surveying closely, I never would have noticed. I started to gravitate toward circles myself, which gave a meditative quality to my physical actions. Taking deep breaths, going around and around and around, there was a quietness within me while appreciating the sunshine bathing my head. Even the traffic from the nearby FDR Drive didn’t interrupt my dreamlike thoughts. 

 Having the other walkers involved in their own form of meditation, I certainly felt we were a little community of wayfarers pacing back and forth, trying to dwell deep within ourselves. There seemed to be a kinship with us all, even though we were strangers before we met this morning.           

When eighteen minutes had passed, Riva called us back to the area where we first assembled. We shared our feelings about the walk. Everyone had different things to say, but we all agreed it was a peaceful adventure. I said after coming from the subway and maneuvering through the crowds on 14th Street, it was a real blessing for this opportunity to have some tranquil moments. I found it spiritually refreshing—walking in circles on Avenue C in the middle of the day.  

On departing, I had a touch of melancholy saying goodbye to these fellow seekers of truth. For a short while, we bonded collectively in our quest to discover meaning in the world around us. Riva Weinstein gave me a big hug and told me our walking paths would cross again.