Art Beneath Our Feet

Friday's online Guardian published a gallery of sixteen photographs of street paintings of walking figures — the type that are painted on the ground to indicate a pedestrian route. Although we think we know what they look like and perhaps assume they all look the same, Stephen Wragg has noticed a surprising degree of variation in the way they are painted. Luckily for us, he has recorded them in photographs on a new website (www.walkingmen.org/).

Though his project might be seen as a dull typological study of street art, it's far more than that. The figures teem with life and character, each one hurrying along on an imaginary mission. It could be reasonable to assume that some of the figures reflect the subconscious preoccupations of the workers who painted them. In this respect they are an authentic example of folk art.

My favourite among the Guardian's selection is this one:

For me, it immediately evokes an image of an art student carrying a portfolio or painting, the heavy metal slab suggesting the effort needed to manage such an unwieldy load, The decayed state of the painting endows it with the quality of a faded memory.

It's also a reminder of one of André Kertész's best known photographs. Taken in 1928, it records the railway viaduct in the Parisian suburb of Meudon.

Like many others, I have often wondered what is inside the newspaper-wrapped parcel carried by the man crossing the road. Like a birthday parcel that will never be opened, there is a somewhat exquisite pleasure in not knowing what it contains. The man looks at us directly - and will never tell.