Slower Than Time Itself

Author

Matthew S. Trueman, The University of Western OntarioFollow

Degree

Master of Fine Arts

Program

Visual Arts

Supervisor

Christof Migone

2nd Supervisor

Wyn Geleynse

Co-Supervisor

Abstract

This paper is combined with my Master of Fine Art thesis exhibition, Slower Than Time Itself. There is a significant discontinuity between how duration is measured by clocks and how it is perceived by the individual. This discontinuity generates pressure both on the individual and the environment. The concept of dualism constructs a dichotomy between people and nature, devaluing that which can not be measured. In Slower Than Time Itself the thesis, sculptural and video works aims to dissolve this dichotomy not by rejecting technology but by embracing it. Can one use clocks to escape time itself? I investigate the works of artists Christian Marclay, Tatsuo Miyajima, Jean-Pierre Gauthier, Janet Cardiff, Francis Alys, Werner Herzog and Chantal Akerman who use technology to explore duration as an artistic medium. I also explore Lutz Koepnick’s concept of aesthetic slowness to engage in multiplicity without prioritizing the timescapes sympathetic to human cadence.

Recommended Citation

Trueman, Matthew S., "Slower Than Time Itself" (2018). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 5391.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/5391