Beller
“With the rise of visuality comes the erosion of language and therefore of certain kinds of reason. As I have suggested, “consent” includes both the organization of mass desire and sensibility, as well as the rendering invisible, and thus effectively unconscious for the society of the spectacle, the situation and indeed existence of a huge portion of the global population.”
Beller has such controversial claims and banters in his article. Beller, for one, claims that the increased abundance of, or dependence on, images in our daily lives has affected our cognitive capabilities. I agree and disagree. I agree that nowadays visuals speak more than words, completely emitting the need to utilize language. An advertisement, for example, can just be an image of a product and nothing else. Moving on, I believe that the use of media (online and offline) can be such a powerful tool to drive the human race towards the right direction. Yes, visual does not usually mean retention but visuality is an effective compliment to most cognitive things that we experience. I also believe that visuals can serve as memory triggers to a lot of people that can lead to enhanced reasoning and memory associations. In the end, the “erosion of language and certain kinds of reason” can be caused by multiple reasons and not just the rise of visuality which in it of itself has more potential to benefit than destruct.
Demos
“On the one hand, photography has opened itself to cinematic duration. Artists such as Darren Almond and Hiroshi Sugimotohave explored the possibilities of extra-long exposure times. Taking photographs of natural landscapes bathed in the light of the full moon, Almond’s images appear mysteriously illuminated and still.”
Although I enjoyed reading about various artists’ methodologies in incorporating time into their works, this part of the reading is the only part that caught my attention. I think that Darren Almond is different from the other artists because he does not manipulate or shape time like most of the artists in the article. Instead, he literally depends on a specific time to shoot his pictures and videos. He inspired me because I have never heard of anyone doing extra-long exposure shots when it’s full moon. I admire his dedication to this idea which I think is very original.
Sala
Anri Sala’s Answer Me was such a floor-to-floor experience that beautifully encapsulates music and art. Overall, I think this exhibition is outstanding because of how the use of audio matched well with the visuals. I really sensed that Sala did not bypass the opportunity to perfect timing in all his installations.
“Unravel” was the piece that I liked because of several reasons. I liked that it’s supposed to answer to another piece on the floor called “Ravel Ravel.” I liked that it’s in a smaller and lighter room which made it easier to pay attention to and to live in that moment. Unravel made me realize how challenging and fleeting it is to sustain synchronicity. I also got to realize how animating it is to witness someone concentrate and try to do so.