Take Your Time.
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May 3, 2004 Occasionally I am reminded of the paradox that we each have a limited existence in the limitless framework of time. Or so the clock at the mortuary reminded me the afternoon my car broke down for the second time in 24 hours. It was a moment that forced me to question my thesis: that speed is over-valued by society and that we should instead value inactivity and slowness as a productive agent of observation and quality. |
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This site collects two years of research, photographs, writing and design work that supports this thesis. It reacts to the speed of society — the trend to upgrade by blindly substituting digital for analog, and computers for people. With the promise that technology will create more free time, we buy new gadget after gadget. But paradoxically, we are actually left with less free time. Why has the chief attribute of technology become speed? I argue that the value of technology is to enhance the infinite detail inherent in our analog world. Instead of standardizing our experiences, technology should help articulate complexity. When still, we better notice visual and aural details around us. By slowing down the fast, or exaggerating the slow, we better understand the quality inside this flutter of motion. This pausing or “dead time” that occurs in places like elevators, traffic lights and on a leisurely walk can be harnessed by designers. From the lack of stimulation comes ideas. When formed, they are spare and silent. This approach respects the viewer’s time by offering simplicity on the surface — and complexity in time. Mostly non-fiction in content, the projects on this site range from printed materials to video to physical forms to computational forms. Gathering, observing and editing are essential when creating the projects. Fundamentally, my process relies on an equal respect for the possibilities of technology and the timelessness of the human senses — and a belief that when we weigh these equally, we can invent humanely. See project index ... See next essay |
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. . . Williams Funeral Home, The Bronx, New York . . . |
Master's Thesis,
Yale University
. . .
John Caserta