Smile from Tim Kelly on Vimeo.
Smile
Digital video
Duration, 5:04
Tim Kelly, 2012
Two weeks ago my mother posted a cartoon on Facebook of a man drowning in a river. On the shore stood several people taking photos of the gulping figure with their iPhones, no one attempted to help, we can only assume that he is now dead. Below the post my second cousin commented [sic], bits sad that this is what the world has come too!!!
Humans and our accumulation of roughly 40.000 years of culture are very much struggling, together, to come to grips with what all this means. This excess of information, this connectedness, this desire for content, this digital age. We, the babies of the singularity, the first to notice the incline is getting faster, steeper, harder to comprehend. It's going to be a wild ride. Quick! Distract yourself! Take an Instagram of your lunch. Some indigenous tribes believe that a photograph can steal your soul. Does a salad even have one?
In The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Walter Benjamin comments on how the values of society change over time, "the manner in which human sense perception is organised, the medium in which it is accomplished, is determined not only by nature but by historical circumstances as well." We live in the global village where historical circumstance is homogenised, everyone's experience is equally public and personal at the same time, anyone can get a latte, anyone can get pho, anyone can find out who Jack Nicholson's second wife was, anyone can answer any curiousity right now, anyone can look at a screen and tell you that Jack divorced once but never remarried (Sandra Knight, 1962-1968).
Early summer 2012 I found myself in the Louvre, the giant white tomb where priceless works of art go to quietly and honourably die. I had never been to Paris and totally forgot that the Mona Lisa was there, it felt like I hadn't thought about the Mona Lisa since I was in primary school, having some suburban teacher in a Coogi sweater explain what art is, why it is important and why this is the most famous painting ever. And as with everything nowadays, you can watch it online right now.
- Tim Kelly, 15 January 2013
Tim Kelly [b. 1986, Mornington, Australia. Living and working in Montréal, Canada and London, UK] Trained as a director in film and television [Bachelor of Film & TV (first class honours) at Swinburne University (Melbourne)]. Taught film and video studies at Concordia University, Montréal. A versatile and curious individual who is passionate about filmmaking and video production, curated and specialised in moving image art practice from 2010. Relocated to London in 2012. Currently in production of three separate feature-length films; two documentaries about musicians in Montréal and Looner, a minimalist film about globalisation, bored immigrants and balloon fetishes.
Currently in collaboration with Arvida Byström on the performance installation piece Mattress. A seven day exploration of sex, emotionalB transparency and modern relationships. To be performed in February 2013 at Wayward Gallery, London.