time and motion study, 2006, interactive installation
About the work
In the late 1800’s scientist/inventors such as Marey and Muybridge developed a number of pre-cinematic devices to analyse motion. These technologies allowed people to observe time and space in a way beyond normal human capabilities, creating a heightened sense of awareness of our passage through time. The images that were produced captured the public imagination and influenced artists such as Duchamp (“Nude Descending a Staircase”, 1912) and Balla (“Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash”, 1912).
Later technologies such as strobe photography and video effects processing have continued these explorations leading to the production of images such as “. 30 Bullet Piercing an Apple” (1964) by Harold Edgerton and music videos such as Amii Stewart’s Knock on Wood and the Jackson 5’s Blame it on the Boogie.
time and motion study uses contemporary technology to further investigate time and motion. The users’ image in front of a camera is captured as a sequence of frames positioned along a timeline in three dimensional space. Only those parts of the image that are moving are rendered visible. The user is able to zoom in and out and to navigate forward and backwards through time.
Like many of my recent projects the work is formed through the accumulated actions of its users. The playful gestures of the audience build an archive of animated self portraits, like the pages of a flip book, a series of ghostly fragments echoing through time.
About the artist
Born 1963 Adelaide
Lives & works Sydney
John Tonkin was born in Adelaide in 1963. He lives and works in Sydney. After studying biological sciences he began making experimental film and video in the early 1980’s. He started working with computer animation in 1985. Tonkin makes his works using his own custom software developed in programming languages such as Java. In 1999-2000 he received a fellowship from the Australia Council’s New Media Arts Board.
In 1995 Tonkin began making interactive art works that were designed to be exhibited both as installations and online. meniscus (1995-99) is a series of three works that explore ideas relating to subjectivity, scientific belief systems and the body. It consists of Elective Physiognomies, Elastic Masculinities and Personal Eugenics.
Tonkin’s recent works involve building frameworks / tools / toys in which the artwork is formed through the accumulated interactions of its users. He is currently working on a number of projects that use real-time 3d animation, visualisation and data-mapping technologies. These include Strange Weather, a visualisation tool for making sense of life, and time and motion study.
Recent exhibitions have included Media City Seoul – 2nd International Media Art Biennale; Seoul Museum of Art 2002, Ozone; Pompidou Center Paris 2003, Digital Sublime – New Masters of Universe; Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei 2004, Strange Weather; Sherman Galleries 2005, Wood Street Galleries, Pittsburgh 2007 and collaborative projects at Artspace 2005, and ISEA 2006 (San Jose).
Exhibition catalogue