May 28, 2024
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Pascale Borrel, « Images du bonheur dans Sections of a Happy Moment (2007) et The Algiers’ Sections of a Happy Moment (2008) de David Claerbout », Déméter. Théories et pratiques artistiques contemporaines, ID : 10.54563/demeter.1485
Sections of a Happy Moment shows an Asian family playing ball at the foot of blocks of flats; in The Algiers’ Sections of a Happy Moment (2008), men give bread to seagulls in flight, from a roof terrace in the Casbah of Algiers. These videos consist of a long succession of still images from the same working process: shots of the spaces are combined with studio representations of the people to give the impression that one and the same moment in the scene has been photographed from a multitude of viewpoints and framings. Both videos consist of a long, slow, looped scrolling of these composite black-and-white images. The combined effect of movement and immobility is underscored by a soundtrack featuring a few notes of piano or guitar. The aim is to define what is meant by the expression "Sections of a Happy Moment". We will consider that the representation of happiness is dependent on the different registers of images to which these works refer, that of family photography and that of surveillance devices. We’ll also consider the architectural context in which these scenes are supposed to take place, and the people who live there. Finally, the rhythm of the videos will be analyzed, considering that it establishes a duration in phase with the temporal regime usually associated with happiness.