MATTHEW BUCKINGHAM
             
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Universal Time and the Present Moment
 

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"Universal Time and the Present Moment" was a reading seminar and workshop that examined some of the effects of applying terms of "universality" to temporal cat-
egories. The urge to unify temporal experiences and structures has always been a political and economic expression of power. The phrase "universal time" recurs in varying and contradictory ways within the disparate fields of psychology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, and physics among others. In the workshop, texts from these disciplines were read and critiqued in light of how they construct time. Parallel to the texts the workshop examined various art works and films paying particular attention to their specific uses and expressions of time. In turn, time as a tool or medium in the production of art (even those forms not  often thought of as "time-
based") was also addressed. The workshop took place in four different contexts: Odense Academy of Art, Odense, Denmark, 2001; Malmö Art Academy, Malmö, Sweden, 2002; Parlor Projects, Brooklyn, New York, 2003 and at Halle 14, Leipzig, Germany, 2003.