yolo-causeway-gallery-Terry Nathan Photography

YOLO CAUSEWAY: MEDIATOR OF SPACE AND TIME

In our daily lives, we continuously slip between measured and perceived time. Measured time is locked to the seasons, the movement of the stars, and the vibration of atoms. Perceived time is tethered to our psyche, where internal memories and external stimuli are embraced in a dance that modulates the seeming flow of time. In my project, “Yolo Causeway: Mediator of Space and time,” I explore the Causeway from the notion of perceived time and space. For most people, the view of the Causeway is from a moving reference frame – their automobile, which provides a constrained view that is often deemed boring and uninteresting. This characterization is largely based on a paucity of aesthetic appeal, causing travelers to feel as if the trip is taking “forever.” If the scene from the car was deemed aesthetically appealing, perhaps beautiful, then travelers might feel as if time “flew by.” I ascribe these notions to “Aesthetic Relativity,” a phrase I use to connect aesthetic appeal to perceived time: as aesthetic appeal increases, perceived time contracts, and vice versa. In Aesthetic Relativity, as in Einstein’s General Relativity, the choice of reference frame — moving or stationary — plays a central role in modulating space-time relationships. This conceptual framework motivates my photographic study of the Causeway. I seek to imbue the Causeway with a quality that transcends its common function: that of a simple asphalt artery that supports the daily humdrum flow of commuters.

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