SITUATION #107

“One day when I was watching Sesame Street with my daughter … one of the characters, Guy Smiley, was the host of a game show skit. He kept shouting ‘Out of time!’, ‘Out of time!’ at the contestants … This made me think about how being afraid of running out of time is typical of American society. But I also began to think that ‘out of time’ could have an entirely different meaning … – it could mean outside of time, having nothing to do with time.” Out of Time is part of a photo series that the American painter and conceptual photographer Peter Halley produced from 1981 to 1988. Slogans such as “Digitally Mastered”, “Power”, or “Please tell me your personal code” reflect the rapid technological advancements that characterised the 1980s. Media like PCs and CDs increasingly entered homes and became a part of everyday life. However, they also brought entirely new sources of error, which artists have productively explored as a means of questioning this new medial reality.

More by Peter Halley: peterhalley.com

A cooperation with the Link Art Center.

Kindly supported by Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne.