On Slowness

October 15, 2014

For Koepnick (Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of German, Cinema and Media Arts, Vanderbilt Univ.; Framing Attention), slowness isn't a past fondness for simpler times or a Luddite backlash against technology but instead a modern aesthetic principle that certain artists and authors use in their works to slow down and allow the viewer or reader to reflect on the moment. He begins with a brief overview of past movements, such as Italian Futurism, that sought to show that progress and modernism were tied to speed and velocity, and then examines contrasting artistic movements aimed at "expanding the space of the present" through the use of slowness. The later chapters are dedicated to specific mediums, including film, photography, and literature, in which artists, directors, and authors like Werner Herzog and Don DeLillo used the concept to examine specific moments in detail. VERDICT Koepnick presents very valid arguments for the modernism of slowness and shows how it can be used to stop, or at least slow down, time and permit us to analyze the present. Readers with an interest in philosophy of art and aesthetics will find this a satisfying read.--Scott Duimstra, Capital Area Dist. Lib., Lansing, MI

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