Sections of a Happy Moment

David Claerbout

Throughout his career, Belgian artist David Claerbout has investigated the conceptual impact of the passage of time through his use of video and digital photography. As scholar David Green explained, “Claerbout’s work subtly proposes a relationship of similitude between film and the objective world that lies outside and beyond the narrative space of cinema. In doing so he poses a set of questions about how we experience film and about the nature of the medium itself.” The element of sound is critical in many of his works, used as either a narrative device or a “guide” for the viewer to navigate the architectural space in the film. Claerbout’s oeuvre is characterized by a meticulous attention to production details, painstakingly created often over a period of years. The resultant works are immersive environments in which the viewer is invited to engage both philosophically and aesthetically.