Attention, Distraction and the Distribution of the Senses: ‘Slow’, ‘Reflexive’ and ‘Contemplative’ between Cinema and the Museum Cover Image

Attention, Distraction and the Distribution of the Senses: ‘Slow’, ‘Reflexive’ and ‘Contemplative’ between Cinema and the Museum
Attention, Distraction and the Distribution of the Senses: ‘Slow’, ‘Reflexive’ and ‘Contemplative’ between Cinema and the Museum

Author(s): Thomas Elsaesser
Subject(s): Museology & Heritage Studies, Film / Cinema / Cinematography
Published by: Uniwersytet Gdański
Keywords: attention; distraction; senses; cinema and museum;

Summary/Abstract: A classic definition of attention designates it as “the selective perception of a particular stimulus, sustained by means of concentration and the willing exclusion of interfering sense-data”. In our sense-data rich environments, attention has become a scarce commodity, increasingly valued and sought after, but with the paradoxical consequence that the very pursuit of attention cannot but register as distraction. How do artists confront and art spaces cope with this paradox, and how has the moving image in the museum changed the articulation of time, space and information that is narrative?

  • Issue Year: 2021
  • Issue No: 26 (33)
  • Page Range: 219-245
  • Page Count: 27
  • Language: English