feature JOSHUA MOSLEY
It seems apparent
that ‘dread’ refers to
contemporary,
particularly
American, thought
right: dread, 2007, mixed-media animation and five bronze sculptures,
6 min. Courtesy Donald Young Gallery, Chicago
topples him. Pascal watches closely as it tugs at his corpse. thought. Bronze sculptures of figures from the film are installed
Mosley developed his characters from extensive readings of alongside it, signalling that the video takes place in the same space
Pascal’s and Rousseau’s texts, particularly the former’s Pensées (1669) and time in which the viewer watches. The dog, and the work’s title, are
and the latter’s Emile (1762), both attempts to understand God, nature, taken from Eadweard Muybridge’s photograph ‘Dread’ Walking, which
society and the individual as part of a unified order. As Mosley explained appeared in his Animal Locomotion (1887), thus alluding to nineteenth-
from Rome, where he was completing a residency at the American century American photography and scientific investigation. Rousseau
Academy: “I felt like Pascal understood how to look at nature, and may reference the general Enlightenment principles that informed the
most importantly how overwhelming it would be to consider it all (all of thinking of America’s Founding Fathers and underlie its political order.
nature, large and small, all at once).” Most importantly, despite their historical associations, Mosley’s
Pensées is constructed as an outline of short, almost aphoristic characters are his own creations. Dread, who had a crippled hind leg,
passages that build an argument for belief, despite the ultimate becomes a man-killer; Pascal, a person of deep faith, an atheist. The
incomprehensibility of God, from digestible snippets. In Emile, by resulting contrast between Mosley’s Pascal and Rousseau highlights
contrast, Rousseau seems to presume an understanding of God’s the differences between a blind faith which precludes enquiry and a
purpose in ordering nature. To educate the young Emile, he constructs conviction that only deep questioning can suggest the truth, which
exercises that bend his student to preexisting ideas rather than remains, however, elusive. The obvious critique would be of President
encourage independent thought. “I was disturbed by the voice of Bush and religious conservatives, but the complexity of Mosley’s work
the author… and by how this relationship could easily be transposed precludes such easy pigeonholing. Rather, it encourages individuals
to a… pure acceptance of God, or a political scenario where there to consider the implications of their own assumptions. “I have political
are people in the light and people in the dark,” Mosley says. Thus, in questions”, Mosley notes, “but I have a lot of work to do to begin to
dread, Rousseau, sure of goodness, dies for his presumption. Pascal, understand the issues involved.”
carefully observing his demise, achieves a more accurate, if necessarily
incomplete, understanding of nature. dread will be on show at Donald Young Gallery, Chicago, from 21
Even without the precedent of Mosley’s previous films, it seems September; dread and other recent work, Modern Mondays, MoMA,
apparent that dread refers to contemporary, particularly American, New York, from 26 November
81 Artreview
Mosely.indd 5 9/8/07 10:06:55
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150