Fast Times at CMU High!

wats:ON? Festival-School of Architecture - Carnegie Mellon University

wats:ON 2011: Speed

Event: The Jill Watson Festival Across the Arts

Date: Thurs., March 17-Sat., March 19

Curated by Pablo Garcia and Spike Wolff

Notions of speed in contemporary culture are often tied to technology and its impact on everyday life. Information dissemination and interactions are accelerating, and with it hopes and fears of the future change with every new invention or discovery. Our culture of speed harnesses energies beyond our comprehension, while calling into question the nature of our everyday reality.

Speed is not merely acceleration, but a magnitude of velocity, fast or slow. It becomes a measure of time and space, of dislocation and change, of transformation and evolution. The extremes of fast and slow heighten our awareness of our surroundings, creating a seamless interface between the visceral and the subliminal. Speed creates a blur between what is real and what is imagined.

wats:ON 2011 will examine speed in relation to the production and presentation of creative work encompassing a range of interdisciplinary events.

The Jill Watson Festival Across the Arts (wats:ON?) was created to honor the life of Jill Watson, whose interest in the arts inspired others through her work and her teaching. The festival celebrates Jill's commitment to an interdisciplinary philosophy as an artist and celebrates her accomplishments and reputation as an architect. Jill Watson was a Carnegie Mellon University alumna, adjunct faculty member in the School of Architecture and acclaimed Pittsburgh architect who died in the TWA Flight 800 plane crash on July 17, 1996.

For a complete schedule of events, visit http://www.cmu.edu/architecture/lecture/watson-festival/index.html