Pixelated view: investigating the pixel in light of substantial motion.

Abstract

This paper considers creative approaches engaging the body of digital video in relation to the outside world, drawing on Persian Islamic philosopher Mulla Sadra's (1571-1641) theory of "al-harakat al-jawhariyya" (Substantial Motion). For Sadra, the world is constantly changing in its substance. Substance is not fixed, as other philosophies suggest; rather, it is an act of existence, a process. Resisting fixity, this process emphasizes time and motion. Sadra's theory, alongside Deleuze's approach toward the point of view of non-human subjects, suggests new possibilities for the moving image.