Jeff Lovett A collection of research in process.

Time Travel Statement

Jeff Lovett

Artist Statement:

I am a time traveler and my destination is 80 years in the future.

I gather experiential data that consists of video taken of myself, by myself, on my exploration. Upon my return I create drawings of the unique architectural identifiers of the places I visit.

me⋅ton⋅y⋅my

[mi-ton-uh-mee]

–noun Rhetoric.

a figure of speech that consists of the use of the name of one object or concept for that of another to which it is related, or of which it is a part.

Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc.

The Little Cities of Black Diamonds is a micro-region in Southeast Ohio and the locus for my research. This area prospered greatly during the coal boom from the mid 19th century until its crash in the early 20th century. When I am exploring these places I am experiencing them as the metonymy for a future world that has suffered an identical crash from the oil boom that is currently peaking.

Shawnee Main Street Expedition is a video to be viewed through a head-mounted display. The video was created using the Third Person Pack. This device is a wireframe backpack that provides a third person view by positioning the camera several feet behind and above the body of operator. The imagery captured by the camera is viewed live and recorded through the head-mounted display unit. On my expeditions this pack acts as my time machine, transporting me 80 years into the future. With this in mind, I am able to see relics from the past as a direct representation of a possible future and record those findings as experiential data.

Shawnee Main Street Silhouettes are drawings of the porches unique to the Little Cities of Black Diamonds micro-region. They are 14” x 17” marker on paper. These porches exemplify both the historical prosperity and the subsequent economic decline of the last 80 years.

My exploration of this micro-region as a historical metonymy for the next 80 years of our future gives me the opportunity to accumulate firsthand experience of this region.

It is my intention to continue my travels into the future and develop a stronger understanding of our trajectory toward this point in our future and what can be done to divert our course. I will continue to research and document my travels with the best time travel equipment that current technology has to offer.

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