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Appearing in the journal October in Spring 2001, this essay grew out of Cadava’s prior meditations on the photographic image and its relation to history. If, as Walter Benjamin wrote, there is no necessary connection between an empirical event and the time of its occurance, then history can be understood as a constellation of ruins, shaken loose from the linear and recoverable only by a present that is capable of “reading” them. History in its most Benjaminian sense–spatial rather than chronological–is where Cadava situates the image in question. Freed from any inextricable relation to what it portrays, the photographic image belongs to the future as well as to multiple pasts. If the text’s tone feels both melancholy and rhapsodic, it might be because, as Cadava suggests, the ruined and disappearing image has thrilling possibilities for an activist present.
Eduardo Cadava is a contemporary American literary critic, thinker and translator. He has written extensively on, among other things, philosophy, photography, architecture, music, democracy, memory, war, and the ethics of decision. He has also published books on Benjamin and Emerson. Cadava is on the faculty of Princeton University and a professor at the European Graduate School in Switzerland.
Penelope Hetherington is a performer and emerging installation artist based in Vancouver.
VIVO is located in the homelands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples in a warehouse space at 2625 Kaslo Street south of East Broadway at the end of E 10th. Transit line 9 stops at Kaslo Street on Broadway. From the bus stop, the path is paved, curbless, and on a slight decline. The closest skytrain station is Renfrew Station, which is three blocks south-east of VIVO and has an elevator. From there, the path is paved, curbless, and on a slight incline. There is parking available at VIVO, including wheelchair access parking. There is a bike rack at the entrance. The front entrance leads indoors to a set of 7 stairs to the lobby.
A wheelchair ramp is located at the west side of the main entrance. The ramp has two runs: the first run is 20 feet long, and the second run is 26 feet. The ramp is 60 inches wide. The slope is 1:12. The ramp itself is concrete and has handrails on both sides. There is an outward swinging door (34 inch width) at the top of the ramp leading to a vestibule. A second outward swinging door (33 inch width) opens into the exhibition space. Buzzers and intercoms are located at both doors to notify staff during regular office hours or events to unlock the doors. Once unlocked, visitors can use automatic operators to open the doors.
There are two all-gender washrooms. One has a stall and is not wheelchair accessible. The other is a single room with a urinal and is wheelchair accessible: the door is 33 inches wide and inward swinging, without automation. The toilet has 11 inch clearance on the left side and a handrail.
To reach the bathrooms from the studio, exit through the double doors and proceed straight through the lobby and down the hall . Turn left, and the two bathrooms will be on your right side. The closest one has a stall and is not wheelchair accessible. The far bathroom is accessible.
Alex has been involved with VIVO for several years, in many capacities, including video restoration, installation, distribution, and various programming endeavours. He also programs experimental radio for Soundscapes on CFRO. He has a degree in film studies and comparative literature from the University of Alberta.