Realtime: The Imperial Architecture of Now | Installation by Farzin Lotfi-Jam
Dates: March 23 — April 3, 2026
Monday — Friday, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM*
*Except:
Tuesday, March 24: 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Friday, April 3: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Realtime: The Imperial Architecture of Now by Farzin Lotfi-Jam traces the historical emergence of realtime computation as an instrument of imperial power. From 19th-century colonial telegraph networks to contemporary urban surveillance, realtime systems have shaped how space, time, and human activity are monitored, modeled, and managed. These infrastructures do not simply enable connectivity — they organize the spatial politics of governance, warfare, and urban life, rendering populations and territories subject to computational oversight.
The installation is a two-channel interactive video work that runs live in the lab as a web-based application. It connects to five cameras and operates continuously at 15-60 frames per second. Structured as an urban history of realtime, the installation unfolds across five episodes: global communications, automated care, border monitoring, remote warfare, and digital avatars. Each episode is an archival or 3D reconstruction of a historical scene, intersecting with interactive techniques that expose delta pixels, loops, routing, and latency to examine the mechanics of realtime governance. Found models and sensor-driven systems are layered with animated reconstructions, revealing how realtime computation accelerates decision-making, enforces control, and structures contemporary urbanism.
To visit, please RSVP at least 24 hours before the event. We will coordinate your entry through the main entrance (3009 Broadway).
Visitors with Barnard/Columbia IDs can walk in and have automatic access.
If you have any questions, please contact: movement@barnard.edu