Last Man Walking

Copyright artist(s) and courtesy argos

Artist(s)

Year

2007

Duration

00:16:40

Installation

Original format

HDV

Color

col.

Color system

PAL

Availability

Distribution
Collection

A group of people moving in a central row are applauded by others standing on either side of them; together, they form a crowd where the roles of ’spectator’ and ’actor’ quickly alternate. Mass movements are both exciting and frightening to look at, as their mere existence questions the notion of singularity, and of the individual.
The title refers to the idea of the ‘Last Man’ created by Friedrich Nietsche and actualised by Francis Fukuyama in his book ‘The End of History and the Last Man’. Both Nietsche and Fukuyama consider this Last Man as the idea of a society in which humanity has reached all his goals, economically, culturally and politically, and feels no need for further development. The neo-liberal society is considered by Fukuyama as the ideal place for this ‘Last Man’.
However the title ‘Last Man Walking’ refers also to ‘Dead Man Walking’, the quote that is yelled in the USA when a sentenced to death person is lead to his execution.