Artist Talk: Holly Hanessian

In 2012 Holly Hanessian (Professor of Ceramics at Florida State University) developed “Touch in Real Time” as a participatory project to explore the intimate act of touch in our digitally mediated age. First performed in Tallahassee, the artist would shake a stranger’s hand with a wet lump of clay, imprinting the participant’s hand with her own. The handshakes lasted approximately 20 seconds, the amount of time it takes for the brain to release the bonding hormone oxytocin.

Hanessian has performed “Touch in Real Time” at sites throughout the country, including the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston, SC; The Society for Arts and Crafts, Boston, MA; and the Museum of Craft and Design, San Francisco, CA, among others. The residual objects have been exhibited alongside the documentation from each site at venues including The Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA (2013) and the Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC (2014).

This program is generously supported through a grant from The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida.