Relativism

“Relativism” is the second of two experiments in animation involving the transposition of conceptual material to visual form. The film continues an examination begun in an earlier animated film, “Truth” (1998), which introduced the correspondence theory of truth by relying strictly on motion and sound. Relativism addresses objections to this theory by utilizing the symbolic potential of color. Using an elaborate process of multiple-exposures, wherein the same black frames were reshot to introduce different visually-synchronized color elements into the image, the film manipulates the additive process of color production. Instead of relying on the reflective colors of objects beneath the camera, color is produced by adding light to the image by means of gels. In the voice-over dialogue, doubts are raised about the applicability of the philosophical theory to ethical dilemmas.