Chapter 2- Time
- Monday Jan 26,2009 05:15 PM
- By BethD
- In Uncategorized
Since the 1980s, time has been a major theme in art. The concept of time itself changes from culture to culture- it can be represented as static forms (painting, sculpture, ceramics, etc.) to symbolic or suggested representation. Today we are more familiar with modern visual media forms like film and video that represent time through change or through actual movement.
For centuries artists have been representing time, but until recently, in more static forms like the multi-episodic format (similar to comic book strips today). History painting implied time through a single scene depiction of a narrative. The Industrial Revolution changed the representation of time in art with new inventions like the train and photography…life became more fast paced. Artists captured fleeting moments through the photo lenses or film. The Cubists, Futurists, and Surrealists took up their own representations of time. Post modern art emerged using new materials like readymades, found objects, and relics- used to show the passage of time (decay) or to evoke human emotion.
Three ways of embodying time into artwork… 1. The work itself moves (Kinetic art- performance art) 2. The piece uses media that creates the illusion of movement (Film- cinema, television) 3. The creative process of the work counts for more than the actual finished work (process art).
Artists also deal with different concepts of time…cyclical (natural cycles), linear (progression view, improvement over the past), fourth dimension (mythic time or science fiction). Our ideas of time are always changing, due to a large influence of constant instantaneous media like CNN. Many artists explore time through its deconstruction or altering changing time’s linear or cyclical character. Postmodern artists now deal with the belief that “there is nothing new under the sun” and the question if anything new can be created or if we are just reusing the past.
One Response for "Chapter 2- Time"
Time is an incredibly broad topic that can be expressed in a variety of ways, thus offers artists a wealth of options for portraying it. Because it is such a broad theme, pieces that portray time are particularly interesting, engaging, and thought provoking.
There are two main ways in which time can be portrayed in art. The first is representation. According to the text, “representation is the symbolic process by which an artwork refers to a subject beyond itself” (Robertson 36). Representation is more about catching/portraying one snapshot in time. The subject can be about any theme in combination with the theme of time.
Robertson states in the text that this piece, called Demo, by Heide Fasnacht, “represents the explosion of a building as a suspended moment in time” (Robertson 34). Photography was a key development in representing time, as it allowed for artists to show an extracted moment from real time (Stopping Time: Bullet through Apple).
The second way in which time can be portrayed is through embodiment. Robertson defines embodiment as the integration of time itself in to the actual piece. There is more than one way in which time can be integrated into the piece. While less common, static pieces can portray time by showing time as a theme (Persistence of Memory, Salvador Dali), or the incorporation of old objects that evoke a feeling of antiquity, as shown in various Whitfield Lovell’s pieces (this particular piece incorporating old bullet shells along with a charcoal drawing).
Another way to embody time into art is through the use video pieces that demonstrate fluid or kinetic change over time.
Because time can be illustrated in such a variety of ways, I believe that it is not only one of the most interesting themes, but also one of the most important themes to address. Time is inevitable, leaving artists with a wealth of ways in which to express their feeling of it: through embodiment or representation, with the use of kinetic or static pieces. It encompasses many all forms of art, from 3d pieces to videos to painting. The theme is all-inclusive, making it an almost necessary topic for every artist to address.
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