TIME and ART

Time is a difficult concept to define, and the perception of time is more varied than I was previously aware of.  The music videos shown in class by Kylie Minogue (Come Into My World) and Cibo Matto (Sugar Water) both present the concept of time in interesting ways. After the reading assignment, I was able to make a few connections. 

The Kylie Minogue video gave me the sense that time was passing in a cyclical manner with time and dimensional space both overlapping. As the singer walked around and around, we could easily see the events of the past repeating in the present, in generally the same place. I quickly made a connection from this video to the cyclical concept of time from past civilizations described by G.J. Whitrow. For example, the Mayans perceived time as a cycle with recurring events every 260 years. This idea that events repeat themselves as time moves in a circular pattern offers predictability to the world that must have given a sense of security to people in the past. Even though I’ve heard the expressions “history repeats itself” & “if you don’t know/learn from the past you are doomed to repeat it”, I’ve never had the sense that the world is that predictable. My sense of time has always been linear, with no expectations of what the future holds beyond personal planning. 

The Cibo Matto video is a little harder to grasp. I imagine it best as time expressed in the shape of a V. From a single point (the car accident), time moved both forward and backward. There is also a sense of “history repeating itself” as time moved in both directions, while past and present events were synchronized.  But, as you watch the video, you can also see that time was moving forward between the lives of the two women which happened to intersect at that point. From this central point, one woman’s life is the past and the other woman’s life is the present/future.  The concept in this video reminds me more of the concept of time introduced with Christianity. AD and BC mark the passage of time from a single point in history, but remains linear. 

From the reading, I am familiar with everything Whitrow discussed but I can only relate my concept of time with the current ideals in this society. I do feel a sense of urgency in day to day life because of the idea that time is passing by. Like everyone else, I often feel like there is not enough time in the day. Sometimes, I also feel that the years have passed by faster than I expected. I can’t count the number of times I have asked myself “Where did the time go?”  

Other presented topics included a good review of some of the qualities that can be evaluated in a piece of artwork. I am particularly drawn to color because it can easily offer emotional overtones to a piece of art. Implied lines are also very interesting to me, but I often overlook it in my own art work. If it is present in any of my previous work it wasn’t intentional, but I want to practice including that element more in my future works. My favorite pieces for these elements are from Baroque period paintings, like that by my favorite painter of the period: Artemisia Gentileschi.