Chapter 1.5 Time and Motion PART 1 FUNDAMENTALS Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson

Chapter 1.5

Time and Motion

PART 1FUNDAMENTALS

Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson

PART 1FUNDAMENTALS

Chapter 1.5 Time and Motion

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

Introduction

Time and motion are closely linked elements in art

Most of the traditional art media are inherently motionless and timeless

Artists who work in static media have found imaginative ways to indicate the passage of time and the appearance of motion

New technology and media have evolved that allow artists to capture and express time and motion

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Time

Since events necessarily take place over time, any artwork that deals with events must show how time goes by

Artists find ways to depict the passage of time and to remind us of its influence on our lives

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The Passage of Time

Artists often seek to tell a story

1.95 Workshop of the Master of Osservanza (Sano di Pietro?), The Meeting of St. Anthony and St. Paul, c. 1430–35. Tempera on panel, 18½ x 13¼”. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

1.96 Nancy Holt, Solar Rotary, 1995. Aluminum, concrete, and meteorite, approx. height 20’, approx. diameter 24’.University of South Florida

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The Attributes of Time

Time-based arts, such as film, embody six basic attributes of time: duration, tempo, intensity, scope, setting, and chronology

1.97 Thomas Edison and W. K. Dickson, Fred Ott’s Sneeze, 1894. Still frames from kinetoscope film. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

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Motion

Motion occurs when an object changes location or position

Because this process occurs as time passes, motion is directly linked to time

To communicate motion without actually making anything move, artists can choose to imply time or, alternatively, create the illusion of time

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Implied Motion

Motion is implied when we do not actually see the motion happening, but visual clues tell us that it is a key aspect of the work

1.98 Gianlorenzo Bernini,Apollo and Daphne, 1622–4. Carrara marble, 8’ high. Gallería Borghese, Rome, Italy

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Gianlorenzo Bernini: The Ecstasy of St. Teresa

1.99 Giacomo Balla, Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash, 1912. Oil on canvas, 35⅜ x 43¼”. Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York

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Illusion of Motion

When artists imply motion, we do not actually see it occurring

Artists can also communicate the idea of motion by creating an illusion of it

Artists create this illusion through visual tricks that deceive our eyes into believing there is motion astime passes, even though no actual motion occurs

1.100 Jenny Holzer, Untitled (Selections from Truisms, Inflammatory Essays, The Living Series, The Survival Series, Under a Rock, Laments, and Child Text), 1989. Extended helical tricolor LED, electronic display signboard, site-specific dimensions.Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

1.101 Bridget Riley,Cataract 3, 1967. PVA on canvas, 7’3¾” x 7’3¾”. British Council Collection

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Stroboscopic Motion

When we see two or more repeated images in quick succession, they tend visually to fuse together

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Animation

1.102 Zoetrope, 19th century. Bill Douglas Centre for the History of Film and Popular Culture, University of Exeter, England

1.103 Walt Disney Pictures, frame from Finding Nemo, 2003

1.104 Still from Double Indemnity, Billy Wilder, 1944

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Actual Motion

We perceive actual motion when something really changes over time

Performance art is theatrical; the artist’s intention is not to create an art object, but an experience that can exist only in one place and time in history

• Performance art emerged as a specific form of visual art during the twentieth century

• Joseph Beuys incorporated everyday objects, such as animals, fat, machinery, and sticks into his Actions, a series of self-performed situations in which the artist would interact with these things in a defined space and time

Kinetic art plays out the passage of time through an art object, usually a sculpture, which moves

1.105 Blue Man Group perform at the Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, September 17, 2005

1.106 Alexander Calder, Untitled, 1976. Aluminum and steel, 29’10⅜” x 75’11¾”. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

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Time and Motion in Photography

The work of a photographer is deeply concerned with motion and time

Photographers move around their subject, choosing the right focus for the shot and putting the camera in the best position to capture the image they seek

A photograph freezes a moment in time

1.107a–e Dorothea Lange, Destitute Pea Pickers in California. Mother of Seven Children. Age Thirty-two. Nipomo, California, 1936. Images a, c–e: Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Image b: Oakland Museum of California

1.107a

1.107b

1.107c

1.107d

1.107e

1.107f Dorothea Lange,Migrant Mother, 1936. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

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Natural Processes and the Passage of Time

Some artists use biology and organic materials to create their artwork

Organic materials grow and degrade with the passage of time, so work by “bioartists” is always changing

1.108 Adam Zaretsky and Julia Reodica, Workhorse Zoo, 2002. Performance at the Salina Art Center, Salina, Kansas

1.109 Ron Lambert, Sublimate (Cloud Cover), 2004. Water, vinyl, humidifiers, steel, aluminum, and acrylic, dimensions variable

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Conclusion

Artists have been able to incorporate the passage of time and movement into their works using a variety of modern media

Through film and video, we can appreciate the motion of life and have come to experience time in new ways

Television, movies, the Internet, and a multitude of other technologies use movement as an important visual element

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PowerPoints developed by CreativeMyndz Multimedia Studios


This concludes the PowerPoint slide set for Chapter 1.5

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts By Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson

PART 1FUNDAMENTALS

PowerPoints developed by CreativeMyndz Multimedia Studios


1.95 National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1939.1.293

1.96 Photo University of South Florida. © Nancy Holt/DACS, London/VAGA, New York 2011

1.97 Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Prints & Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-536

1.98 Galleria Borghese, Rome

1.99 Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, Bequest of A. Conger Goodyear and Gift of George F. Goodyear, 1964. © DACS 2011

1.100 Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Partial gift of the artist, 1989, 89.3626. Photo David Heald © Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York. © ARS, NY and DACS, London 2011

1.101 Copyright Bridget Riley, 2011. All rights reserved

1.102 Courtesy the Bill Douglas Centre for the History of Cinema and Popular Culture, University of Exeter

1.103 Disney Enterprises/Album/akg-images

1.104 Double Indemnity, © Paramount Pictures

1.105 © Blaine Harrington III/Alamy

1.106 Photo © B. O’Kane/Alamy. © 2011 Calder Foundation, New York/DACS, London

1.107a Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Collection, LC-USZ62-58355

1.107b © The Dorothea Lange Collection, Oakland Museum of California, City of Oakland. Gift of Paul S. Taylor

1.107c Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Collection, LC-USF34-9097-C

1.107d Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Collection, LC-USF34-9093-C

1.107e Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Collection, LC-USF34-9095

1.107f Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Collection, LC-DIG-fsa-8b29516

1.108 Courtesy the artists

1.109 © the artist. Courtesy Catherine Person Gallery, Seattle, WA

Picture Credits for Chapter 1.5

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Chapter 1.5 Time and Motion PART 1 FUNDAMENTALS Copyright © 2011 Thames & Hudson