Narrative Explanation: Movement
Out of the seven narrative explanations that Meadows describes, I was most struck by Nude Descending a Staircase #2. As Meadows mentions, the flow of time is usually defined by laying static instances from left to right or by initially catching the eye with the first instance before leading the viewer through the time flow. The idea of superimposing multiple instances into one (confusing) painting is intriguing.
Also, being a science fiction fan, the idea of condensing multiple instances in time into one image reminds me of time as the fourth dimension. If comic books, paintings, etc. tell a 2D story and plays express a 3D plot, is it possible to create a 4D narrative? We can create a 2D model of a 3D cube by drawing two squares connected by four lines (resulting in 6 squares). We can create a 3D model of a hypothetical 4D hypercube by overlapping the corners of two wire cubes (resulting in eight possible cubes). You can try it yourself with pipe cleaners!
Following this pattern of modeling a dimension from the dimension below, a 4D narrative would probably involve multiple instances of a 3D subject superimposed on each other. A runner would be easy enough to capture since it moves through both time and space. However, what about something that changes over time but occupies the same space? An apple tree as it goes through the seasons would just have a jumble of snow, buds, leaves, and fruit all overlapping each other. An understanding of our understanding of time is probably a huge subject in philosophy... but alas, I am simply a humble engineering student and do not wrestle with that theoretical stuff.
The subject in Nude Descending a Staircase #2 moves from left to right (I think) to denote the passing of time. The closest I could find to the above tree also denotes the passage of time by space separation (from http://www.etsy.com/listing/25507321/four-seasons-tree-of-life-pendant):
All the other examples in Pause & Effect either use multiple frames to tell a story or illustrate a single image from a story that the viewer already knows or, in the case of Las Meninas, is asked to create. In short, they frame time with canvas space. I always wondered what it would be like to have a memory of our entire life (past and future) and travel through its instances like we travel through the crowds at Turlington ...
...hmm. "Pretty confusing" would be my guess.
Also, being a science fiction fan, the idea of condensing multiple instances in time into one image reminds me of time as the fourth dimension. If comic books, paintings, etc. tell a 2D story and plays express a 3D plot, is it possible to create a 4D narrative? We can create a 2D model of a 3D cube by drawing two squares connected by four lines (resulting in 6 squares). We can create a 3D model of a hypothetical 4D hypercube by overlapping the corners of two wire cubes (resulting in eight possible cubes). You can try it yourself with pipe cleaners!
Following this pattern of modeling a dimension from the dimension below, a 4D narrative would probably involve multiple instances of a 3D subject superimposed on each other. A runner would be easy enough to capture since it moves through both time and space. However, what about something that changes over time but occupies the same space? An apple tree as it goes through the seasons would just have a jumble of snow, buds, leaves, and fruit all overlapping each other. An understanding of our understanding of time is probably a huge subject in philosophy... but alas, I am simply a humble engineering student and do not wrestle with that theoretical stuff.The subject in Nude Descending a Staircase #2 moves from left to right (I think) to denote the passing of time. The closest I could find to the above tree also denotes the passage of time by space separation (from http://www.etsy.com/listing/25507321/four-seasons-tree-of-life-pendant):
All the other examples in Pause & Effect either use multiple frames to tell a story or illustrate a single image from a story that the viewer already knows or, in the case of Las Meninas, is asked to create. In short, they frame time with canvas space. I always wondered what it would be like to have a memory of our entire life (past and future) and travel through its instances like we travel through the crowds at Turlington ...
...hmm. "Pretty confusing" would be my guess.
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