Michael Francom and Professor Brian Christensen, Visual Arts
Time is a constant in our lives. We are completely wrapped up in its influence. We relate everything we do to this marching enigma. Its outward markings are day and night, equinox and solstice. What separates the present from the past or the future? How does the principle of entropy relate to times passing? Does time cause us to age or does our getting old mark time? All of these questions are difficult or impossible to answer.
My objective was to do research which would aid in the creation of an object, which explores the process, and progress of time in a specific place. By doing this I would merge time with the field of space in which the object resides and document the act of doing so. The sculpture is oriented horizontally and reads like a three-dimensional time line. A circular band represents each time segment I have chosen. The object becomes a long tapering cylinder formed by the joining of these bands side to side.
My project required research in two basic areas. The first area of research was more general, and regarded dispensations or segments of historical time. This included definition of their lengths, positions in relation to other occurrences in time, historical significance and other important period characteristics. This information directly relates to the creation of the bands leading up to the ”present” on the sculptural time line. The second area was more specific and included research of the more recent history and development of the area where the sculpture will be placed. This aids in the definition of the “present” section of the sculpture.
A challenge, which came about through the course of my research, was that of defining specifically what historical events were important enough to include in a brief sculptural history of the world. Being as unbiased as possible, I could not included or exclude anything for reasons of race, culture, religion, background or any other thing which acts as a distinction between peoples. I did, however, define periods where there was major progression or human interest in these areas.
We are often apt to discuss mostly Western culture when we talk about history. During my research I found that many fundamental developments were found earlier in other places and cultures besides the west. During Europe’s Dark Age, Arabic, Chinese and Indian civilizations achieved major advances in technology, medicine, mathematics and astronomy. For example, in the sixth century the Chinese invented gunpowder and had figured out how to make and use a compass. While Arab physicians wrote accurately about disease processes.
Technology seems to be an important step in many developments man has made. For example, earliest civilization was followed by the technology or irrigation. This technology allowed humans to farm efficiently enough to create a surplus, which led to wealth. Along with wealth came the ability to build cities. Conversely, technology during this century aided in the creation of the atomic bomb giving man the capability of self-annihilation. The technological advances I used to help define history range from irrigation and metal smelting to Gutenberg’s printing press and modern computer technology. These correlate with the main ages represented in the sculpture; The beginning of civilization, the Bronze Age, the iron Age, the Age of Enlightenment, the Industrial Age and finally the Information Age.
Interestingly, I found a similarity in the progress of Provo in relation to mans general history. The main bands representing Provo’s history roughly correlate with the above ages. They are; when Provo was settled, when a foundry was started, when law entered and when industry entered Provo.
After I decided how to define time periods for use in the sculpture the rest was calculations and finding proportions. Dates had to be arranged correctly on the time line. The time line begins at approximately 5,000 BC. Though anatomically modern humans are said to have appeared 35,000 years earlier, I chose this date because this is when, as far as we can tell, civilization began. I previously wanted to document the earth’s entire life cycle. I found if I did this, the sculpture would have little aesthetic value and all of the important time lines would be squeezed indecipherably close together and over to one end.
The result of my research was an enlightening journey through the time of our world. Through the research is done, the sculpture itself is not yet completed. The placement of it has also become a problem. I am running into a lot of political red tape with Provo city concerning liability issues that accompany the placement of a sculpture in the center of a traffic circle. I plan to finish the project within a couple of months and may end up finding a new location in Provo for its installation.
References
- Mellersh, H.E.L. Chronology of World History. Santa Barbara: ABC-CL10, 1999.
- Greville, Stewart Parker. The Chronology of World History: A Calendar of Principal Events from 3000 BC to Ad 1976. London: Collings, 1975.
- Cannon, Kenneth L. Provo and Orem A very Eligible Place. Northridge: Windsor Publications, 1987.
- Moffit, John Clifton. The Story of Provo. Provo: Moffit, 1975.