Hi Terry,
Thanks for your reply. I agree, it is an oddly overlooked area. Photography theory is steeped in ideas of time, the snapshot being inherently temporal. Cartographic scholars were slow to come to the party but there is a much healthier conversation now around situating the map, partialities and limitations. But graphic design literature and scholarship is much lighter on the subject, which I suppose both offers an opportunity and frustrations.
Part of the issue is that the medium itself, to some extent, performs a specific temporality. Within the photograph the animate and inanimate become one and the same. You could think of this as mapping 4D data onto a 2D representation, inevitably there will be a massive loss and reinterpretation of information, partly guided by the form, but also by how the medium is percieved. The effect is that when dynamically changing situations are depicted they are transformed into something else, a limited model. I suppose that's my angle, graphic representations are usefully conceived as models, much like in scientific modelling, with specific limitations, time being chief among them, that need to be drawn out and made explicit.
Really useful thoughts Terry, much appreciated.
Best,
Rob
On 7 Nov 2012, at 05:08, Terence Love <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dear Rob,
>
> One of the interesting aspects of the representation of time in fixed
> graphics and images is to identify those time-related situations for which
> it physically cannot work.
>
> One of the limitations of fixed graphics (e.g photographs, images) is they
> are not capable of displaying many kinds of dynamic (i.e. time-based)
> changes that are common in real world socio-technical situations.
>
> Typically, these are situations in which the outcomes dynamically change in
> relation to changes in other aspects of the situation which are themselves
> changed by the resulting changes in outputs. In other worlds, situations
> whose behaviour s typified by dynamic changes due to feedback loops and
> lags.
>
> Awareness of this limitation of graphics is almost completely absent from
> the graphic design literature
>
> There have been many attempt at pseudo resolution of this problem by
> representing the pathways through which dynamic influences occur (see, e.g.
> Robert Horn's work). That does not, however, provide a dynamic display of
> the outcomes. It does not resolve or address the issue.
>
> This is relevant to your search because it identifies a large area of
> time-related situations for which there are no fixed graphic
> representations.
>
> Best wishes,
> Terry
> --
> Dr Terence Love
> Love Web Services
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> Bets wi
> -----Original Message-----
> From: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and related
> research in Design [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Rob Tovey
> Sent: Tuesday, 6 November 2012 7:52 PM
> To: Dr Terence Love
> Subject: Representations of Time
>
> Hello all,
>
> I'm researching how time is represented in photo-visuals (photographs and
> photo-composites) and in informational graphics - maps, timelines, data
> visualisations. Could anyone recommend books/papers on this topic? I'm
> specifically interested in the performance of alternative temporalities in
> these visual artworks, with theoretical insight.
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Rob
>
> --
> Rob Tovey
> Lecturer Graphic Design
> University of Chester
> Faculty of Arts and Media
> Kingsway Buildings,
> Kingsway,
> Chester
> CH2 2LB
>
> 01244 512320
> [log in to unmask]
>
> @studio_st
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