Time as Material: Sculpture and the Fourth Dimension

In this course, we will treat time as a central element in the conception, display, and understanding of materials-based art practices. While we will consider integrating sculpture with media and methods more typically described as “time-based” (such as performance, digital media, film/video), students will also be challenged to consider the potential of time, duration, and process to act upon or activate seemingly inert materials. We will attempt to propose alternatives to the idea of artworks as fixed forms and, instead, consider how objects, images, and materials might transform, evolve, decay, or accumulate over time. Through readings, discussion, and studio projects, we will examine ideas about time from a variety of perspectives (scientific, historical, musical, and cinematic, among others) and think about how these temporal modes can inform our making and lived experience of objects and art.