The restructuring of temporality during art making

Abstract

Experienced time, neural time and clock time are not the same. Temporality may be restructured due to psychopathologic experiences resulting in the perception that time may speed up or slow down, before the living present has been appropriated by reflection. There is growing evidence that the awareness of linear time has the ability to become distorted when, during art making, artists experience the brain state referred to as flow, during which psychic energy is focused on the unfolding present, with a general absence of rumination associated with past or future events. From a neuroscientific point of reference flow necessitates a state of transient (short of duration) hypo- (unusually low) frontality (anterior part of each cerebral hemisphere, in front of the central sulcus). Flow has been associated with a (form of) altered state of consciousness, which may share, amongst others, characteristics such as time distortions, attention, perception, imagery and fantasy. Through the use of electroencephalography and interviews, this paper links selected artists’ restructuring of temporality with concepts of human consciousness and time perception.

Ervaringstyd, neurale tyd en horlosietyd verskil. Dit gebeur dat tydservaring as gevolg van psigopatalogiese ervarings hergestruktureer word, wat tot die persepsie kan lei dat tyd versnel of vertraag, alvorens die hede deur nabetragting toegeëien word. Daar is toenemende bewys voor dat die besef van liniêre tyd tydens kunsskepping verwring word wanneer kunstenaars die breintoestand bekend as vloei ervaar. Daartydens fokus psigiese energie op die ontplooiing van die hede sonder die moontlikheid om oor die verlede of die toekoms na te dink. Uit ’n neurowetenskaplike oogpunt vereis vloei ’n toestand van verbygaande hipofrontaliteit. Vloei word geassosieer met ’n vorm van veranderde bewussyntoestand wat aan belewenisse van tydswysigings, aandag, persepsie, verbeelding en fantasie verwant is. Deur die gebruik van elektroënkefalografie en onderhoude bring hierdie artikel gekose kunstenaars se hergestruktureerde tydsverloop met konsepte van menslike bewustheid sowel as tydspersepsie in verband.