These three collages were made in response to Alan Lightman’s Einstein’s Dreams ,“22 May 1905”. In this chapter, the world is described as one of “sudden opportunity”, where “time flows fitfully” and people receive glances of the future, resulting in “unexpected visions”. I decided each panel should represent different states of time: past, present, and future.
(pictured above) Panel 3: Future
This panel is constructed for the most part of text. Thinking of a near future where synchronicity between man and machine is possible, text serves as a bridge between man, who receives most information through the senses, specifically visual, and machine, who transfers information through text and coded language. The future, with limitless opportunities and paths, is a jumbled array of directions, instructions, and phrases. Einstein’s Dreams notes the hundreds of futures that could arise at any moment and questions who fares better: those who have seen the future and either believe or deny it, or those who have not seen it and wait to live life.
Panel 2: Past
Conjuring up the image of an unfinished bridge with a foggy river flowing beneath it, Lightman constructs a metaphor for the constant flow of time and its decay as it enters the past, a place where all time has been frozen, visible as a skeleton of what it once was. Shadows of the past flicker over the present, resulting in “unexpected visions”, and theories of evolution, growth, and change are reflected as explorers of the future uncover the lasting qualities of the past in their own time. The imagery of the panel involves bright colors emerging from neutral tones, as the future is reflected in the past. The text used here involves wordplay, “It looks the same/ three decades later/ Duran.” Duran is a Spanish word which means “to remain standing”, and comes from the same root as endurance. A shadowy hand reaches out for a lasting but irreplicable event.
Panel 1: Present
For the present I only used imagery, which reflects the sensory human experience we perceive. The present is now and that is all there is, the human experience is confined to the now, and despite memories of the past and dreams of the future, the only place where we can take action is the present. Small faces appear embedded in the piece, and a dog creature peers at the viewer, catching them in a moment of eye contact.
