So I Bought Myself a Watch (Hyperfuture series)
Reflections on time and art conservation
Having worked for different museums and galleries, I’ve been involved in some efforts to preserve masterpieces that have stood the test of time and keep them relevant. At some point, the absurdity has to strike you: in truth, all art is ephemeral.
For over a year, I’ve been captivated by one idea: time. I find it funny that my first time buying myself a watch is the time when I’m learning that time is an illusion. And really, watches are not very popular with my generation and the previous one, at least according to Ken Robinson’s observation in one of the most popular TED talks, “How Schools Kill Creativity”. The analogy is, why would you spend on a watch that only has one function when you could have a smartphone with multiple apps? Likewise, schools see kids as having one uniform function, neglecting multiple intelligences”. I guess buying a watch makes me old-fashioned in one sense.
But this isn’t about the failings of academia. It’s about how this “watch” is not a watch. This is a myth. And yet, I catch myself hypnotized by the ticking of the clock, with a renewed urgency for better or worse to make up for lost time. I wonder if it follows that even this guilt is an illusion, if this is how I would inadvertently let life pass me by again rather than being here, now. Or will I find myself again saying “I can never just be”?
I learned to ask myself a grounding question when I’m lost, although I don’t always know the answer. Contrary to what Hamlet says, the question is not “To be or not to be”. John Logan’s play “RED” asks one question nine times:
ROTHKO: “What do you see?”
KEN: “This moment right here and a little bit more tomorrow”
I find myself retorting like Rothko, “And is that enough”? The illusion of time brings with it the illusion of self-importance — we’re all going to die. And yet art gets to outlast us. Maybe art is bigger than me. I hope I get to be here to see what form that art takes. I’m not so keen on the idea that there’s a strict definition of art. As someone once said, “The most conceptual art wouldn’t even look like art”. I guess I’ll get there by asking the same question.
