APD Week 2 - Play and Time

Theme: 

In response to the theme of Play and Time, I create a short-loop animation gif.

Context:

The inspiration for this animated gif comes primarily from my personal understanding of Play and Time. I believe that everyone's definition of time is slightly different. I've always thought that time exists in all of its forms, including the present, the past, and the future. Memories cause time to exist in the past, while present actions cause time to occur in the future. Time, on the other hand, is also can define as a record of matter's evolution as seen by humans. The seemingly strange reality that time passes at various speeds for different observers depending on their relative movements or places in a gravitational environment is known as time dilation. This is how it works. Time is a relative concept. That, as strange as it may seem, is a result of Albert Einstein's (1905) theory of relativity.  Interstellar (2014) is a film about a group of explorers who journey through a wormhole in space in order to assure humanity's survival. Because time flows differently there, they discover that a long time has passed on Earth when they return. It was equivalent to them traveling to the future. This movie has made me think about whether time exists in a higher-dimensional space similar to a frame-by-frame photo. It is possible to see the whole history of the earth there, and humans just live in history. 

Numerous scholars considered the Play's dynamics of stability and change, the possibility of viewing history as progress, and the energy required to propel all of these processes ahead. In this sense, several classic theorists asserted that play is a manifestation of excess energy. The English philosopher Herbert Spencer (1873) was a proponent of this theory. According to his theory, play is the manifestation of an energy surplus, just like a kid spends energy on play and an adult spends his energy on his daily work. Play provides a way for the release of this excess energy. In some ways, I concur, because when a person lacks energy, he chooses to Relax rather than Play. This concept was also a source of content for the animated gif I created. A related view is from George Thomas White Patrick's (1916) Play is a pattern of relaxation from the pressures of industrial civilization. When humans totally lose their ability to play, they are unable to escape the stress of an infinitely repeating life.

Nobuhiro Nakanishi's works 'Layer Drawings' are created by repeatedly photographing the same thing over time and then laser-printing the photos onto Plexiglas panels. It is neither a two-dimensional image display nor a traditional three-dimensional sculpture art, but Nobuhiro's work is given a new dimension of 'time' allowing the viewer in front of the work to see the 'three-dimensional mark' of the passage of time, and the 'invisible' natural changes to be given a new interpretation of 'tangible'. (https://www.artsy.net/artwork/nobuhiro-nakanishi-layer-drawing-light-of-the-sunrise-2) And, as a result of his influence, I chose the gif format. Because a gif is, at its core, a frame-by-frame display. At the same time, the concept behind this small project is to define time as I see it. People are time-based beings. Previous acts form personality; personality dictates conduct and behavior determines what will happen in the future. From a philosophical standpoint, time is a significant topic. For me, time is also something very simple, is an infinity cycle that goes on and on and on. 

Method:

I used Toonboom Harmony to create a small animated gif in the form of a sketch after recording a bit of my real life. After that, add some visual effects and authentic sound effects to it. Make it appear more realistic. 

Reflection:

The point of this gif is to keep repeating it over and over. It is not simply a time-loop cycle, but also a representation of my understanding of time. Time is regular and repeated for humans. Humans need to sleep, live, and eat 24 hours a day. Even if there are little variations, such as eating different foods and engaging in different activities, the daily behavior is generally repeated over and over. Since time is an unending cycle with no beginning and no end. A person's life is a line with a beginning and an end in the infinite time circle. In the cycle of time, they are born, grow, age, and die. I believe that humans are essentially made up of time. 

I wondered if it would look more meaningful on video or in photos, but from a certain perspective, it might be too serious and heavy for the theme. It will lose its playfulness, and the core of the theme remains Play and Time, rather than a serious matter. Although I'm aware that I've typed too much about the philosophical implications of time, I enjoy delving into these topics' philosophical implications. I had a friend who was pursuing a Master of Philosophy degree, and he frequently discussed and shared his thoughts about the "meaning of life" with me. In certain ways, he changed the way I expressed myself. This should also be considered a play.

This study, on the other hand, is founded on cathartic theory. Some psychologists advocate the cathartic theory, according to which play provides an outlet for certain pent-up instincts and emotions that do not receive adequate expression through other means. Our contemporary existence is so sophisticated that our primal urges and emotions are denied direct expression. This gif is still in a very rough draft. It is mostly focused on expressing a concept. Because I am an ordinary person living an ordinary life, the clips I chose primarily focus on the impressive aspects of my own and my colleagues' daily lives. The anguish of rising up early in the morning, the numbness of commuting for more than an hour, the repetition of work (this part is a reference to other colleagues, not me), and so on. Emotions should be expressed in a variety of ways, and this is an effective way to do it. When I presented it to my colleague, she showed a great sense of recognition of the theme.

References:

Einstein, A. (1905). Special Relativity

Spencer, H. (1873). The Principles of Psychology.

Patrick, G. T. W. (1916). The Psychology of Relaxation.

Bentley. S. M (2009). Friedrich Schiller's play : a theory of human nature in the context of the eighteenth-century study of life

Mckinnon, A. (2010). Energy and society: Herbert Spencer’s 'energetic sociology' of social evolution and beyond

Schaefer, C. E., & Mattei, D. (2005). Catharsis: Effectiveness in children's aggression. International Journal of Play Therapy, 14(2), 103–109.

Outcome:

https://youtu.be/3bH78dvuxUk