THE SHAPE OF TIMENN 66 .K@ €.7 Kubler, George, 19 The shape of time Por Sie ent ene end moo Rthro! Towa. ery © 26 ble Dei cin he Unie Sef Ane by Avie ened Thick a tbe iy ice pbc, by of Gpecenlag et umber 890 inside a ape A, sot Aer by a Universi Pes Ly asin Cnn by il Qe’ nveiy > SOLLERE LIBRARY peso TO MARTIN HEINEMANNPreamble Srammot, Fons, avo Doranion Cami p tl dfition of ata aymbolic language has omiated art sais nour century. Anew hazy of else choredupod the work ofa arasybalicexpresson thaseame Jneo fring. By the ens ar at oom made 1 connect with the ret of tory Tot the pice fas been high, for while seis of meaning re sed all our atteno, another delnion of a as aye of foumal slain, hereby seed nope. Tie ether definition tnutecs more dn scaing, Inthe same seve wpoech mater tore dan cing case sec precedes wating, and Deca wrtng ie ue aspen ase of 9p The oer dtinson of arta form remains amfhinable although every thinking pean wilaccope awn cat no Treaing ean be conveyed without for, Every messing £ Ipitesa ppont or a while, ora bolder These ae the bearers, Fang aod without then no meaning would eros om ‘met you ot fran you tome ride fons any pat of mature anyother par. “The Fooms of communication ae ely xparable fom any renin wansmision. th Tingoiies the forms are speech founds (phonemes) and gramme ons (morpbemes)- In mae ey are nots and eral fm architectre and sclpease they are isan void; aiming they ae tone an areas The aret farms canbe sensed indepen denly of meming ‘We know from lingunics in particule thatthe sero elements undergo mote or les regula evolutions in tine without ‘elton to mening as when certain phonetic sbi the hizory OF cognate langmages can be expsinod only by a hyposes of regular change. Thu phoneme 2, occurring insu easly age of 1 Tinguage, becomes phonene bats ltr sage, independesly ‘of meaning, and only ander de zal governing the phonetic sssure of the lngsage, The eglaity of Sie change isch thatthe phonemic anges a oven be wo to measure Gains Tetwoensecorded but undated examples of spec. Similar regularities probably govern the formal infatrecture of every ar Whenever symbols dates appear, however, We tex interferences that nay dip the regular evolution of dhe formal rye An iteference fom visa images is pest in leu al art, Even architects, which x commonly thought 9 Thck Bgl intton, guided fon one utterance to the next ‘by the images ofthe admired bailing of che pas, bh a and “The purge ofthese pages isto dea atti some of the norpholopal pblons of durin in seer and requence The feces are independeney of rcaning and image. They are roles that have gone waworked for moze than forty yes Since the te when students tured awe fom “mere formal- fan” tothe historia ecomsraction of symbolic complexes “The min framework: of these Hess wat st down at Gaylord Far in Wallingoed dating November and December in 1959 Tam grateful tomy fry and tons, andthe alae Gaylord, anu to my asocaes at Yale Univers, for hee many thought- Falcons othe demands ofa ee pens rote mex ofthe tex exly im tos in Naples, andthe Ginised manuscript tras abiited to Yale Univenity Pres in November of that Yeats For their preptive readings and valeble swegesions on is improvement Iam indebed to my collagues at Yale, Pro fesor Chace Seymour, je, Geonge H. Hamilton, Samer MEK. Crotty, GE, Hachinoo, Margaret Calli, George Heney, a to Profi Jes Ackerman of Harvard, whom ¥ tug eit yar ago at Yale. For st toward pli Lam gate- fat the Mature Scholars Fund of Yale Univer New Haven 15 May 1961Contents ‘Spel, Form, a Dati Tun Hisrony oF Tinvot aod gen, Biological and psa! mctaphor, Siem sxc, Tae The Nae of ty OF anda. Sg Ry Sif nd Aden Sl eon 2. Cam raped figural ni. The taxonomy of aso oma Spon Ueda, Ope ad do ine Of n Rgnone Mes, Digi i. Teel sev The ec. Stay od pegeom a Seid Pt, an Chae Te eo ce, Spt tne A Meson pin. Lng ge Hora fe Died ed Reem: Obie and ins, AcieTet and Shan Hpi The sypoogy of ei? lve Tis con, ad es "he Shops of Ti Pel vas, aids ad het Tenge The Ad di neal sim. Wandng sr ‘Smulteoa Hanes fiers of don Fiske neni: "Th pri obec of owl: Wi "he Epes of Form ond resin: lsalogia ‘insine.The Sesccias fsy, Th lanl pre 1. The History of Things Lee a sappone tha the ido of atc he expanded to ex wae the whale ange of anonade things, inloding all ool sc wing in ation che ele, ber and poe hings the work. By this view the mivene of matsmade things Simply coincide wth he ory ofa thes becomes an orgs tegument to dvie beer wiyeo considering everythi Save ade, This we may achive sooaer by proceeding fom art rahe thas Eon wc fori we dear from ix lon, all weless ings ae overlooked, but if we eke the deen of tings 1 on pot of sparc, then ural objects are propa en things we val move oles dea In lfc, the only token of binary casually 20 or sence ae the deiabeehings made by men. OF cous Soy dat mansade chings are desiable i sedundane, bec cma’ native ineia i oveccone only by dese, and nothing et made unl te dasable ‘Such things mark he page oF time with i rete accuracy shan we ino, ad they El ine with shapes of ited vay. Uke crosticeas we depend fr szvival upon a ower skeleton, ‘pon a sel fst cites ad bows filled with ngs belong ing to definable porns of the pax. Our ways of dsebing this viable pat ace ll mom awhonrd, The npeemade seuly of things kw than five huodzed years oly beginning wih dhe desriprion of works of atin the att’ Liographics of the Taian Renasance, The mecbod ws extended othe dsesicion of al Kinds of things only afer 1750, Todsy aclacology and ‘etiology wea of unter ele in gener The ior of re treaty of helene wel and int expesveprodacs of hur{nduty. The Easy ofthngs Begin teak kes salle family than people once thought "Tae oldest surviving things made by men are stone tool, A ‘ominsows series eu fom them eo the things of today. The sercshas branched many snes, and ih fen ran tint dead ‘nds, Whale requcnces of eoure cued when Snlies of anions Shed ont or whan iviiaionscollapae, bt he seam of hinge rover wis completly sled, Everything made now Telia or a vane of something inde ite ne ago and 50 ‘on back wight brea to the Rist morning of human cine. This ‘omtnoows connection ia ine ie contain lse divisions. The arative his rian always asthe prvioge of deciding that conn cus beer ito cei lengths than into at defend hs ent, ecrse history cats 28 ‘where with egal enc std good sory cam bein anywhere the ter chooes, For eter who aca beyond naratin che qusion ito find deaages in hinory wbece a cat wil saat dren pes of Tappening.* Many have thoaght eat £0 make che invenory ‘would lend toward sucha eslarged andertanding, The aebac- He never is 0 logis and antbroplogis clasfy thing by tir ws, having fiat spared mail and renal clr, orth ne wd idea Tie hain of, who spingel and sei prod, clasaly these lace by types, by schools, and by syle. School and aye ae the produc of the lng stocktaking of the ninetenh-eeaury borne of ae. ‘This wock-aking, however, cannot go on dle i dheoey i comes ta cd swith imeposchable and ireftale Lit ables, partie tain words when they are abe by too conte oat, sf in thir meaning a f with cancer or inion. Sle ove ofthese. Rs mamerble shades of meaning see 9 sgenall experience, Acone extreme tthe ee defined by enc Fool, of syle asthe Hi ds hows, de Himalayan range composed ofthe gretext monaent fl me, the schvane tnd wandad of arti valu. At the eter extreme i the oer jungle of averting eopy, where guolines and tie apes lave “styl,” and another zone where anneal fhions in shor are parvyed at “style” Im between isthe eae teain of “historic” yl cues, nations, douse, reigns regio, pei, craft, perony sad objec all have styles. A aspoemutic ning on binomial principles (Middle Minoan syle, ape Fei allows aniston of daved odeae the whole araagement is unable: che key word has ieee meanings even nos limited binomial cote, signily- ingattine tbe coanmnon denominator atong»grovp oF objets, an at othe the impre of am individ uke ot ati. In the rot thee es syle chronologically worried: the con mon denominator may appear at widely seprted laos snd ‘ite leading to "Gothic Manner” and “Hellenic Baroque” In the sound seve spl ie cecal in ne but not im come tent Since the iftime of one art often embraces many "oj" the ndvidal and "syle ae by no mea exersious emis, The “syle Louis XVI" embraces the decades bee 8p, bathe tem fl wo pity the rary ap he aaa ne of arts practice under that monares le "The inumesselisetie ofa is rooted i the Lnbyeinekine network of dhe notion of syle ix ambiguities andi incom sisences miro sete activity a whole. Sle decibes © speci gic in ace beter than typeof existence ia ie. Tn the twentieth eazy, ander the imple of de sybolic itexprtation of expeence, another decion of ay bas eke fou, Ie the stay of konogeapicl typer at aymbolic ex prewons of historia chnge, apesting under» revive sven feentcentury rubric ae "conslgy.” Mave cecealy sill he intone of scence have conjoined Hea and things ia an in ex upon the conditions of dco onsucr the hourie moment of Se hizory of science, and ‘histo dese happening tits point of ception The moment of discovery adits scceive anformations 3 truonal behavior ap eeovered a a ater of program by the ator of ience and by conlogid audi, Bu th ep only cvaine the beginning and the main arcltions of hitosal tubrance, Many other posible topic crowed upon the ation tr ns soon a4 we adit the idea da this ubtance poweses 2 Trwcte of which the disions ae noe merely the ivensions of he nano, Albough naaiat things rernin our mis tng evidence bet the old Taman pt really exited, the conventional meta~ phos wed o describe his vnble ps are mainly biological, We Fra withont station of the "bith of am ar" ofthe “eof a ‘le? ad the “deith ofa cool" of owesing,” “mara,” Sing” when we deeibe the powers of an ari. The feseoary mode of arangng the evidence is biographical, as if the single biographical unie wore She trae uni of sy. The a= tebled biogephis then ae grouped regionally (eg, “Urbis Stoo) or by syle and pace ("Reman Baroque) ina manner “apsly prtterned pon biological casicaone by #ypalogy, Tnorpbology, and dixebuton, “Twn Lameranions o7 Brocaarsy “Te ives of he artis have bon ge inthe Basatre of ait ever since Pippo Vist colesed anecdotes in 1381-2 ‘etc biography was expanded inthis ceatary with dacaments tod ext 1 gigindeproporsons as + necasary stage in the ‘preparation ofthe grand cutalogae of person and works, People teeing the isory of areas bograghy assume tae the ia ims ofthe historian ste to tecomtrect che evoltin of the person ote 4 the meaning. Beano Zev, fonts, paises atisichiography tan indopeable ecunent inte esining of young a. > ati, to authenticate nebuted works, and to discuss vs nba tion Scan” pbs te Ane Seopa eg etn Noro nhc oe ie pe no cna w= aThe hiory of an asic problem, and the hitory of the ine Alvida rts tution ofc» puble, chs jistietion, which, however, conins the value of the history of at to mater of were pedagogical ly. In he long view Biographies nd xalogoes are only wy ston whe iis ay F ro overlook the continuous nature of sie ations. Thee F| teaiion canoe be tated properly in biogepi epi, Biography i «provisional way of sostning atic subtance, néa pact butt docs not sone teat the itor queton in ats Hive, nih alwys the gestion ofthe lation to wat his pre= ceded and to what wil fallow them, Indiul exranes The lie of ot at sighly unit of seudy in any biographical seve. But to make i the main ni of seuly in ce hiory ofa like dicosing the raroads of « ountey in ems ofthe experiences of singe traveler on ever | af them. To deeb esroale accu, we ate obliged odie regatd pesons and sates, forthe taal themselves ate the clement of continty, and not dhe taveler or che Fnctionticn The analogy ofthe track yl wel formation in the di canon of aris Each man's ewok ala wok in ete tenending beyoad lim in ether or both dieeons, dpenng ‘pon his poston nthe tak he oocupice. To dhe wu coord aes fixing the individual’ pasion Bis emperaent and bis ‘ening ther i alo the momento his eure, this bing he omen inthe tein ely, nd, or bie—with whic his bloga! opportunity cnnrdes, OF coun, one person ci anu does she rdons, epi inthe modem work inorder tofid heuer entrance, Without «good entrance he isn dan of waning his tie a» copyie regan training. rom thi poe of view we ean see the "univer ‘of tengectinent and sail et ofthe Renssance more spl iid individ! Epiliog many new tacks of development a foruatemo- hs dancin ever ycems witout the burden of gor Pgood or eon ine sequence. They suo depend upon the anion of tmper- a” crane ee ore chin ters, teva endowments with yee potion, Every potion fe taped, ait ee to de atin of crein range of eper fac When a specie empersnese interac witha fivorable pail of prevonlyanimapaed comeypence Thi ahi mon aa ifien ve, Th every bith ca be imagined fe payee wheel of fra one governing th ot tent ofr empernet and he eke ela ntact “tad ei in myoenc, Tales a predipotion: a tnd ppl ene Soper: Be mates he adios move qi: he eons {Done more Heel han thwe of is ome Glows Doe tedbcwreed ens abound a well ag ing cd to rar wth die blitey 2 song people whee {Bc wee segue nike of cr ee redo te probly mock more merous han cal voor allow ot pote. The gualty ented pope sae a mater of ind mare tan dee, bcaue the gros of le sil tartan pence. Tr ewanopon to dh teed than Tope Both wee lene, Beatin Ua and Gi Roman ao wee tet. Bot ce fellowes Bad tad Ibek They cae lt when he et war oer throgh no ae of tice own. ‘The neds of ame a such ttc pede= teson tle i magi, and th nm mie, whe iyi ew, the gest cierence eewecn whow school whether Leonardo wit morerT talent oc only a relively common prediiportion fe via ‘otdes without a wide range of difereniaton. Times 60d op pores der more tha the degree ofalent ‘OF course many othe cotiions mise enone lent: phy cal energy, dcable health, powers of eoncenaton, re aw of the ifs of fortune with which the ari i ot endowed. Dar our conceptions of artic genius underent such tsi ean ferrtion inthe romance agony ofthe ni hat we il toy unthinking idea “pei” a congeie = posi and aan inbor dxeneof kind among me, stead of as foretou keying engeher of disposition and s {num an excepsonally ficient ensty. There is 30 ear evidene ‘hat “gone” inheitabl. incidence under morris tion favorable to cat earsing, a with adopted cldren eared in the failes of profeional moc, marks "yeni" a « phenomenon of karing rather than of genetic, Parpore kas ao pce in Biology, but Nirory has no meaning without In chat ear trnfrof biologie ideas to histor treats of which o any race sve in the hia’ diion, both epology (hich the sudy of Kinds and varie) and morphology (e wud of forms) were misundentood. Hecase ther moves of ticlogieal deespton anno be made to accoums * fax popes, che istoran working with biological ideas aided the principal ain of hitory, whi ally fas been to identify and reeonrac the parialr probes to which any action ot thing mst coreapond a a ation. Somes the probe ‘ational one, nl somecimes ie ian anc one: we always my be sue tha every man-made ting aries fom a problem as 2 pepo scleion, Bilal and ply! maps, Towever wef ie for pedagogic purpss, che hiclogicl metaphor of syle as 2 se fence of feage was history misleading, for it batowed ‘pon the Flac ofeventsthe apes andthe Bhs vior of organi By the metaphor of the if-else behaves ike a plat. ts fit Teves ace stall and wetatvely shaped the leaves of its nl ifeare fll formed and she a aves pat Goth ace Sell agin bat nctly shaped, All ae ssa! by one a ‘hanging siacple of organization comumon to ll members of thnespeces, with vcians of eo ring in lfc avin fueat By the biological metaphor ofa abd tory, ye the {pecen, and sori sels ate is txonomic vance AS an ‘Spproxintin, nevenhela, thi merspoe ccopized the te hrc of ertin kinds of evn and i of Selena p= ‘tml explo ofthe, dof trea exch evene ta Tepes: nevee-berepesed en “fsb mod was eh mow po sity of hing. eines sem of meee dsm Eom pipe adenee wold have died the stnton ofa mere xgary han the pevaling Holgi mean: opecaly if ar eng in ere ih the ution af ome id of coy wth imp gern cre an ly pins ith ithe dre no, the gg of serodnanies might thw itd ter dan be pgs of bs and Mic Fay ig eben ty of meal cate ite one foe x mentor din Linseas forthe ‘Our choice of the "hiory of things” is more than a euphe= tise replace the bling upc of "material exe” This team is wed by zneopologiss co dinguish ides, o "mental cae from artfct Bat he “history of hings i iced to reanie ea ad object under the rubric of viel for he ean clades bok sac and works of abot replies and ‘iq examples, bh ook aad expresion—in hort ll mae cn worked by hsman and mde the guidance of exonected Wea developed in temporal sequence. From all hee things « shape in ime emerges vile por ofthe alesiv identity, ‘whether wbe, da, of mason, comes int beng This elEinage reflected in things a guide anda poi of reference tothe group forthe fue, and even ser iy Becomes the pote given 0= Aough both the history of ae and the hitary of sons have these recent ogi in ce ightenth-rnyIing ofthe Baopean Enlightenment, or inert habitof epee cto the ancient dion between ibe tnd roechanial art, The separation bas had on regret ‘onsoquenes. A pincipal one io ong eclactance 1 ew the proces common wm both a and seenc ia the se Wstorid porate ‘Stewits and as, Today tis ofcn tematked that two printers who belong to dierent choo noe only lave nothing to lea fom each eter but ae incapable of any generous com ‘ranitation with one nother about tee work. The ne dig iemidto be re of cmiss or bilogisswith diferent speci. [Koch a mennue of rerproalocson prevails betwen bers ofthe same profesin, how shall we onecve of comment cation beewoen 3 psr and a phys OF couse very lite ‘esi, The vale of any rpprochemene between the story ef sit and the history of cee is today the como tae of obolescance tha the mata wars of atte and scotia both sare in time. ‘The mos obviodt ex tpl inthe bisory of inversion, change, nergy, sack stam, clei, a inzralcomivoon engines, point chythms of prodscion an essere wich which andents ofthe hitry of at abo at falar, Science and ae otk del with need ied by the ‘mind at dhe hands in the neantsetreof thing, Tools and in uments, symbols and exprenats ll coeespond to need, and all rust pss through desig into mace aly experimental scene hd intimate connection with dh adie and worktops ofthe Renaivance, although aris her ‘pte eo gual tats wih the prince and pelts whowe ates they shaped. Today itis agin apparnt thatthe artis arctan, that he belongs co dine human grooping 8 foe fier, whore cling tt evoke a perpetal renewal of fr ‘ater, and thet seit nd nist are moe like one anther titans dan they are ike anyone ee, Fr our purpons of dir ing eb nature of happening in the word of things, che Sieraces botween sence and art are aevenles inedible, Sas much 9 ashe dliflrences teen reo ad lng, doe. Abtough a common gedient he two ore iedibly diferent: no Feeen nceity and Comes ae and beay, fal ean be ily explain as a wo of are, noe vie versa. A Rais alvays incisal simple, however elaborate ts mecha Sans may be, but a work of at which it «comple of many age and level ofeieroned intnsons, away niasially ‘Suplened, however simple i effet may rem, ‘hese phenomenon in Etrope and America, peshape staing 1950, the approaching exhason of se pombliey fnew cisovere of major eye inthe history of ar. Fach {pretton ince Winckelnaon as sble to mark out own erpere inde hry of art. Today there are no sich exited frome le Fist ws asic rth command ll sia ona the expense of ereeexpesions, Th romantic geersin Sipin elevated Gothic art tothe pederal, Some fin de ale cies and decors reinstated Roman Impetal ar. Others, preted the Inguors and the bord claberatons of a trove onthe ove hand, othe rele among them eiitvin and arcaie a, yak of ral ofthe aeration geacratons between ar sty of ceed and rape, and mono te gener thn tht wer decimated by the Fe World War The revival of uty Manne which fred davng the 19305 not only coincided with great soci disorders bu n= ‘lett a iorial eeonance between the men of the Reforms ton and those rion and denagogy.* Aer tht, noting was lef to dover ule ie was contemporary ed to the ext generation averted to arog in npr nen Ane sae