The definition of anachronism (derived from the
Greek anachronous) is a depiction of running against the grain of time. If for example, an artist paints
Julius Caesar holding an iPhone, it would be anachronistic.
I recently saw a scene (or a frame as a photographer sees all around him) which immediately made me think “this is anachronistic”. So I pressed on the shutter of my 1954 Canon L3 rangefinder. In some ways, many think of me as anachronistic—I carry a Smartphone, the frame of my spectacles was made in the 1940s, and I use B&W film in 1950s mechanical cameras.
But I always make the point of clarifying that I use
lead-free gasoline in my 11 year old car….
Here is that photo. The Harley Davidson sign is the
iPhone that would made a painting of Julius Caesar anachronistic.
… This intrigued me to look into previous photos I
had taken. There are quite a few. Here is a sample:
China. When I saw this man, I immediately noticed
his earplug. Was he a monk listening to
transcendental music, or secret police? No matter, he was against time.
Austria. This street sign in Vienna could not escape
my vision. Anachronous?
Morocco. I saw this broken bottle embedded in the
parched desert sand. Did an Italian rosso belong to the time frame of the
changing dunes?
Italy. A street mime in Florence. The stones, the
toge, and the angel wings connote a moment in history. Yet he was smoking a
Marlboro and wearing high-top sneakers.
… Which made me thing: is anachronism a purely
literary and artistic notion? Do we ever let the past go? Therefore, is
painting Julius Caesar chatting on an iPhone so unreasonable?
June 16, 2017
© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2017
No comments:
Post a Comment