The March of Time
Each rabbit in The March of Time relates to a particular work of art; the title of each piece is the approximate date of the artwork. For example, -1850 refers to the sculpture fragment in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of the Egyptian king Sesostris. Thus, displayed on the wall, the collection of rabbits give a brief history of art and the history of humanity. The time chart that accompanies the installation locates each rabbit and includes comments about the related work of art.
-12500 Hedonist carves voluptuous Venus of Willendorf in Austria.
-3200 Egyptian corpse (Ginger) consumes grave offerings before afterlife.
-2150 Gudea from Lagash commissions royal portrait to reinforce his intimacy with the gods.
-1850 Sculpture of Egyptian Pharaoh Sesostris reveals a pessimistic, troubled king.
-1450 The architect Senmut appears with block-like body in a curious form of portraiture.
-600 Gorgon carved on pediment of Temple of Artemis at Corfu wards off evil.
-525 Greeks sculpt smirking nude males referred to as Kouros.
-340 Mausolus commissions tomb sculptures, including Demeter, to imply divine kinship.
-70 The Goddess of Joy, Euphrosyne, appears in numerous works of art with her two sisters.
290 Seated Budda wears Roman toga.
547 Theodora is deceptively represented as a divine presence in apse mosaic at San Vitale.
685 Pacal (a.k.a. Shield) buried in splendor and mystery at Palenque.
816 Monk from Reins depicts St. Mark as a man crazed with inspiration.
950 German artisan carves Christ with tragic intensity and gory details.
1005 Otto III commissions illuminated manuscript featuring bug-eyed St. Luke.
1099 Unique Japanese deity Zao Gongen’s aggressive stance repels troublemakers.
1150 Sheela-na-Gigs carved to celebrate woman’s body but inspire awe and terror.
1432 Jan Van Eyck daringly paints pensive, ripened Eve for altarpiece at Ghent.
1454 Donatello portrays Mary Magdalene in old age—emaciated and repentant.
1540 Henry VIII’s ruthless nature and magnificent corpulence is revealed by Hans Holbein.
1550 Bronzino portrays shifty-eyed aristocrat as intelligent youth.
1637 Rembrandt reveals the disappearance of the angel Raphael from hard-luck home.
1780 Nude male in William Blake’s Glad Day sheds diaphanous prom dress.
1814 Goya records the shocking massacre of the citizens of Madrid in The Third of May.
1900 Guardian Figure carved in Gabon protects ancestor skulls.
1952 Painter Willem DeKooning represents woman with giant breasts and demon face.
1983 Robert Mapplethorpe photographs seductive bodybuilder Lisa Lyon emerging from the sea.
2250 X-Man created through artistic cloning.
References:
Clark, Kenneth, The Nude: A Study in Ideal Form
Croix, Horst de la; Tansey, Richard G., Art Through the Ages
Francastel, P., Medieval Painting
Grun, Bernard, The Timetables of History
Getty, Adele, Goddess
Janson, H.W., The History of Art
Koehler, Wilhelm, Rembrandt
Various, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide
Various, The Mysterious Maya
Judith Page
1999
Each rabbit in The March of Time relates to a particular work of art; the title of each piece is the approximate date of the artwork. For example, -1850 refers to the sculpture fragment in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of the Egyptian king Sesostris. Thus, displayed on the wall, the collection of rabbits give a brief history of art and the history of humanity. The time chart that accompanies the installation locates each rabbit and includes comments about the related work of art.
-12500 Hedonist carves voluptuous Venus of Willendorf in Austria.
-3200 Egyptian corpse (Ginger) consumes grave offerings before afterlife.
-2150 Gudea from Lagash commissions royal portrait to reinforce his intimacy with the gods.
-1850 Sculpture of Egyptian Pharaoh Sesostris reveals a pessimistic, troubled king.
-1450 The architect Senmut appears with block-like body in a curious form of portraiture.
-600 Gorgon carved on pediment of Temple of Artemis at Corfu wards off evil.
-525 Greeks sculpt smirking nude males referred to as Kouros.
-340 Mausolus commissions tomb sculptures, including Demeter, to imply divine kinship.
-70 The Goddess of Joy, Euphrosyne, appears in numerous works of art with her two sisters.
290 Seated Budda wears Roman toga.
547 Theodora is deceptively represented as a divine presence in apse mosaic at San Vitale.
685 Pacal (a.k.a. Shield) buried in splendor and mystery at Palenque.
816 Monk from Reins depicts St. Mark as a man crazed with inspiration.
950 German artisan carves Christ with tragic intensity and gory details.
1005 Otto III commissions illuminated manuscript featuring bug-eyed St. Luke.
1099 Unique Japanese deity Zao Gongen’s aggressive stance repels troublemakers.
1150 Sheela-na-Gigs carved to celebrate woman’s body but inspire awe and terror.
1432 Jan Van Eyck daringly paints pensive, ripened Eve for altarpiece at Ghent.
1454 Donatello portrays Mary Magdalene in old age—emaciated and repentant.
1540 Henry VIII’s ruthless nature and magnificent corpulence is revealed by Hans Holbein.
1550 Bronzino portrays shifty-eyed aristocrat as intelligent youth.
1637 Rembrandt reveals the disappearance of the angel Raphael from hard-luck home.
1780 Nude male in William Blake’s Glad Day sheds diaphanous prom dress.
1814 Goya records the shocking massacre of the citizens of Madrid in The Third of May.
1900 Guardian Figure carved in Gabon protects ancestor skulls.
1952 Painter Willem DeKooning represents woman with giant breasts and demon face.
1983 Robert Mapplethorpe photographs seductive bodybuilder Lisa Lyon emerging from the sea.
2250 X-Man created through artistic cloning.
References:
Clark, Kenneth, The Nude: A Study in Ideal Form
Croix, Horst de la; Tansey, Richard G., Art Through the Ages
Francastel, P., Medieval Painting
Grun, Bernard, The Timetables of History
Getty, Adele, Goddess
Janson, H.W., The History of Art
Koehler, Wilhelm, Rembrandt
Various, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide
Various, The Mysterious Maya
Judith Page
1999