Abstract/Summary

This paper investigates the reasons for and process of portraying time in visual art, using various theoretical analyses of time. Using the methodology of Paul Ricoeur’s narrative hermeneutics (called Threefold Mimesis) as the foundation, a series of analyses was undertaken in the realms of pre-understanding, representation and interpretation. Pre-understanding covers a brief review of time analysis, and representation explores embodied or represented time in visual art. As the representation acts as mediator and connects the stage of pre-understanding with interpretation, it becomes a core element of the research. Lastly, the chapter about interpretation describes the process of portraying time through image. With this theoretical research, I devised a concept I named ‘Surface Layer Time’, which is a method of representing and interpreting time in a visual way. The Surface Layer Time concept is an attempt to abstract the various characteristics of time from its very small fragments, and my practice in examining it. Thus, this research unveils the process of delivering time, and suggests a new methodology for representing it. By applying narrative hermeneutics to visual art, this paper intends to broaden the understanding of time in text and image.