Philip Rawson, in Art and Time shows how time is a fundamental element in our perception of the arts. He proposes an integrated framework within which to explore and appreciate the subtleties and complexities of this essential key to the reading and understanding of meaning in art.

Following an exploration of the ways art can differ from ordinary empirical objects, while still being rooted in direct human experience, Rawson distinguishes the different levels of artistic creation.

Rawson (1924-1995) was Dean of the School of Art and Design, Goldsmith’s College, University of London; a Fellow of the Royal College of Art, and a sculptor and fine-art draftsman. His son, Piers Rawson, the editor of the book, with a doctorate in art history, is a photographer, artist, and writer.

The analysis in Art and Time ranges from examination of imagination and time, symbolic representation of time and the time-related implications of constructing and experiencing art, to our intuitive response to the transcendent realm where time and meaning are intricately involved in our final reading of the artwork. Important concepts covered include: the nature of time as the sum of diachronic and synchronic states; the roles of analogy and metaphor; the time-relative values of art materials and the vocabulary of artistic making, expression, and invention; memory and diachronic tactile experience; and the cultural and spiritual resonances that shape our engagement with both explicit and implied manifestations of time in art. Recognizing its special character in this context, a separate chapter is devoted to photography.

Readers are offered clear guidance in the methods artists, working with structural forms, iconography, and the technical resources of their media, can use to incorporate time as an integral element of their creation. To complement this aspect, the process of reading artworks is discussed, both as a time-based intellectual activity, and as a way of accessing each work’s fullest meaning more intuitively. This approach enables readers to interpret and experience more actively their encounters with the arts, whether contemporary, from less familiar cultures, or from the more distant past. The book included fifty-four black-and-white illustrations.