THE WHOLE FIRST...

"For peace to reign on Earth, humans must evolve into new beings who have learned to see the whole first." - Immanuel Kant.

The Crypt of Civilization (1940-8113).

Though we are all subject to its power, time is an enigmatic force that even the brightest and enlightened minds cannot deign to understand. Though we are the only species on earth known to be cognizant of time, our 'cognizance' is simply a self-conceived construct to help us cope with its perplexing and pervasive properties.

Scientifically, we've accepted the concept of linear and forward-moving time, but even this is based on theory. Once we start to question the substance of time, we must then question our very own existence. It is no wonder that ruminations on time have been with us from the beginning and will likely stay with us forever, or at least until its secrets are revealed.

Ancient commemorative burial sites in China, Europe, and Egypt signify an instinctual understanding of linear time and that in order for something to persist into the future, it must be preserved in the present. In fact it was in 1922, with the discovery of King Tut's tomb that there arose a sudden and global craze to capture the zeitgeist of an era and send it valiantly into the future.

This craze was led by the creators of the Westinghouse Time Capsule of Cupaloy (1939-6939) and the Crypt of Civilization (1940-8113). In fact, the term "time capsule" was created as a marketing tool for the New York World's Fair for which the Westinghouse Time Capsule was created and buried.

Since then, there have been many manifestations of time capsule projects at all scales and scopes. The term itself is loosely thrown around to identify anything that is preserved (purposefully or not) and revealed in some future space-time. As Merriam-Webster puts it, a time capsule is “a container holding historical records or objects representative of current culture that is deposited for preservation until discovery by some future age.”

Time capsules are created to preserve something that we expect to lose or evolve from in the future. However, because they are limited in physical dimensions, their contents must be whittled down to the essentials, leaving nothing but a comprehensive 'message.' In order to effectuate this message, the time capsule must undergo a dormancy period before its presentation to the future audience.

I have researched several large-scale time capsule projects and though they vary to large degrees, from a design perspective they all seem to share 4 characteristics.

Time capsules are:

1) communication vehicles to the future, that must transcend space and time.

2) graphic narratives, representing a past era through graphic, and often tactile, means.

3) future exhibitions whose manifestation should be intrinsic its design.

4) commemorative of a past era or existence and require the design of a supporting cultural or commemorative ritual to engage the present-day generation who are really the engine that move the vessels into the future.

Forgetting the rusty tin box image that organically appears when we consider the term, time capsule, I want to create new time capsule projects that meet these 4 criteria but also offer a new perspective. The ISE POSTCARDS PROJECT was one such manifestation. I'll be working on a few more...