The Visual Mechanics of Quantum Rendering

Drawing

DePaul Art Museum

Name/Title

Entry/Object ID

2024.09

Description

Geometric drawing on graph, textbook like, with handwritten title and notes.

Artwork Details

Medium

White and Red Pencil on Black Paper

Context

The Visual Mechanics of Quantum Rendering (1980) is part of a larger installation titled Time/Space: The Hidden Dimension which included nine similar drawings, all dominated by a strong conceptual framework that involves the exploration of time and her connection to its passage in space. In The Visual Mechanics of Quantum Rendering, Altman creates visual and spatial representations of time by using quarter, half, and full hour intervals, along with their subdivisions, on a grid where each square inch represents one second. She begins with a gridded square or triangle and paces her strokes at one per second, verifying both a specific duration of time and its corresponding spatial measurement. Altman’s interest in the Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) informed pieces like this one, and its focus on how we access the present moment.

Acquisition

Accession

2024.08-09

Source or Donor

Scott Mossman, Raul Ortiz

Acquisition Method

Gift

Credit Line

Gift of Scott Mossman and Raúl Ortiz

Notes

Collection of DePaul Art Museum, gift of Scott Mossman and Raul Ortiz

Made/Created

Artist

Edith Altman

Date made

1980

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Signature

Location

Center Bottom

Transcription

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Class

Art

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials

Time

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Sheet/Canvas

Height

45-1/4 in

Width

46 in

Dimension Description

Frame

Height

48-1/2 in

Width

49 in

Depth

2 in