Davidsonian Temporalism: A Hybrid Framework for Artistic Creation
Abstract This paper introduces Davidsonian Temporalism, a new theory of painting that conceptualizes artistic creation as structured by temporal displacement between perception and action. By decomposing delay (Δt) into physical, cognitive, and intentional components, the model reframes time not as a limitation but as a constitutive medium of art.
1. Introduction
At age five, the artist observed: “We are here, and we are not here.” This prescient statement encapsulates the paradox at the heart of Davidsonian Temporalism: perception and action are never simultaneous. Artistic creation unfolds not in the present moment but in the delay — the offset between intake and gesture.
Traditional art theory often treats time as representational (depicted in artworks) or thematic (explored as subject matter). Davidsonian Temporalism advances a new claim: time itself, specifically the structured delay between perception and action, is the operative medium of painting.
2. The Davidson Hypothesis
The foundational axiom is expressed as:
t₀ → t₀ + Δt
The artist cannot act upon the present directly but responds to a temporally offset reconstruction of perception. Artistic action is displaced, layered, and stratified.
The delay decomposes into three components:
Δt = ΔtP + ΔtC + ΔtA
ΔtP (Physical Delay): Sensory latency imposed by photonic travel and neural conduction. Invariant, sub‑perceptual, empirically measurable.
ΔtC (Cognitive Delay): The interval of perceptual processing, recognition, and awareness. Influenced by attention and expertise but fundamentally involuntary.
ΔtA (Artistic Delay): The deliberative pause in which aesthetic decisions are formed. Strategic, expressive, and manipulable — the locus of artistic agency.
3. Temporal Dynamics of Artistic Action
Artistic action is expressed as:
taction = t₀ + (ΔtP + ΔtC + ΔtA)
Each artwork contains temporal strata — traceable sequences of decisions layered across successive perceptual cycles. These strata are not incidental but constitutive: the painting itself is a temporal construction.
4. Theoretical Foundations
Phenomenology: Husserl’s tripartite temporality (retention, primal impression, protention) and Merleau‑Ponty’s “thick temporality” provide grounding. Davidsonian Temporalism extends these accounts by formalizing the offset and identifying ΔtA as a site of intentional intervention.
Neuroscience: Research on sensory latencies and cognitive processing delays confirms the existence of ΔtP and ΔtC. These are structural constraints, distinguishing them from the creative manipulation of ΔtA.
Art Theory: While Process Art emphasizes sequential visibility, Davidsonian Temporalism reframes process as temporally offset action. Time is not merely sequential but displaced, layered, and constitutive.
5. Davidsonian Temporalism as Framework
The theory is defined by five propositions:
All artistic actions operate on delayed perceptual information.
The delay (Δt) is composite and structurally differentiable.
Artistic agency is exercised primarily through ΔtA.
Artworks contain layered temporal strata corresponding to successive perceptual cycles.
Manipulation of ΔtA is a valid and generative aesthetic strategy.
6. Conclusion
Davidsonian Temporalism reframes artistic creation as an act of temporal construction. Delay is not a limitation but a medium. The early recognition — “We are here, and we are not here” — bridges lived experience and theoretical articulation, situating the artist’s agency within the intentional manipulation of time itself.
