Natural Time (work of art)
Artwork Info
Key Ideas
- Eric William Carroll is an American artist and photographer. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina.
- Natural Time is made up of 84 photograms. Photograms are images made without a camera, using only sunlight, shadow, and light-sensitive paper.
- Carroll installed each panel in a grove of river birches in the Museum Park. Over several days the panels were exposed to sunlight and the trees’ shadows. This process created the images on the panels.
Learn More
Eric William Carroll is an Asheville-based artist. He uses photography to explore science and nature. Natural Time is made up of 84 photograms. Photograms are photographic images made without a camera by placing objects in front of light-sensitive paper and exposing it to light. Carroll installed each panel in a grove of river birches in the Museum Park. The river birch is a tree he favors because it reminds him of his hometown in Minnesota. Over several days, he exposed the panels to sunlight and the trees’ shadows, from 8 to 10 am and 4 to 6 pm, with the Park’s smokestack acting as a sundial.
Natural Time documents the forms of river birches and their changing environment. Hazy skies from Canadian wildfires and extreme summer heat affected the exposures. Through this camera-less process, Carroll captures a landscape shaped by time and uncertainty
Additional Resources
Resources for Teachers
- Watch a video about Carroll’s work process.
- Read the artist’s biography on his website.
- Read a short article about photograms.
Resources for Students
- Watch a video interview with the artist.
- View other artworks by the artist.
- Watch a short video of Natural Time’s installation.
Images
-
Natural Time