Killing Time

  • Killing Time.jpg
  • Killing Time (process IV).jpg
  • Killing Time (process III) copy.jpg
  • Killing Time (process).jpg
  • Killing Time (detail V).jpg
  • Killing Time (detail II).jpg
  • Killing Time (detail IV).jpg
Fan - 1 Expert - 13
$9,800.00

Kill Time..... That phrase is usually used when there is a while left for a "better" moment to arrive and, in the meantime, we go to certain distractions that lighting the waiting time. Carlos was feeling overwhelmed with all his ideas and inability to capture them all and/or the possibility of not fulfilling them as he grows older. Mateu's paintings depicts a place where he can go and stops time so that he accomplishes everything and then turns time back on.

Responses (3)

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Anjie Skaya
Anjie Skaya Artist

March 28, 2022

such a great write and awesome critique!!! TU:-)stimulating

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Carlos Mateu
Carlos Mateu Creator

March 29, 2022

Thank you.

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John Crowther
John Crowther Critic

March 25, 2022

The older I get, the more I dislike time, or, more accurately, the prison that we make of time. It is with us always; it clings to us and controls our every movement. And the oddest thing is we choose to remain in its oppressive and unforgiving grasp. When I say "choose to", I do not mean we can get out of bed one day, break every watch, clock, and tiresome cellphone screen, and go about our business without destroying every aspect of our life. Instead, I mean that time is not an unbreakable natural law like physics that existed before humanity but simply something we made up.  

It would be foolish to argue that we should have no system of temporal measurement. Still, I do not think it is unreasonable to question if the current system is necessary or superior to all others. Of course, society would run into some real problems if we had no way to pose the question: “when?”. However, why must it be so rigid and inflexible? Every ticking and tocking second hangs on our minds like chains. I think that our persistent anxieties about getting old, not accomplishing what we wish to in life, and feeling guilt at choosing relaxation overwork are hugely accentuated by our temporal system's particulars.

I find Carlos Mateu’s reliably beautiful and richly painted canvas, Killing time, so relatable because who among us has not wished at one point to pause time, or, at least, slow the damn thing down. Time is a source of endless anxiety, something that reminds us (down to the bloody second!) of everything we are not doing and locks us in a cage. I do not want to kill it (that said, if one could without descending the world into chaos, I am definitely on board with eliminating it), but I do want to change it. Unfortunately, I am not nearly smart enough to know-how or what would be a better alternative, but I refuse to believe there is not one (at least, can we please get rid of seconds and make one year into five).

Perhaps the biggest problem is how preciously we hold on to the sanctity of time. If we were not so obsessed with beginnings and ends, maybe then, we would not constantly worry about everything we are not doing so that we can actually enjoy what we are doing. What I love most about the composition is the overwhelming onslaught of turning gears. The enormity and all-consuming nature of the gear’s presence in the picture mirror how time is perhaps the most oppressive and inescapable practice humans have devised. Furthermore, it instills in us a false and dangerous sense of history.

In western tradition, time is usually thought of like a tree (or a staircase, as is brilliantly represented in Killing Time): it grows up, and there is no room for deviation or nuance in its trajectory. While the tree is a whole, and thus the temporal elements that constitute it are as well, the vertical nature of the Roman-Greco calendar gives people the impression that the past, present, and future are separate and simply building upon each other in a straight linear fashion. I contend time is more like a rhizome (subterranean plants, ginger, for example) than a tree. Rhizomes have no fixed trajectory but send roots out in all directions connected by a central hub (the rhizome). I know this is an odd metaphor, but it far more aptly captures the complexity of time than the tree. History is as much a part of the "present" as it is the "past". Nothing we do is ever unaffected by the past. Our entire society, cultural mores, individual actions are equally if not more, guided by inputs from the "past" as inputs from the present. 

Killing time is part of a collection I’ve made on Altamira (and will continue to add to!) about artworks that deal with time, as I did with my Beach Days collection two weekend newsletters ago. In the future, I will return to this collection as there are other works I wish to discuss and other collections I will make along the way. We encourage you to make your own collections with artworks you love and subjects you cannot stay away from. Anyone can create a collection: simply hit the bookmark under any artwork to start a collection and do the same to add to it. We’ll feature a different collection each week on the homepage, and we can’t wait to see what you guys come up with! Have a great weekend, and try not to let time spoil it for you!

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Anjie Skaya
Anjie Skaya Artist

March 28, 2022

WoW!!! this was an Amazing read! Your spectacular and thought provoking writing on time, a very talented Artist and an accompaniment of his really Cool!!! industrial like surrealistic, sci-fi artwork is impeccably fitting and organic. Thank you.

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John Crowther
John Crowther Critic

April 21, 2022

Thank you! It really gets one thinking

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John Crowther
John Crowther Critic

March 25, 2022

The older I get, the more I dislike time, or, more accurately, the prison that we make of time. It is with us always; it clings to us and controls our every movement. And the oddest thing is we choose to remain in its oppressive and unforgiving grasp. When I say "choose to", I do not mean we can get out of bed one day, break every watch, clock, and tiresome cellphone screen, and go about our business without destroying every aspect of our life. Instead, I mean that time is not an unbreakable natural law like physics that existed before humanity but simply something we made up.  

It would be foolish to argue that we should have no system of temporal measurement. Still, I do not think it is unreasonable to question if the current system is necessary or superior to all others. Of course, society would run into some real problems if we had no way to pose the question: “when?”. However, why must it be so rigid and inflexible? Every ticking and tocking second hangs on our minds like chains. I think that our persistent anxieties about getting old, not accomplishing what we wish to in life, and feeling guilt at choosing relaxation overwork are hugely accentuated by our temporal system's particulars.

I find Carlos Mateu’s reliably beautiful and richly painted canvas, Killing time, so relatable because who among us has not wished at one point to pause time, or, at least, slow the damn thing down. Time is a source of endless anxiety, something that reminds us (down to the bloody second!) of everything we are not doing and locks us in a cage. I do not want to kill it (that said, if one could without descending the world into chaos, I am definitely on board with eliminating it), but I do want to change it. Unfortunately, I am not nearly smart enough to know-how or what would be a better alternative, but I refuse to believe there is not one (at least, can we please get rid of seconds and make one year into five).

Perhaps the biggest problem is how preciously we hold on to the sanctity of time. If we were not so obsessed with beginnings and ends, maybe then, we would not constantly worry about everything we are not doing so that we can actually enjoy what we are doing. What I love most about the composition is the overwhelming onslaught of turning gears. The enormity and all-consuming nature of the gear’s presence in the picture mirror how time is perhaps the most oppressive and inescapable practice humans have devised. Furthermore, it instills in us a false and dangerous sense of history.

In western tradition, time is usually thought of like a tree (or a staircase, as is brilliantly represented in Killing Time): it grows up, and there is no room for deviation or nuance in its trajectory. While the tree is a whole, and thus the temporal elements that constitute it are as well, the vertical nature of the Roman-Greco calendar gives people the impression that the past, present, and future are separate and simply building upon each other in a straight linear fashion. I contend time is more like a rhizome (subterranean plants, ginger, for example) than a tree. Rhizomes have no fixed trajectory but send roots out in all directions connected by a central hub (the rhizome). I know this is an odd metaphor, but it far more aptly captures the complexity of time than the tree. History is as much a part of the "present" as it is the "past". Nothing we do is ever unaffected by the past. Our entire society, cultural mores, individual actions are equally if not more, guided by inputs from the "past" as inputs from the present. 

Killing time is part of a collection I’ve made on Altamira (and will continue to add to!) about artworks that deal with time, as I did with my Beach Days collection two weekend newsletters ago. In the future, I will return to this collection as there are other works I wish to discuss and other collections I will make along the way. We encourage you to make your own collections with artworks you love and subjects you cannot stay away from. Anyone can create a collection: simply hit the bookmark under any artwork to start a collection and do the same to add to it. We’ll feature a different collection each week on the homepage, and we can’t wait to see what you guys come up with! Have a great weekend, and try not to let time spoil it for you!

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Carlos Mateu
Creator
Category
Geometric, Surrealism
Type
Painting - Framed
Materials
Acrylic, Pastels, Oil, Canvas
Dimensions
47.00 inches wide
47.00 inches tall
1.50 inches deep
Weight
5.00 lbs
Location
Brooklyn, NY, US
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