Between the lost time and the instant: Chronophotography, science, and modern temporality

Abstract

When the timing of history and perception sets in motion an increasingly transient and contingent present, the category of the instant takes a relevant place in the modern epistemological scenario. In the second half of the 19th century emerged a veritable chronometric arsenal that coordinates with the imperative of structuring time, within and outside the body, in identical substances, eminently divisible and estimable, in opposition to the philosophical and phenomenological hypothesis that time, par excellence, would be an indivisible continuum. This is a dispute for the image of time and, therefore, for its nature and meaning; a dilemma involving mapping and 'imaging' using the new image technologies, where the microinstant is a key concept and the instantaneous photography a fundamental driving force. As a problem in the formulation of various fields of knowledge, the photography is not only a part of generalized chronometry but also creates problems for this time fragmentation, a criticism that installs new perceptions and relativizations about time. Therefore, this article intends to unravel the scientific photographic experiences of Jules Janssen and Étienne-Jules Marey, confront them, and use them to interact with philosophical, scientific, and artistic debates in order to question the profound relationship between photography and the modern experience of time.