In our contemporary society, when you hear of an individual experiencing an emotional response to art, the typical first expectations of the medium are that of music, film, prose, poetry, and sometimes visual art (among others). Media which are bound by the very nature of their respective definitions to be experienced utilizing a temporal element will induce emotional resonance more frequently than those that do not.
I believe that music and film are two of the most impactful, not because the media are necessarily more conducive to emotional resonance, but rather they are the most accessible media. Music is available on radios everywhere, and most homes (for better or for worse) have televisions as the living room focal point. It is almost an expectation, for many people, to experience certain films or songs relevant in pop culture. One thing is certain, the masses have these media available to experience in surplus, and thus have more exposure to emotionally resonate with the media.
Accessibility of media aside, to induce emotional resonance in beholders of a work of art, it is paramount that the artist utilize temporal experience within the work.
Music is composed of sounds arranged in a certain order & time, and films are composed of digital or celluloid frames played in a sequence. These two art forms cannot be experienced at face value (merely “looking”) alone, and must be experienced via consumption over time (at minimum, the span of the media’s duration) for a comprehensive understanding of that which was intended to be experienced.
Hearing the sounds of a song, separated from the context of the song itself, will typically not be enough to induce emotional resonance in the beholder of the isolated sounds. A song sets the foundation of the sounds to be used, and conducts the order by which the sounds are to be experienced; the listener walks through a guided tour designed by the musician, and during that journey, may be led to unexpected places that resonate with the listener. It’s the journey (temporal experience), which renders time unavoidable, that increases the potential for emotional conduction of any work of art.
Another benefit of the journey, or rather, temporal experience––is that the beholder may receive a sense of “resolution” upon completion. As far as stories go, thematic resolutions may vary on societal trends. Sometimes, stories with “happy endings” are the norm, other times, the trend is to subvert expectations with the resolution. However, if no journey is provided and the beholder is not offered a temporal experience, the beholder will likely regard their experience of the work as “resolved” before truly considering the work with the lens of the artist’s intention or their own subconscious resonance.
It is easy for an artist outside of storytelling to forego the temporal experience with their art. I believe this is a mistake, because beholders will disregard the work quickly, believing there is nothing to experience beyond what’s at face value. When a work is imbued with temporal experience, the beholder is given an opportunity to spend more time with the work, increasing potential for emotional resonance, and delaying the time it takes for the beholder to consider their experience of the work as “resolved.”
Breakdown of the Formula
Represents the total emotional resonance conductivity.
The temporal experience, defining the duration and sequential depth of the artwork.
The journey conductivity function, representing the intensity of emotional guidance at each moment t along the timeline.
The resolution function, capturing the impact of the conclusion earned through the duration T.
Infinitesimal time element.