Making Time Reciprocal Object Relations and the Self-legitimizing Time of Wooden Boating Mikko Jalas
Introduction
This chapter develops and substantiates the argument that material, stuff and objects have temporalities. In particular, I want to explore the idea that such temporalities are not located in or properties of the material itself, but rather that the temporality of stuff is a relational phenomenon situated in between human actors and the material world. I will argue that human action around materials and objects results in reciprocal relations. With this notion of reciprocity I aim to capture the dual role of materials in configuring human temporalities. On the one hand, materials and objects constitute media through which humans articulate and enact different aspects of temporalities such as pace, rhythm and changing temporal horizons. On the other hand, reciprocity implies that materials and objects are indeed able to configure time, establish horizons and reproduce rhythms.
Wooden boating represents a good case with which to illustrate reciprocal object relations through which the practitioners of wooden boating anchor themselves in the material world. This world is populated with wooden vessels of various kinds that appear to be unique, priceless and entitled to good care. Equally, the boating fabric includes visual representations and narrative boat-histories. While some of these objects are officially labelled and registered as instances of maritime heritage, other boats spell out their unique position in more subtle ways. This world of boating also includes the dedicated human practitioners who strive to excel in the skills of maintaining and using such boats. Moreover, humans also figure as dedicated stewards who assume responsibilities and duties towards the material world. Wooden boating is hence a constellation of physical material, cultural meanings and human agents that is, as a whole, able to convince and capture practitioners, absorb human labour, demonstrate skill and craftsmanship, and request various resources such as dedicated time and money.
Wooden boating affords different temporalities and entails multiple ways of establishing them. This chapter, which approaches wooden boating as a practice, explores the notion that there might be a self-referential and autotelic time of wooden boating. During such time, the question of how to do wooden boating overwhelms everything else. In other words, the chapter describes a timeless time of humans working with wooden boats and the moral, aesthetic and practical understandings of wooden boats that permeate this self-referential temporality.
–13–
203