In Canto Collection, how is the The concept of time discussed?
The limitations that the painter has imposed on himself result not only in a series of 124 paintings, but also in a sequence with cinematic aspects. The can is always the same size and in the same place within the image plane. Therefore, one would observe a stationary can if all the Canto's would be subjected, in succession, to a filmic ´overfading´. The environment around the can would continually change while the can itself remains static. With that the Canto series, in a way, could be described as a painted movie, a primitive visual documentary. In this sense, the series deviates considerably from what is usual and possible within a single, independent painting. The series has a timespan of 11 years within which the can was followed by the painter. In a way, time was the co-creator. This makes the Canto Collection more than just the sum of 124 paintings. This time-frame of 11 years is also represented within the series in smaller parts. Canto 6 (1982) already bears witness to this in a subtle manner because a small piece of the label has unnoticeably disappeared. Diederik Kraaijpoel writes: "Within the main series there are many sub-series which usually contain an optical peculiarity so that the viewer constantly wonders: "What do I actually see?" An example of such a sub-series is shown by the Canto's 9 to 12 (‘An Investigation 1-5’, 1982). In a series of successive works, a glass jar is filled with more and more water so that the image changes all the time; in another sub-series we see the can falling one meter; or flowers that wither, or, simply the can during different parts of the day. The further the Canto project progresses, the more complex the concept of time becomes.			
			
		
		
			
			
		
		
			
			
		
		
			
			
		
		
			
			
		
A penultimate sub-series (Canto 116-121, The Labyrinth, 1993) paints an excursion into the studio. The viewer jumps from one scene to the next; the scene following that (with the can that is to be depicted) is always seen in the background of the painting. The tour ends exactly where it began. It is as if time does not exist here, for we are sent back into the studio over and over again. Here time is as a cyclical phenomenon.
can Diederik Kraaijpoel