Image and Imaginary: Trans-Temporal Dynamics in Wartime

Abstract

The article analyzes the relationship between image, perception, and temporality through the concepts of Residual Image, Latent Image, and Eidolon, showing how artistic works reconfigure memory and the Imaginary. These terms are developed through a phenomenological study examining art objects derived from the German cult film ‘Das Boot’, such as the example ‘Millionen Glitzerlichter (Das Boot)’. It demonstrates how a single material object can operate simultaneously between the concrete and the abstract. The research highlights mechanisms of abstraction, synthesis, and subtraction, which allow the image to dematerialize and rematerialize, transforming its relationship with perception and experience. The image is emphasized as a space of temporal friction, where the past, present, and potential coexist, and where visual, auditory, and tactile perception generates shared memory and future possibilities. German composites, such as Glitzerlichter, exemplify how language can generate autonomous concepts that reveal complex perceptual dimensions, linking linguistic abstraction with sensory experience and the art object. The article does not aim to provide closed interpretations but seeks to open a dialogue on the role of the senses and images in narrative creation. This approach allows for reflection on the fragility of imaginaries, the meaning of works and concepts, as well as the capacity of the image to suspend itself between what was, what is, and what could be.