In the domain of Dr. FonTs, time is not a neutral container. It becomes a form – a typographic gesture. Each artwork is signed with a date, but not in ordinay numbers. Instead, time is translated into Roman numerals, evoking an ancient rhythm that resonates across centuries.
This transformation is not merely aesthetic. It reflects Dr. FonTs’ analytical need to fix time, to structure it with classical order, as if encoding meaning through architecture rather than flow. Each drawing thus carries a tripartite temporal signature, a ritual seal of its own becoming.
Yet this attempt to measure time, even with such solemn precision, is always fragile. The Gregorian calendar itself is an approximation: a compromise between the solar year and the mechanics of the clock. A year is not 365 days, but 365.2422 – hence the leap years, the skipped centuries, the occasional dissonance. Even in its Roman cloak, it pulses with imperfection
The Format
Each date from the Gregorian calendar is converted into the Roman Date Format, as follows
RD | RM | RY
where:
RD is the translation of arabic number d into Roman numeral
RM is the translation of arabic number m into Roman numeral
RY is the translation of arabic number y into Roman numeral
Let’s see the example of date Friday February 17th 2023. In this case d is 17, m is 2, y is 2023. As a consequence RY is XVII, RM is II, RY is MMXXIII giving as output: