Temadage

Temadage is a term used in contemporary art criticism to describe a strategy in which a creator revisits a central theme across multiple works, emphasizing thematic continuity over a single narrative arc. The practice appears across media such as literature, film, theater, and visual art, with each work offering variations on the same core idea, motif, or question. The aim is to build a cumulative effect that invites audiences to notice connections and reinterpretations as the theme evolves.

Origins and usage: The coinage is informal and debated, arising in online and scholarly discussions in the early 21st century. It is often applied to projects that are released as a series or that span media, where the repeated theme binds otherwise distinct pieces. Etymology is unsettled; most discussions describe temadage as a portmanteau combining “theme” with a suffix implying practice or method.

Characteristics: Thematic throughline across separate works; iteration with variation; emphasis on memory, interpretation, and reception; sequential or cross-media presentation; can be explicit or implicit.

Examples: A trilogy of novels that revisit a central dilemma in different settings; a film series that reuses the same emblematic object with shifting meanings; an installation that places the same motif in differing spatial contexts.

Reception: Critics praise temadage for encouraging comparative reading and deeper engagement, while others worry it can become repetitive or self-referential if overused.

See also: Leitmotif, motif, seriality, cross-media storytelling, theme.