optics + historical figures
above, the vacant observatory on ballgay hill
below, a few prominent historical thinkers. they understood light before anyone else
a note: this a draft post that should have been published a long time ago
alhazen
conceived the notion that light rays do not travel from our eyes, but rather from luminous sources into our eyes. reflective surfaces + the camera obscura
roger bacon
understood the principle of the rainbow
rené descartes
"And so something which I thought I was seeing with my eyes is in fact grasped solely by the faculty of judgment which is in my mind"
descartes used an ox's eye to determine that we infact see an upside down image of the world
cogito ergo sum (English: "I think, therefore I am")
finding the site
condition one
the instrument is built around the total solar eclipse commencing july 16th 2186, 15:14:54
condition two
the trajectory of this significant eclipse follows a thin path across the surface of the earth. the only landfall occur in south america
condition three
to increase the chances of the instrument using/experiencing the eclipse, cloud and atmospheric interference need to be reduced. therefore high altitude is required.
condition four
the programme of the instrument suggests that a sharp change in surface inclination could aid the exit route. this could take the form of a cliff, mountainside, impact crater wall, crevasse etc...
clarifying your resistance
clarifying your resistance
following on from monday's critique of my thesis project, i'm currently embarking to clarify 'that which is offering my project resistance' or a solid position on origin and process of my decision making.
the script
the stage directions
the narrative
the site
the physics of light
the human physiological restrains
the human psychological condition
the natural light
the proprioception of space
the path of the sun
the longest theoretical eclipse
on July 16 2186, a solar eclipse lasting 7 minutes and 29 seconds, it is the longest solar eclipse between the dates of 2000bc and 3000ad]
the realisation of illusion
i doubt that my interest is simply in illusion
there is something special in that moment when an apparent illusion is reduced into reality - when the joy of mystery is confirmed as truth - when miracles happen before our eyes. have you ever questioned the actuality of a cantilevered thing? you say to yourself, 'it must be some sort of trick'. well it is, and that's fine. but something did become real, something impossible happened. how self gratifying it is to have been the thing that experienced the realisation of illusion.
illusion
i've been playing with the idea of illusion. it is an idea, illusions only exist between [...]. the quoted definition below has a conflict. is illusion a misleading impression, or misapprehension of reality? i'm inclined to favour 'misapprehension' as the more accurate description - an experience accountable only to your self.
i'm not sure 'misleading impression' actually makes sense. surely impressions are highly subjective, likely-irrational-things from the outset. what in gods good name, then, is a misleading impression?
aside from the origin of the word illusion, its 'cheap' connotations and other things besides, i'm coming to warm to this descriptive noun.
–noun
1.
something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality.
2.
the state or condition of being deceived; misapprehension.
3.
an instance of being deceived.
4.
Psychology. a perception, as of visual stimuli (optical illusion), that represents what is perceived in a way different from the way it is in reality.
5.
a very thin, delicate tulle of silk or nylon having a cobwebbed appearance, for trimmings, veilings, and the like.
6.
Obsolete. the act of deceiving; deception; delusion.
a note on the images appearing in this post.
it took the shape of a 1w*1d*2h metre 'hung' space, with blackout curtains draped, wrapped and slung around a suspended, square-section, aluminium frame.
i relied on clamps, pins and lab-style, miniature scaffolding.
expect more evidence to follow
context
what does context mean?
since matriculating
190 days
16416000 seconds
4026 words for thesis
4.9248x10^15 metres distance travelled by morning light reflected off my drawing board in studio
3x10^8 metres per second is the speed of light
16.6x10^12 metres from our sun of the furthest man made object, Voyager 1
15 hours 27 minutes is how long the light reflected off my drawing board took to overtake the furthest man made object from the sun
revolt
take arms!
this is nothing less than an attack on the very poetics of space!
hoards of lifeless, evenly distributed, white-wash florescence is taking over our space, day and night!
19th century paris revolted against the newly installed public, gas lighting system, being paid for out of the police budget, it was seen to illuminate the streets to help quell rebellion.
our 21st century needs to rise up against the perpetual lamping of every street, the empty, constantly-lit office blocks, the dead-space supermarkets, the flat, seemingly texture-less walls of your children's classrooms.
switch off those over-head bulbs, separate your six species of light and marvel
weep, alas, i'm not talking about light pollution, i'm talking about poison of your very soul.
[a reaction against unsettling trends to evenly light all space]
this is nothing less than an attack on the very poetics of space!
hoards of lifeless, evenly distributed, white-wash florescence is taking over our space, day and night!
19th century paris revolted against the newly installed public, gas lighting system, being paid for out of the police budget, it was seen to illuminate the streets to help quell rebellion.
our 21st century needs to rise up against the perpetual lamping of every street, the empty, constantly-lit office blocks, the dead-space supermarkets, the flat, seemingly texture-less walls of your children's classrooms.
switch off those over-head bulbs, separate your six species of light and marvel
weep, alas, i'm not talking about light pollution, i'm talking about poison of your very soul.
[a reaction against unsettling trends to evenly light all space]
blake
1757 - 1827
william blake
