ganzfeld effect
the ganzfeld effect (from german for “complete field”) is a phenomenon of visual perception caused by staring at an undifferentiated and uniform field of color. the effect is described as the loss of vision as the brain cuts off the unchanging signal from the eyes. the result is "seeing black" - apparent blindness.[wikipedia sourced]
at sea on a new moon
going to the bathroom in the middle of the night
spending eight hours in the local anechoic chamber
...rarely does one experience the ganzfeld in nature
light's dark brother
light's dark brother
"photography, it is said, is writing with light"andre laude, 1989
"the architecture of our time is turning into the retinal art of the eye. architecture at large has become an art of the printed image fixed by the hurried eye of the camera"juhani pallasmaa, 1994
"it is only through light and shadow that architecture acquires shape"ingeborg flagge, 2002
used sump oil
richard wilson with used sump oil
viewed from the entrance platform 20:50 appears as a holographic field: simultaneously a polished floor, infinite clear pool, an expansive and indefinable virtual space that clinically absorbs and mirrors the gallery architecture. the room is in fact entirely flooded in oil.
- saatchi gallery excerpt
balka beckett + minkowski
miroslaw balka talking about turbine hall exhibition.
reminds me of eugene minkowski's description of dark space in 1933,
le temps vecu: etudes phenomenologiques et psychopathologiques
i wish miroslaw referenced more people than beckett. although, good choice balka.
more video at tatetube
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reminds me of eugene minkowski's description of dark space in 1933,
"mystery - if we can use an image here - is like a somber and unknown night which envelops us completely; it is also like dark space, homogeneous, infinite, such as we have before us when we close our eyes."
le temps vecu: etudes phenomenologiques et psychopathologiques
i wish miroslaw referenced more people than beckett. although, good choice balka.
more video at tatetube
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hiroshi sugimoto and me.
suigmoto's long exposures in north american cinemas.
he says the exposure lasts the length of the durathe film
but what tricks are he playing with? tight aperature, slow film?
ohio theatre, ohio 1980
suigmoto's long exposures in north american cinemas.
he says the exposure lasts the length of the durathe film
but what tricks are he playing with? tight aperature, slow film?
ohio theatre, ohio 1980
steve mcqueen
perhaps this is a technically simple trick of the camera. however i'm inclined to believe these images to be floating in nothingness. why does the obscurity of depth mesmerise my mind like nothing else?
"darkness is not the mere absence of light; it has some positive quality. whereas bright space disappears, giving way to the material concreteness of objects, darkness is "thick"; it directly touches a person, enfolds, penetrates, and even passes through him. thus the "self is permeable to the dark but not to the light"; the feeling of mystery we experience at night probably stems from this."
roger caillois, 1935, the edge of surrealism: a roger caillois reader, p101
"since dark space enfolds me from all sides, and penetrates me much more deeply than does bright space, the role played by the inner/outer distinction and thus by the sensory organs as well [insofar as they enable external perception] is quite minimal"
eugene minkowski, 1933, etudes phenomenologiques et psychopathologiques
i have a sense that my area of academic research is expanding at a quicker rate than i can ultimately fully grasp in time for my thesis submission. at roughly the same moment, i suspended this thought in favour of reckless and altogether self-indulgent investigation.
revi ew
i had a review, in december, of my design thesis to date.
here are some sampled comments raised in the discussion, and my reflection on them.
"you're not interested in light, you're interested in the representation of light..." andrew clancy
"...and the unexpected secondary effect - texture" andrew clancy
"if i came in and didn't listen to you speak i would think your work was about darkness" david sutherland
here are some sampled comments raised in the discussion, and my reflection on them.
"you're not interested in light, you're interested in the representation of light..." andrew clancy
considering my visual presentation, i think clancy makes an insightful conclusion here. while i always expected the representation of light to form a large part of my thesis, i haven't to date considered it the focus of my studies. i can imagine that the strength of this masters thesis may rest largely on how well i communicate particular notions concerning light.
on the representation of light. it occurs to me that in drawing light i'm attracted to scenes of high [wide] contrast; and the boundaries where white light and deep black meet. it's at these boundaries that i form a sense of material and volume of light, or in some cases the space that light excludes. i find some similarity in anthony mccall's projections; smoke diffused rooms express the geometry and nature of the intersecting, space defining blades
"...and the unexpected secondary effect - texture" andrew clancy
i've considered the material qualities i inevitably invoke when representing light and space in one of my etched plates; a rough, coarsely textured surface for black and the rather polished perfection of intense area's of light. although i need not explain that light isn't attributed with qualities synonymous with matter, i find it increasingly useful to transpose descriptions of the ethereal and the material.
"if i came in and didn't listen to you speak i would think your work was about darkness" david sutherland
simply put, light and dark are two aspects of the singular phenomenon. i refrain from dedicating my work in this way and instead ascribe a desire to control and restrict illumination to the prevalent atmosphere of my prints and drawings. in one sense the darkness in the scenes is an aesthetic and somewhat psychological exercise to narrate the story. however i have found that through restricting incidental light a more tightly controlled experiment in light is the product.
#001
contributeurs.
eamon sheridan
tim heatherington
ian pollard
rowan mackinnon-pryde
sean mcalister
alice chambers
doro theisse
mark milstead
peter hyland
luke kilpatrick
luna nero
i had a critique of my research-to-date recently. i consider it to have been a highly constructive discussion. it often seems that these reviews neglect to provide a significant springboard for further lines of enquiry [or indeed further inward reflection], and so i am left to imagine why i consider this critique a success. and i consider that success as something to do with how engaged i felt my critters were. of course, and as always, my perception of the review could be unhelpfully biased, and so i look to my peers and tutor for further insight.
off the cuff, a few challenges are set before me.
to translate/evolve my work into three dimensions
to spend some time looking for black
ex-periential-de-vice
- [instinctive assembly] montage of a chronological experience through the viewfinder of my camera
- [rational assembly] montage using 'traditional' methods of photo-montage composition
- [robot assembly] automated photoshop cs3 photo-merge
lamp-scape
studio has never felt so inviting!
plaster, print, plate, tools, books, white spirits, lamp, buckets
creative endeavour doesn't travel in straight lines
this reminds me of bruce mau's number 18>>
18. Stay up late.
Strange things happen when you’ve gone too far, been up too long, worked too hard, and you're separated from the rest of the world.
nothing disappears completely
"nothing disappears completely, however; nor can what subsists be defined solely in terms of traces, memories or relics... in space, what came earlier continues to underpin what follows"
"absolute space is located nowhere. it has no place because it embodies all places, and has a strictly symbolic existence. this is what makes it similar to the fictitious/real space of language, and that of mental space, magically [imaginarily] cut off from the spatial realm, where the consiousness of the 'subject' - or 'self-consciousness' - takes form."henri lefebrve, the production of space, 1991
'obelisk *001' etching, aqua-tint print
i propose that the deformation of space through representation methods has the power to inform and unhinge our experience of space. gordon's work, seen above, caught my eye as i rambled through the 6th year studios of nottingham's architecture. beautiful and eerie.
input ≥ output
chase down the lines of enquiry
piranesi, giovan battista - fictitious 'prisions'
john soane - candle-lit parties
lebbeus woods - incredible interpretations
andrei tarkovsky - extremely long takes
jorge luis borges - nature of time, infinity, mirrors, labyrinths, reality, philosophy, and identity
jorge luis borges - nature of time, infinity, mirrors, labyrinths, reality, philosophy, and identity
below: one 5 prints from a zinc etching plate.
i don't think he can get out of there
a line describing a cone
anthony mccall concieved this piece to disengage his work from the notion of a single aspect experience. aside from interesting transformations of visitors between their role as the spectator and their role as performer [as they interact with the projection][perhaps in being the performer here, there is no opt-out option, other than by accident], aside from this, mccall scripts a three-dimensional transformational space-invoking gesture, your experience of which is unique to your position in the room, moment of view and your state of motion.
i'm reminded of the otherwise insignificant moments when i walk down the level 6 corridor and the low-penetrating evening sun triumphs in casting odd blades of pure light deep in the heart of the building. if every deviation from the earth's surface can act as a sun dial, in a sense, the matthew building is an alien spaceship
level 5 never feels this light.
it's like some sort of evolving, growing thing;
there are common genes in each item, but the
necessarily progressive mutations intrigue me
we reviewed the sheet music projects today
to present, each student hung, from the ceiling, their collage images in the studio
there is something of this exhibition style which i think we could use throughout the year
to present, each student hung, from the ceiling, their collage images in the studio
there is something of this exhibition style which i think we could use throughout the year
display vs exhibit...
prologue
photography took my attention last year.
- find a shop which sells film... choose a type of film to buy... no, not that one, too expensive [and you have to post it to get developed]... uncover your interest/subject/object... gauge the settings... snap. finish the film... book into the dark rooms... flick off the lights... pop out the film and load the reel... bathe in toxic chemicals and rinse... dry the film... go for a tartans... chop it up... pick a favourite... load up the enlarger... set the timer... flick off the lights... align and focus... sacrifice some paper and test your settings... not bad... load up a big one... and maybe another cause you don't want to be in there till lunch... submerge in the chemicals... bathe, rince then dry... and presto, you're a photographer
what i'm describing is specific yet what interests me about this photography is a more transferable quality i've yet to understand
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people i'm talking looking at
james turrell
eduardo chillida
antony mccall
arthur zajonc
gernot böhme