"Echolalia is a mental disease which makes people immediately repeat things that well people around them say. But Billy didn't really have it. Rumfoord simply insisted, for his own comfort, that Billy had it. Rumfoord was thinking in a military manner: that an inconvenient person, one whose death he wished for very much, for practical reasons, was suffering from a repulsive disease."
-Kurt Vonnegut, "Slaughterhouse-Five".
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Living Lighting
http://www.akimbo.ca/submissions/?id=17436
Idea: computers light up the world. Something to do with being connected via technology, which is transmitted and received using with computer screens.
Idea: computers light up the world. Something to do with being connected via technology, which is transmitted and received using with computer screens.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Review: Edward Burtynsky "Oil"
Edward Burtynsky
Oil
Nicholas Metivier Gallery
October 8 – October 31 2009
Edward Burtynsky is possibly the most well-known Canadian photographer currently exhibiting and creating work. He has a strong influence in Toronto, having founded Toronto Image Works – one of the city’s main digital and darkroom facilities. Burtynsky’s work is featured in numerous public and corporate collections around the world and has been featured in an eighty-minute, award-winning documentary film titled Manufactured Landscapes (2006), directed by Jennifer Baichwal.
With such a high level of success, there is much to be expected of any collection of the artist’s work. Photographs exhibited in Oil offer a strong presentation of his body of work, offering the viewer a multitude of scenes related to industrial development and its effects on our environment. Photographic subjects in this exhibition are related to the extraction, consumption and disposal of oil and oil products. Most images are devoid of people, focusing instead on that which is man-made. Burtynsky chooses to photograph the Alberta Oil sands, oil extraction fields, refineries, intersections of major highways, as well as the disposed tires and oil tankers that are waiting to rejoin the cycle of commodity.
These depicted structures are ecologically, politically and economically charged with numerous messages and meanings. Despite being tied to a number of conflicting discourses, Burtynsky’s work effectively transcends the arguments surrounding his subject matter. Instead, the artist aims to elevate mundane, man-made structures to a realm that is beyond our day-to-day experience. Burtynsky successfully isolates and makes strange these environments that we, as humans, have created for ourselves. In the book Manufactured Landscapes, Lori Pauli states that “Burtynsky has altered our understanding of the sublime landscape, giving us a new appreciation for the man-made sublime.” Environments from our daily lives take one a new meaning within these works, transcending their functional use and becoming monumental subjects of these photographs.
The artist’s photographic method is key to the effectiveness of his work. Using a large-format film camera and infinite focus, Burtynsky is able to capture a hyper-realistic level of detail in each image. The photograph’s static depiction of a particular place in time alters one’s finite viewpoint of a scene, providing a viewpoint that is specific to the experience of photography. Also, each image shows that the artist is highly sensitive to the natural and artificial light that illuminates his subjects. One can observe the use of warm light that is characteristic to shooting early or late in the day, as well as the glowing halo of artificial light that is captured at night. This strategic use of light adds to the monumentality of his image, allowing the viewer to experience these man-made structures in a particular way.
Lastly, the composition of each picture is strongly ordered, generating a rhythm that resonates throughout each image. Some photographs have prominent centrifugal activity that invites the eye to expand outward from the center of the image. Other works contain strong lines that suggest a network of paths for the eye to follow throughout the image. This adds to a sense of rhythm that reverberates throughout the entire exhibition, unifying these photographs in one collective, underlying narrative.
Burtynsky’s greatest achievement comes from his profound depiction of the narrative of oil, one of humankind’s most necessary commodities. Each image goes beyond one’s daily, mundane experiences of product consumption, inviting the viewer the look at man-made environments in a new way. In representing the narrative of oil, Burtynsky’s photographs reflect the global exchanges of humans in our collective habits of survival.
Selena L. Lee
Works Cited:
Pauli, Lori. Manufactured Landscapes. National Gallery of Canada: Ottawa. 2003. 22.
Oil
Nicholas Metivier Gallery
October 8 – October 31 2009
Edward Burtynsky is possibly the most well-known Canadian photographer currently exhibiting and creating work. He has a strong influence in Toronto, having founded Toronto Image Works – one of the city’s main digital and darkroom facilities. Burtynsky’s work is featured in numerous public and corporate collections around the world and has been featured in an eighty-minute, award-winning documentary film titled Manufactured Landscapes (2006), directed by Jennifer Baichwal.
With such a high level of success, there is much to be expected of any collection of the artist’s work. Photographs exhibited in Oil offer a strong presentation of his body of work, offering the viewer a multitude of scenes related to industrial development and its effects on our environment. Photographic subjects in this exhibition are related to the extraction, consumption and disposal of oil and oil products. Most images are devoid of people, focusing instead on that which is man-made. Burtynsky chooses to photograph the Alberta Oil sands, oil extraction fields, refineries, intersections of major highways, as well as the disposed tires and oil tankers that are waiting to rejoin the cycle of commodity.
These depicted structures are ecologically, politically and economically charged with numerous messages and meanings. Despite being tied to a number of conflicting discourses, Burtynsky’s work effectively transcends the arguments surrounding his subject matter. Instead, the artist aims to elevate mundane, man-made structures to a realm that is beyond our day-to-day experience. Burtynsky successfully isolates and makes strange these environments that we, as humans, have created for ourselves. In the book Manufactured Landscapes, Lori Pauli states that “Burtynsky has altered our understanding of the sublime landscape, giving us a new appreciation for the man-made sublime.” Environments from our daily lives take one a new meaning within these works, transcending their functional use and becoming monumental subjects of these photographs.
The artist’s photographic method is key to the effectiveness of his work. Using a large-format film camera and infinite focus, Burtynsky is able to capture a hyper-realistic level of detail in each image. The photograph’s static depiction of a particular place in time alters one’s finite viewpoint of a scene, providing a viewpoint that is specific to the experience of photography. Also, each image shows that the artist is highly sensitive to the natural and artificial light that illuminates his subjects. One can observe the use of warm light that is characteristic to shooting early or late in the day, as well as the glowing halo of artificial light that is captured at night. This strategic use of light adds to the monumentality of his image, allowing the viewer to experience these man-made structures in a particular way.
Lastly, the composition of each picture is strongly ordered, generating a rhythm that resonates throughout each image. Some photographs have prominent centrifugal activity that invites the eye to expand outward from the center of the image. Other works contain strong lines that suggest a network of paths for the eye to follow throughout the image. This adds to a sense of rhythm that reverberates throughout the entire exhibition, unifying these photographs in one collective, underlying narrative.
Burtynsky’s greatest achievement comes from his profound depiction of the narrative of oil, one of humankind’s most necessary commodities. Each image goes beyond one’s daily, mundane experiences of product consumption, inviting the viewer the look at man-made environments in a new way. In representing the narrative of oil, Burtynsky’s photographs reflect the global exchanges of humans in our collective habits of survival.
Selena L. Lee
Works Cited:
Pauli, Lori. Manufactured Landscapes. National Gallery of Canada: Ottawa. 2003. 22.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Things I Have Learned so Far (Inspired by Stefan Sagmeister)
#1. My chances of winning are always better if I play.
I'll never win the lottery if I don't buy a ticket. If I don't apply for whatever scholarship or grant, I'll have a 0% chance of getting it.
I won a game of poker yesterday because I decided to play, even though I did such a bad job as a dealer that i had to re-deal a hand three times.
Also, playing = playing for fun. I find that things work out better if I relax a bit.
I'll never win the lottery if I don't buy a ticket. If I don't apply for whatever scholarship or grant, I'll have a 0% chance of getting it.
I won a game of poker yesterday because I decided to play, even though I did such a bad job as a dealer that i had to re-deal a hand three times.
Also, playing = playing for fun. I find that things work out better if I relax a bit.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Untitled (manipulated photograms and binary code)
Re-posted to incorporate the arrangement of images.
Each print is 16x20 in.
Each print is 16x20 in.
Artist Statement: November 12 2009
My art is an investigation of my relationship to images; breaking down my experience of the image and reflecting on this analysis to create work about the virtual and perceptual possibilities within the image. I am inspired by the idea of images being containers for information, and relate this notion to our experiences of pictures in the digital and virtual realm.
Works experiment with both analog and digital processes, exploring how each process is a unique experience and considering the possibilities in both the virtual and tactile realms. My work is very cerebral and is an expression of my personal, intellectual dialogue. Despite the art being rooted in my experience with images, I aim to create numerous visual possibilities within a single picture. Thus, I invite the viewer to perceive and interpret images based on their own experiences. I am aware of possible disconnects between my experiences of imagery and that of my audience, but it is this disparity in perception and interpretation that I find fascinating. Although the given information within an image may be the same, one’s interpretation of what is given is highly unpredictable. Thus, with images, I believe that a person can only see what he or she is prepared to see.
With my most recent work I am investigating the phenomenology of images, presenting real and objective qualities of photographs while acknowledging the illusory, subjective perceptions of the viewer. In making this body of work, I am hoping for a greater understanding of human consciousness, considering how relationships are constructed based on our given information and experiences.
Works experiment with both analog and digital processes, exploring how each process is a unique experience and considering the possibilities in both the virtual and tactile realms. My work is very cerebral and is an expression of my personal, intellectual dialogue. Despite the art being rooted in my experience with images, I aim to create numerous visual possibilities within a single picture. Thus, I invite the viewer to perceive and interpret images based on their own experiences. I am aware of possible disconnects between my experiences of imagery and that of my audience, but it is this disparity in perception and interpretation that I find fascinating. Although the given information within an image may be the same, one’s interpretation of what is given is highly unpredictable. Thus, with images, I believe that a person can only see what he or she is prepared to see.
With my most recent work I am investigating the phenomenology of images, presenting real and objective qualities of photographs while acknowledging the illusory, subjective perceptions of the viewer. In making this body of work, I am hoping for a greater understanding of human consciousness, considering how relationships are constructed based on our given information and experiences.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
phenomenology
from wikipedia:
"In its most basic form, phenomenology attempts to create conditions for the objective study of topics usually regarded as subjective: consciousness and the content of conscious experiences such as judgments, perceptions, and emotions. Although phenomenology seeks to be scientific, it does not attempt to study consciousness from the perspective of clinical psychology or neurology. Instead, it seeks through systematic reflection to determine the essential properties and structures of consciousness and conscious experience."
hooray for new words! I'll be doing more with this in the near future.
"In its most basic form, phenomenology attempts to create conditions for the objective study of topics usually regarded as subjective: consciousness and the content of conscious experiences such as judgments, perceptions, and emotions. Although phenomenology seeks to be scientific, it does not attempt to study consciousness from the perspective of clinical psychology or neurology. Instead, it seeks through systematic reflection to determine the essential properties and structures of consciousness and conscious experience."
hooray for new words! I'll be doing more with this in the near future.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
Review: Willie Doherty, Prefix Gallery
Willie Doherty
Passages
Prefix Gallery
September 24 – November 28 2009
This collection of works by Willie Doherty present us with an ambiguous sensation of place. His photographs, while containing eye-catching details that offer some knowledge about the places he works in, are effective at creating insecurities in regards to the meanings and narratives that can be derived from these images. In fact, Doherty’s focus on the relationships between known and unknown aspects of images is one of the greatest strengths of this exhibition.
The photographs within Passages act as a preface to Doherty’s film. These consist of works produced within the last fifteen years, which refer to a dialogue that draws from his relationship with his homeland – Derry, North Ireland. This dialogue has its genesis in the social and political conflicts of the country. For three decades from the late 1960s, a climate of violence and an underlying sense of fear were a part of everyday life for the citizens of this country. Doherty situates his work in this climate of uncertainty. Although the work reflects his experience in North Ireland, it does not exclude the universal concern of photography as a select representation of ‘truth’. Thus is not limited to a parochial, historical discourse.
Instead, images within the exhibition focus on the subtle remnants of human intervention that exist within a place. Titles such as Beneath the Surface II (1999), Small Acts of Deception (1997), and Unreported Incident (1995) alert the viewer to the notion of the image as a representation of a specific and limited viewpoint. The artist limits the photographic subject to the detritus of human activity, controls the mise-en scene of his images, and captures dark areas in his photographs to veil parts of the scene. With this, one can view Doherty’s effective use of light and dark as metaphors for possibilities of known and unknown within an image. Thus, the viewer of these images becomes aware of his or her restricted viewpoint concerning the information revealed about these photographed places.
Doherty’s film, Buried (2009) extends this tension of known and unknown into the fluid sensation of time. The eight-minute film is highly sensory and incorporates the same sense of ambiguity regarding the place that is represented in his photographs. Initially some images appear to be stills until one becomes aware of the flow of time indicated through a twig blowing in the wind, water dripping over bark, or insects moving in the earth. In contrast to these detailed, closed-in shots, Doherty also incorporates wide-angled pans of the surrounding trees. Despite being perceptually ambiguous, the viewer is allowed a total sensation of the place as captured through Doherty’s lens. The imagery within the film exhibits the same sensitivity to light and dark as the photographs, with the darks being more effectively mysterious due to the darkness of the viewing room. The film is devoid of a narrator, refraining from using vocal language to create a sense of continuity amongst images. Consequently, the viewer is forced to piece together meaning and narrative from the partial information of the place presented in the film.
Questions regarding truth, memory and history of the place are at the core of this exhibition. An interview for the Journal of Contemporary Art reveals that concerning his earlier work, “it certainly was important [for Doherty] that the work engaged the viewer in some kind of dialogue, some kind of process, that it was also very related to geography of the place and trying to get a look at the way that was implicated, so it wasn't simplistic, there was always more than one possibility.” With oscillations between the known and unknown, Passages confronts the viewer with problems surrounding the notion of images as ‘true’ representations of reality.
Selena L. Lee
Passages
Prefix Gallery
September 24 – November 28 2009
This collection of works by Willie Doherty present us with an ambiguous sensation of place. His photographs, while containing eye-catching details that offer some knowledge about the places he works in, are effective at creating insecurities in regards to the meanings and narratives that can be derived from these images. In fact, Doherty’s focus on the relationships between known and unknown aspects of images is one of the greatest strengths of this exhibition.
The photographs within Passages act as a preface to Doherty’s film. These consist of works produced within the last fifteen years, which refer to a dialogue that draws from his relationship with his homeland – Derry, North Ireland. This dialogue has its genesis in the social and political conflicts of the country. For three decades from the late 1960s, a climate of violence and an underlying sense of fear were a part of everyday life for the citizens of this country. Doherty situates his work in this climate of uncertainty. Although the work reflects his experience in North Ireland, it does not exclude the universal concern of photography as a select representation of ‘truth’. Thus is not limited to a parochial, historical discourse.
Instead, images within the exhibition focus on the subtle remnants of human intervention that exist within a place. Titles such as Beneath the Surface II (1999), Small Acts of Deception (1997), and Unreported Incident (1995) alert the viewer to the notion of the image as a representation of a specific and limited viewpoint. The artist limits the photographic subject to the detritus of human activity, controls the mise-en scene of his images, and captures dark areas in his photographs to veil parts of the scene. With this, one can view Doherty’s effective use of light and dark as metaphors for possibilities of known and unknown within an image. Thus, the viewer of these images becomes aware of his or her restricted viewpoint concerning the information revealed about these photographed places.
Doherty’s film, Buried (2009) extends this tension of known and unknown into the fluid sensation of time. The eight-minute film is highly sensory and incorporates the same sense of ambiguity regarding the place that is represented in his photographs. Initially some images appear to be stills until one becomes aware of the flow of time indicated through a twig blowing in the wind, water dripping over bark, or insects moving in the earth. In contrast to these detailed, closed-in shots, Doherty also incorporates wide-angled pans of the surrounding trees. Despite being perceptually ambiguous, the viewer is allowed a total sensation of the place as captured through Doherty’s lens. The imagery within the film exhibits the same sensitivity to light and dark as the photographs, with the darks being more effectively mysterious due to the darkness of the viewing room. The film is devoid of a narrator, refraining from using vocal language to create a sense of continuity amongst images. Consequently, the viewer is forced to piece together meaning and narrative from the partial information of the place presented in the film.
Questions regarding truth, memory and history of the place are at the core of this exhibition. An interview for the Journal of Contemporary Art reveals that concerning his earlier work, “it certainly was important [for Doherty] that the work engaged the viewer in some kind of dialogue, some kind of process, that it was also very related to geography of the place and trying to get a look at the way that was implicated, so it wasn't simplistic, there was always more than one possibility.” With oscillations between the known and unknown, Passages confronts the viewer with problems surrounding the notion of images as ‘true’ representations of reality.
Selena L. Lee
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Review: "Passages" as Prefix Gallery
Willie Doherty
Passages
Prefix Gallery
September 24 – November 28 2009
This collection of works by Willie Doherty present us with an ambiguous sensation of place. His photographs, while containing eye-catching details that offer some knowledge about the places he works in, are effective at creating insecurities in regards to the meanings and narratives that can be derived from these images. In fact, Doherty’s focus on the relationships between known and unknown aspects of images is one of the greatest strengths of this exhibition.
The photographs within Passages act as a preface to Doherty’s film. These consist of works produced within the last fifteen years, which refer to a dialogue that draws from his relationship with his homeland – Derry, North Ireland. This dialogue has its genesis in the social and political conflicts of the country. For three decades from the late 1960s, a climate of violence and an underlying sense of fear were a part of everyday life for the citizens of this country. Doherty situates his work in this climate of uncertainty. Although the work reflects his experience in North Ireland, it does not exclude the universal concern of photography as a select representation of ‘truth’. Thus is not limited to a parochial, historical discourse.
Instead, images within the exhibition focus on the subtle remnants of human intervention that exist within a place. Titles such as Beneath the Surface II (1999), Small Acts of Deception (1997), and Unreported Incident (1995) alert the viewer to the notion of the image as a representation of a specific and limited viewpoint. The artist limits the photographic subject to the detritus of human activity, controls the mise-en scene of his images, and captures dark areas in his photographs to veil parts of the scene. With this, one can view Doherty’s effective use of light and dark as metaphors for possibilities of known and unknown within an image. Thus, the viewer of these images becomes aware of his or her restricted viewpoint concerning the information revealed about these photographed places.
Doherty’s film, Buried (2009) extends this tension of known and unknown into the fluid sensation of time. The eight-minute film is highly sensory and incorporates the same sense of ambiguity regarding the place that is represented in his photographs. Initially some images appear to be stills until one becomes aware of the flow of time indicated through a twig blowing in the wind, water dripping over bark, or insects moving in the earth. In contrast to these detailed, closed-in shots, Doherty also incorporates wide-angled pans of the surrounding trees. Despite being perceptually ambiguous, the viewer is allowed a total sensation of the place as captured through Doherty’s lens. The imagery within the film exhibits the same sensitivity to light and dark as the photographs, with the darks being more effectively mysterious due to the darkness of the viewing room. The film is devoid of a narrator, refraining from using vocal language to create a sense of continuity amongst images. Consequently, the viewer is forced to piece together meaning and narrative from the partial information of the place presented in the film.
Questions regarding truth, memory and history of the place are at the core of this exhibition. An interview for the Journal of Contemporary Art reveals that concerning his earlier work, “it certainly was important [for Doherty] that the work engaged the viewer in some kind of dialogue, some kind of process, that it was also very related to geography of the place and trying to get a look at the way that was implicated, so it wasn't simplistic, there was always more than one possibility.” With oscillations between the known and unknown, Passages confronts the viewer with problems surrounding the notion of images as ‘true’ representations of reality.
Selena L. Lee
Passages
Prefix Gallery
September 24 – November 28 2009
This collection of works by Willie Doherty present us with an ambiguous sensation of place. His photographs, while containing eye-catching details that offer some knowledge about the places he works in, are effective at creating insecurities in regards to the meanings and narratives that can be derived from these images. In fact, Doherty’s focus on the relationships between known and unknown aspects of images is one of the greatest strengths of this exhibition.
The photographs within Passages act as a preface to Doherty’s film. These consist of works produced within the last fifteen years, which refer to a dialogue that draws from his relationship with his homeland – Derry, North Ireland. This dialogue has its genesis in the social and political conflicts of the country. For three decades from the late 1960s, a climate of violence and an underlying sense of fear were a part of everyday life for the citizens of this country. Doherty situates his work in this climate of uncertainty. Although the work reflects his experience in North Ireland, it does not exclude the universal concern of photography as a select representation of ‘truth’. Thus is not limited to a parochial, historical discourse.
Instead, images within the exhibition focus on the subtle remnants of human intervention that exist within a place. Titles such as Beneath the Surface II (1999), Small Acts of Deception (1997), and Unreported Incident (1995) alert the viewer to the notion of the image as a representation of a specific and limited viewpoint. The artist limits the photographic subject to the detritus of human activity, controls the mise-en scene of his images, and captures dark areas in his photographs to veil parts of the scene. With this, one can view Doherty’s effective use of light and dark as metaphors for possibilities of known and unknown within an image. Thus, the viewer of these images becomes aware of his or her restricted viewpoint concerning the information revealed about these photographed places.
Doherty’s film, Buried (2009) extends this tension of known and unknown into the fluid sensation of time. The eight-minute film is highly sensory and incorporates the same sense of ambiguity regarding the place that is represented in his photographs. Initially some images appear to be stills until one becomes aware of the flow of time indicated through a twig blowing in the wind, water dripping over bark, or insects moving in the earth. In contrast to these detailed, closed-in shots, Doherty also incorporates wide-angled pans of the surrounding trees. Despite being perceptually ambiguous, the viewer is allowed a total sensation of the place as captured through Doherty’s lens. The imagery within the film exhibits the same sensitivity to light and dark as the photographs, with the darks being more effectively mysterious due to the darkness of the viewing room. The film is devoid of a narrator, refraining from using vocal language to create a sense of continuity amongst images. Consequently, the viewer is forced to piece together meaning and narrative from the partial information of the place presented in the film.
Questions regarding truth, memory and history of the place are at the core of this exhibition. An interview for the Journal of Contemporary Art reveals that concerning his earlier work, “it certainly was important [for Doherty] that the work engaged the viewer in some kind of dialogue, some kind of process, that it was also very related to geography of the place and trying to get a look at the way that was implicated, so it wasn't simplistic, there was always more than one possibility.” With oscillations between the known and unknown, Passages confronts the viewer with problems surrounding the notion of images as ‘true’ representations of reality.
Selena L. Lee
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