Discursive Promiscuity
Friday, January 11, 2008 at 11:27AM 
It's time to fish or cut bait • click to embiggenI mentioned in today's FYI entry (immediately below this one) that I am at the point where I have made some decisions about what to do with the 700+ pictures that I have created over the last 4 years. Just in case you wondering ...
I am going to pursue a project / exhibit titled The Adirondacks in the Age of Discursive Promiscuity.
The print objective is to create a series of 12-16 prints, each comprised of 25 individual ku pictures. The series will be available in 4 sizes - 10'×10', edition of 1; 6'×6' (see photo), edition of 6; 40"×40", edition of 10; 18"×18", edition of 100.
Each print will have a picture of an individual human figure in the center image.
Each print will have a companion Adirondack Life calendar.
The 25 ku images in each print, taken as a whole, will be discursive - i.e. covering a wide field of subjects; rambling. The arrangement of the images will appear to be promiscuous - i.e. consisting of parts, elements, or individuals of different kinds brought together without order; lacking standards of selection.
The conceptual point of the project / exhibit is multifaceted. Some, but by no means all, of the topics I wish to address are (in no particular order at this time):
1. The discursive and promiscuous nature of the medium of photography
2. The discursive and promiscuous nature of my body of work
3. The apparent casualness / randomness of my individual images v. the apparent casual / random arrangement in their presentation
4. Does the ease of digital capture and the resultant volume of images tell us more or less about the world we inhabit?
5. Complexity and chaos
6. The medium's narrative possibilities
7. Information saturation in an information media saturated culture
8. My discursive and promiscuous view of the Adirondacks v. the eco-porn calendar view.
9. Fact v. fiction
10. The nature of beauty
11. Why I just flat out like saying the phrase "Discursive Promiscuity"
The conceptual intentions of the project /exhibit need the most focus and refinement. Over the next few weeks most of my daily entries will be dealing with this aspect of the project.
gravitas et nugalis
Featured Comment: Mary Dennis wrote; "Let me get this straight---that is one big print on your wall and not 25 small ones grouped together? Also, what is it mounted on? It must be relatively light weight huh?"
Mary, I must apologise for not providing full disclosure regarding this picture because, in fact, I used the medium's 'reality effect' and Photoshop to 'hang' the picture on my dining room wall. I just wanted to see what it would look like before I went ahead with the real deal.
Re: 'one big print on your wall and not 25 small ones grouped together', well ... that is the question I have yet to answer. Although, for several reasons, I am leaning toward 25 individual prints grouped together: 1.) in would suggest the notion of 'album' or collection of prints, which also supports the idea of 'discursive' and 'promiscuity' better than a single print would; 2.) the hand-work required in assembly would also give it a more handmade sensibility whereas a single piece would have more of a 'mechanistic production' quality to it.
I am even toying with the idea of a more random arrangement - overlapping prints at awkward angles, once again to support the idea of 'promiscuous'.
And, no the mounting w plexi and backing would be very heavy and require 'industrial' hanging hardware.
Reader Comments (7)
I like the idea. Here is where you can get your "bigness" from, without resorting to morgagting the farm, with 8x10.
A damn clever idea, to create prints that are made up of 25 individual images, and no need to blow up any one of them beyond about 24 inches (for the ten ft. print).
Let me get this straight---that is one big print on your wall and not 25 small ones grouped together? Also, what is it mounted on? It must be relatively light weight huh?
It is thrilling to see your ku stuff come togther in this manner Mark. The idea of placing a human being in the center of each of these prints is intriguing. And I see that you've interspersed other human "stuff" here and there in the grouping too. I'm glad that you decided to do that (other human stuff) because I think having a human figure in the center surround by all things natural might have come across as too anthropocentric. The intertwining is powerful and provocative.
Well geez. That's pretty damn good reality bending Mark. What a tool, that Photoshop....but the recessed lighting (on further inspection) looks a little fakey. ;-)
Another question: Can you really get single prints made that big (10 feet by 10 feet) and have the quality hold, even if it is comprised of smaller individual images? It must cost quite a bit to do that.
A friend recently did an art show of images shot with a cell phone camera. Each print comprised 2-3 weeks worth of photos arranged chronolically into a grid of about 80 5" prints. The effect was astonishing. Sample of photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/poplabs/
I'll be curious to follow your thoughts about sequencing and arrangement of the work in this fashion.
- JR
So that is what we are reciving from you for our wedding gift?
Jon - you buy the Gatorboard and plexi, I'll supply the print a in a 5'x5' artist proof