Entries from December 23, 2007 - December 29, 2007
urban ku # 160 ~ sleds, my sled & snot
My silver maetalic sled • click to embiggenThe wife and I went out for lunch today (Friday). That's the wife getting in, not on, our sled. We were the only ones in the joint - Charlie's at Lake Clear Junction - not wearing a full-body snow suit and toting a helmet.
It's a fun place. We always eat at the bar where the owner is sure to try and scare the snot out of you by dropping one of his big rubber spiders (on a thread) down from the ceiling on you when you're not paying attention. Some victims scream. Some jump. Some curse. Some do all three (and more). It never seems to get old for the owner. Can't help but wonder how many spilled drinks he has to replace.
gravitas et nugalis
in urban ku, signs of humankind
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civilized ku # 72 ~ size is a relative thing
Size is relative • click to embiggenTwo good questions, relative to the size thing, emerged from yesterday's entry.
#1) from Jim Jirka; "If you don't want to go back to the big ass film, just take 40 digital images and stitch. That would allow you your large print size, without the costs of film ... Do you think that would be an alternative?"
I have been thinking along those lines but it seems that the problem with that is motion. If things move, and they do in the natural world - water, clouds, all manner of things in the wind - there is the problem of registration when you stitch. I have run into this problem previously and have been able, with a lot of hand work, to solve it to my satisfaction so I guess it could be a solution. Before I make the leap backwards(?) to film, I will be giving it a try.
#2) from Aaron Hobson, son of The Landscapist; "what about the logistics of these prints being sold??? that is my big question. Who has 25 feet of wall space for a photograph?"
I have often wondered about the same issues and I suspect very few people have that kind of space. I suspect that most of the really big photographs being produced are intended for a single audience - curators at museums or wealthy individuals who purchase and then donate them to museums in order to create an art-patron legacy.
But, to clarify my 'big' intentions, I am iclined to the notion of moderately big, which is to say (in the case of my square stuff), a print size of 4×4 feet. A size that, in the confines of an 'average' home, is very large but not so large as to require a single-purpose room to accommodate it.
gravitas et nugalis
in civilized ku, manmade landscape
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civilized ku # 71 ~ a tree grows in Chelsea
The epicenter of Art photography • click to embiggenAs always, my recent trip to NYC's Chelsea neighborhood, the epicenter of Art Photography, has left me with a mixed bag of thoughts. One thought-thread in particular that has been repeatedly bubbling to the surface from the murky depths of my mind is that of size.
I have always been a fan of small-ish prints - 16×20 and smaller - because I like the feel of intimacy that comes from moving in close to a small-ish print. Not nose - on - the - print close, but just close enough to take it all in. This sensation also explains why I am so fond of photography books. A well designed and printed book takes on the feeling of a precious object to me.
That said, and of late, my recent trips to Chelsea have provided a constant exposure to a world of photographic prints that are big. Not big-ish, but really BIG. In this milieu if one of the print dimensions isn't at least 8 feet, then it's a small print, especially so when compared to, say, a 25 foot (or bigger) Jeff Wall or Gursky print.
Now I have to state that this exposure to really big has had its effect on my sensibilities - size can matter. Some photographs take on an entirely new perspective when presented really large. Sure, they can impress with their sheer size, but that alone is not the whole story. There is a kind of 'importance' that is imparted and photography's 'reality effect' really comes to the fore. More than ever, life seems to be staring you right in the face.
If you haven't had the opportunity to see really big photographic prints, you should make it a point to do so. Nothing you have seen in photography can prepare you for the experience.
And it is on this size related note that this specific thought-thread keeps coming to the fore.
I want to do big. But, what that means is nothing less than a return to film (nothing in the digital capture world can do really big) and what that means is a return to the world of film processing that has virtually disappeared. It also means a return to the world of dust and 'spotting'. Not to mention hauling around really big equipment and the fact that one exposure costs around $10.
Yikes. Or, as Hugo says, "Poop on a stick."
gravitas et nugalis
in civilized ku, manmade landscape
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testing ... Testing ...
... using my new iPod touch
civilized ku # 70 ~ Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays
Slouching towards Armageddon • click to embiggenIt was the night before Christmas
and all through the house,
not a creature was stirring,
not even a mouse ...
... or at least that's what my Landscapist statcounter tells me.
Nevertheless, in hopes that St. Nicholas (and some visitors) soon will be here, I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday. Thanks for stopping by.
gravitas et nugalis
in civilized ku, manmade landscape
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5 Comments