The Annual Exhibition for the Kingston Photographic Club starts on Sunday June 1st and will run until June 27th. Three of my photos have been selected for the exhibit and two of my Flickr friends, David Tyner and Wayne Hiebert, will also have photos on display.
The opening is on Monday June 2nd at 7pm at the Wilson Room at the Kingston Public Library, so if you are in the Kingston area please come and check it out!
Technology adds nothing to art. Two thousand years ago, I could tell you a story, and at any point during the story I could stop, and ask, Now do you want the hero to be kidnapped, or not? But that would, of course, have ruined the story. Part of the experience of being entertained is sitting back and plugging into someone else’s vision.
Penn Jillette, Interview in WIRED magazine
Growing up I was a huge fan of both Choose Your Own Adventure books and more traditional linear novels. I certainly liked the idea of being able to choose my own path in the story, however, I never seemed to choose correctly and always ended up making choices that lead to an unfortunate and premature end. On the other hand, with the more traditional novels I was never left disappointed at how things ended. Whether I finished the last page with a feeling of sadness or joy I cannot recall a single time where I wished it had ended differently, even in the most tragic circumstances. The linear novel may have restricted my involvement in plot development, however, I think that it was precisely because my involvement was limited (i.e. that I sat back and plugged in to some else’s vision) that I was more satisfied and enriched by the experience.
Matters of choice have been on my mind as of late (mostly due to the fact that I am reading The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz) and issues of technology almost always are. I’ve pretty much taken it as a given that more user choice, more interactivity, is the golden standard that is being aimed for as technology develops and evolves. However, I can’t help but wonder if there are certain situations, in entertainment, education and user interface (three areas where interactivity and user choice are touted as ideal) where choice should be restricted and the flow of the narration or the experience should be left to those who are skilled enough to make those choices in the first place.
Would I have felt differently if I had made more successful choices while reading the Choose Your Own Adventure books as a child, or is there something to be said for sitting back and plugging in and letting a experienced storyteller choose the adventure for you?
I’m happy to announce that Towering has been selected to appear in the juried exhibition Mass Culture and Society, Exhibit 2A at the McIntosh Gallery in London, Ontario from January 11 √¢‚Ǩ‚Äú February 25, 2007. The exhibition explores both the boundaries and intersection of photography with culture and society. This print is featured in the Built Environment category which focuses on our relationship with the Canadian urban landscape.
This is a big first for me - I rarely print my photos, and the ones I have printed can only be found in my living room - so it was fun to print an 11×14 and pick out a frame for it. This is also the first “proper” self-portrait I’ve ever taken that doesn’t involve me extending my arm out as far as I can. Tripods and self-timers sure are handy. ;)
Thanks to Garrett for letting me know about the exhibition.
During a recent visit to Ottawa I was surprised to find the giant spider sculpture, Maman, outside of the National Gallery. Being an arachnophobe I wasn’t very pleased to see one of my greatest fears massively enlarged and cast in bronze. I was also a bit perplexed as to why a gargantuan sculpture of such a fear-inducing creature (albeit irrational fear in most cases) was doing outside a national cultural institution.
Maman, created by sculptor Louise Bourgeois, stands at an impressive 9.25m outside the main entrance of the gallery and carries a sac of 26 marble eggs in her belly. According to the National Gallery web site, √¢‚Ǩ≈ìthe soaring body and cage-like egg sac evoke a sense of security but also of entrapment, leading the viewer to question whether Maman is protector or predator”.
The image of a spider, regardless of size, always makes me uneasy, however, seeing this giant one stand before me brought back childhood nightmares of being attacked by giant spiders. Seeing this massive spider was literally like facing a living version of my greatest fear (albeit bronze cast one) which was both scary and reassuring at the same time. On the one hand, I was staring up at my greatest fear, yet on the other hand, since it wasn’t alive there was nothing it could do to harm me. As I became more comfortable with the sculpture I decided to get in a bit closer for some photographs. I slowly circled Maman, getting closer with each pass until finally I decide to go between two of the giant legs into the centre of the sculpture. As I arched backwards with my camera looking up towards the egg sack, I had visions of the eight legs suddenly snapping shut, engulfing me. But then something happened – the sense of foreboding turned into an overwhelming sense of security. I suddenly felt safe in the centre of this sculpture and instead of feeling threatened and claustrophobic I felt protected and liberated.
The transformation was a surprising one for me, but one which I doubt would surprise the artist or a therapist. For anyone with even a slight fear of spiders, a viewing of Maman can easily turn into your own personal graduated exposure therapy session. This type of therapy, also called systematic desensitization, is a form of behavioral therapy used to treat phobias where the subject attempts to remain calm while gradually being exposed to the feared object. A sculpture of a spider is far less threatening than seeing an actual one, even if the sculpture is massive, and by viewing the sculpture I was able to spend some time and sit with my fear, both literally and figuratively, in a non-threatening manner. Not only was I able to become comfortable looking at the object but I was even able to stand right under it, in what I perceived to be the most vulnerable position to be in, and no longer be afraid. Interestingly enough, if it wasn’t for my camera I probably wouldn’t have gotten nearly as close as I did and the idea to walk under the sculpture might never had occurred to me. But, with my camera in hand and the never-ending quest for a great picture fuelling me, I was far more willing and comfortable to step up, walk in, and face my fear and snap a few pictures of it as well.
Although I was initially skeptical of having Maman greet visitors to the National Gallery, I now feel as though she provides a fitting introduction to the gallery. This sculpture is an excellent example of the transformative and healing aspects of art and it is clear from my experience of her and the invocation of both security and fear that the artist set out what she accomplished to do. So, thank you Maman for helping me face my fear one step (and photograph) at a time.
This painting has slowly been making its way from my mind to the canvas since the idea to paint it flashed into my head several months ago. It’s hard to believe that I haven’t picked up a paint brush since high school, but I can see how recent pursuits of photography and doodling have influenced both my perspective and technique.
Interestingness is an attribute assigned to Flirck photographs based on the ever-illusive “interestingness” algorithm. No one is quite sure how it works, but having a photo make it to the Interestingness page is something that, at one point or another, most Flickrites have aspired to. Although there is much debate over the photos selected by the algorithm, an interestingness raking still seems to be a measure of success in the Flickr world - interestingness has become equated with famousness. Having read several posts of users fretting over their lack of interestingness status, I was please to come across a post with this quote by the graffiti artist Banksy:
The time of getting fame for your name on its own is over. Artwork that is only about wanting to be famous will never make you famous. Any fame is a by-product of making something that means something. You don’t go to a restaurant and order a meal because you want to have a shit.
I’ve always been weary of fame for the sake of fame. Although there are some who have succeeded in becoming famous by wanting to be famous, I wholeheartely agree with Banksy when he says that fame is the result of “making something that means something”. As an artist, I feel that it is my responsiblity to put my artwork out there and as mentioned in the previous post, I may agree or disagree by how it is recieved. In the end, it is up to the audience and not some algorthim to judge my work. An algorithm my be able to determine “interestingness” but only an audience of viewers can determine whether it means something or not.