My "place" video examines the juxtaposition between two places, the natural and the man-made.
As I make my way through a forrest trail, I reminisce about my experience traveling on foot in the city. The sights and sounds are different in each experience, but my perception of scale and movement are similar. The forrest trail is partially man-made and the city is almost entirely man-made. What's the difference? As I look up to the trees or look up to the high rise buildings, I feel small, insignificant and helpless.
The experiences blend together in a rhythmic comparison of the two very different places. I imagine that the two places are one, differing only in my perspective and understanding of the sights experienced along the way. I think about how they were both built, one by nature, the other by man. The time scale of the construction of both places is beyond my experience. I can see changes in each environment over time, but they both exist in perpetuity compared with my relatively short life span. Everything moves and changes around me, while I only exist within each as a small element of the environment in which I am only a tiny insignificant part.
In both cases I am a mere observer, unable to influence, change, or affect the environment in any significant way. Even so, the city represents the ways that people can completely alter the world around us, given enough time, commitment, cooperation, and determination. The forrest represents the ways that nature does the same, though on a much grander scale.
While people can shape the environment around us to fulfill our needs and desires, nature can ultimately take back, or reclaim the places we have borrowed. I am a part of this process in both cases- As a human I can build and influence the environment in small, cumulative ways, yet I am also a part of nature. In that sense, everything we see is the same place- a slice of the existence we all experience here on Earth.
Showing posts with label reactions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reactions. Show all posts
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Will There Be Condominiums in Data Space?
Some thoughts and ideas inspired by Bill Viola's essay...
Idea: The Ultimate Mnemonist:
What if one could flip a switch to turn on mnemonic recall for a set period of time, accessing parts of the brain with the precision of a computer. The Ultimate Mnemonist would have access to memory, seeing it as a "data space", where all points in time are available at once. What would be the consequences of such a power?
This individual need not go mad, given that they have the ability to determine when and how much they wanted to recall. Could there be a spiritual element to the power, beyond the natural ability of the senses, including various perspectives of everything around the observer? Could time be observed by this individual as something more than a linear series of events? For the Ultimate Mnemonist, time could be more like what it really is: A property of a single state of being. For the Ultimate Mnemonist, time is not linear, nor is it made up of a set of separate events. Everything, every time, simply IS.
Relative Time
Albert Einstein theorized that time is relative to the viewer. Our perception of time would differ depending upon our location and movement through space. It has also been observed that our perception of time would vary depending upon our experience. According to theoretical physicist and bestselling author Dr. Michio Kaku, without the use of a clock, people who are relatively (relative to human life expectancy) young, usually experience a set period of time differently from those who are relatively old.
When compared to a fixed rate of time, such as a one minute period as measured by a clock, the older person seems to perceive the minute passing relatively fast, while the younger person perceives the minute passing relatively slow. As a result, without the aid of a clock, a person would calculate the passage of time differently depending upon his or her relative perception of time in relation to their perceived mortality. In other words, time seems to move faster as we get closer to the end of our life. The idea of time as a fixed reality, as measured by our clocks, was invented by us. Could it be that time actually does pass at a different rate depending upon how old we are?
Idea: The Ultimate Mnemonist:
What if one could flip a switch to turn on mnemonic recall for a set period of time, accessing parts of the brain with the precision of a computer. The Ultimate Mnemonist would have access to memory, seeing it as a "data space", where all points in time are available at once. What would be the consequences of such a power?
This individual need not go mad, given that they have the ability to determine when and how much they wanted to recall. Could there be a spiritual element to the power, beyond the natural ability of the senses, including various perspectives of everything around the observer? Could time be observed by this individual as something more than a linear series of events? For the Ultimate Mnemonist, time could be more like what it really is: A property of a single state of being. For the Ultimate Mnemonist, time is not linear, nor is it made up of a set of separate events. Everything, every time, simply IS.
Relative Time
Albert Einstein theorized that time is relative to the viewer. Our perception of time would differ depending upon our location and movement through space. It has also been observed that our perception of time would vary depending upon our experience. According to theoretical physicist and bestselling author Dr. Michio Kaku, without the use of a clock, people who are relatively (relative to human life expectancy) young, usually experience a set period of time differently from those who are relatively old.
When compared to a fixed rate of time, such as a one minute period as measured by a clock, the older person seems to perceive the minute passing relatively fast, while the younger person perceives the minute passing relatively slow. As a result, without the aid of a clock, a person would calculate the passage of time differently depending upon his or her relative perception of time in relation to their perceived mortality. In other words, time seems to move faster as we get closer to the end of our life. The idea of time as a fixed reality, as measured by our clocks, was invented by us. Could it be that time actually does pass at a different rate depending upon how old we are?
Thursday, August 27, 2009
One Minute Self Portrait
FIRST PROJECT
Working under the time constraint of 15 minutes to produce a 1 minute self portrait was a fun challenge. I had to think about the content carefully, considering the limited production time and resources.
Painting a self portrait with video encouraged an introspective approach, leading me to focus more on the content of the images and less on the production. Playing with time was an inevitable element of the portrait. Additionally, having little time to produce the piece emphasized the necessity of planning ahead in order to create an effective outcome.
If the idea is the seed of the project, I found the storyboard to be the ground it was planted in. A script could also be the ground, but if used in conjunction with the storyboards, a much more fertile ground (for the seed-idea) would emerge. The crew and location acted as fertilizer, feeding the growth of the project.
TIME
I would like to think more about time as a dimension of video in the context of art. In the past, I have created video shorts using time as an inevitable element in both the process and the outcome. My approach, however, was to use time to tell a story. The use of time was definitely part of the artistic process, but my focus was usually on the story. Moving forward, a focus on time as part of the artistic expression presents some intriguing possibilities. As the story becomes secondary, usage and manipulation of time could be instrumental in fulfilling the expression of the idea. This in turn, could lend itself to the enhancement of the story, which would benefit from the added undertones of time as an unavoidable consequence of life.
Working under the time constraint of 15 minutes to produce a 1 minute self portrait was a fun challenge. I had to think about the content carefully, considering the limited production time and resources.
Painting a self portrait with video encouraged an introspective approach, leading me to focus more on the content of the images and less on the production. Playing with time was an inevitable element of the portrait. Additionally, having little time to produce the piece emphasized the necessity of planning ahead in order to create an effective outcome.
If the idea is the seed of the project, I found the storyboard to be the ground it was planted in. A script could also be the ground, but if used in conjunction with the storyboards, a much more fertile ground (for the seed-idea) would emerge. The crew and location acted as fertilizer, feeding the growth of the project.
TIME
I would like to think more about time as a dimension of video in the context of art. In the past, I have created video shorts using time as an inevitable element in both the process and the outcome. My approach, however, was to use time to tell a story. The use of time was definitely part of the artistic process, but my focus was usually on the story. Moving forward, a focus on time as part of the artistic expression presents some intriguing possibilities. As the story becomes secondary, usage and manipulation of time could be instrumental in fulfilling the expression of the idea. This in turn, could lend itself to the enhancement of the story, which would benefit from the added undertones of time as an unavoidable consequence of life.
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