magical spectres

Waterfall Inferno - Odani Motohiko

Inferno is a video installation by Japanese artist Odani Motohiko the installation is made up of 8 screens with a waterfall image projected onto the screens with the floor and ceiling made of mirror. this is a clever and well thought out concept and would give an all round experience. for me the image and meaning of water is more than a physical relationship of need, there is something else that is far more core to my persona. I see water as being something that is a part of me and my being. it is core to who I am. being near or in water or hearing it tumbling over rocks brings me great solace. in Motohiko's installation i can see that it would bring me serenity.

Sun Tunnels.

This light installation of Sun Tunnels is amazing and for me compares to a modern stonehenge. the sky is not just a backdrop but an integral part of the installation, how the sun and light at different points of the day and the year gives us a complete different interpretation and view of the landscape. it acts to highlight and accentuate not just the landscape but also the view within the tunnels.  Again it relates back to condensing something so vast, wild and uncontrollable and suggesting a view of it.  

Condensed Space.

Iam beginning to develop a fascination and an understanding with other peoples obsessions in containing the wild or recreating it. Obviously fish tanks are my favourite form of this but there are many other forms from zoos to wave machines.

In the Clouds - In a Gallery - Hansoo Kim.

Experimental Installation Work - 2005.  Hansoo Kim in his video installation is experimenting with perspectiveof a skyscape.by using three walls of a virtual gallery. he uses the walls to project a travelling sky giving the viewer the feeling of walking into the sky space. the use of the perspective gives a a more rounded depth than any one screen could reproduce and you do feel like you could just step out into the sky. I also liked the transition into the night sky but found his other experiemnts into a perspective a little distracting and out of context.    http://vimeo.com/9997571

The fruited plain. Mariah Anne Johnson.

this installation demonstrates beautifully the making of a place from a space. from a glance you can see that a gallery space or room has been brought to life with artist  Maria Anne Johnson vision and recollections of her personal history.

Project Flowx

Project Flowx is an interesting piece, there are many qualities that I like but equally the imagery does nothing for me. I like how the kites and fabrics are being used to harness and visualise the windscape giving further texture to the sky. I also like the filming technique it is probably not sophisticated but it does assist with the over all atmosphere. 

To dream of an ocean

Dreaming about an ocean indicates sentiment and mood. It represents spiritual awakening, peace and revival. Dreaming of traveling in the Ocean represents a state of liberation and self sufficiency. you are displaying strength and bravery in your undertakings.

Water.

Water has a central place in the practices and beliefs of many religions for two main reasons.  Firstly, water cleanses.  Water washes away impurities and pollutants, it can make an object look as good as new and wipe away any signs of previous defilement. Water not only purifies objects for ritual use, but can make a person clean, externally or spiritually, ready to come into the presence of their focus of worship.  Secondly, water is a primary building block of life.  Without water there is no life, yet water has the power to destroy as well as to create.  We are at the mercy of water just as we are at the mercy of our God or gods.  The significance of water manifests itself differently in different religions and beliefs but it is these two qualities of water that underlie its place in our cultures and faiths.

Benedetto Bufalino: Phone booth Fish tank.

Benedetto Bufalino a french artist took a disused phone booth in Lyon France and made it into an aquarium filled with exotic fish. the artist was looking to evoke an interest in travel. For me it was wonderful to see a space that is almost obsolete (phone booths) filled with something (fish tank) that is sometimes considered mundane and yet together create something exquisit and beautiful and available to all. 

Pipilotti Rist: Sip my ocean

During a recent visit to Edinburgh Fruitmarket Gallery I saw Pipilotti Rist’s video installation Sip My Ocean (1996), It was a beautiful piece using double projected imagery on to walls coming together at the corners bringing further visual effects. I enjoyed the use of space and the reflected imagery.

Space

I have been reading 'At home: An Anthropology of domestic space ' and the chapter 'Home: The experience of atmosphere' in particular. A few sentences really stood out and clarified my thinking.

''Atmosphere is the most comprehensive character of a place.''
''Places incarnate our experiences and aspirations and are foci of meaningful events in our lives.''
''A place is a total phenomenon which cannot be reduced to its individual components without loosing qualitative character.''
''The essence of place lies in a largely unselfconscious intentionality that defines places as profound centers of human existence.''

Domestic Archeology

Domestic Archaeology  is a collaborative multi media art work  created by The Light Surgeons that was exhibited at the Geffrye Museum in East London in 2006. the collaborative artists wereChristopher Thomas Allen, Brede Korsmo, Robert Pyecroft-Rainbow & Tim Cowie . it is a really well thought out piece that in the post modern style uses a number of different mediums to bring together the domestic experience for a number of people living in London. I liked the use of the narrative of different people expressing their views of their individual space letting the observer to have a glimps into others lives and maybe make connections to our own lives. I think though that it is quite telling that the primary contributors were me and women were very poorly represented in this. is this telling us that the domestic space no longer is a woman's domain?  I particularly liked the use of  the projected imagery onto objects was very effective most particular is the waterfall and sky projected on to the ceiling/window.

Anatoly Konenko: Worlds Smallest fish tank.

Created by Russian artist Anatoly Konenko, who specialises in miniatures, the tiny tank is made of glass, contains tiny stones and plants and is home to a group of tiny fish. The water has to be applied using a syringe so as not to disturb the landscape the Siberia-artist lovingly created.

Jason deCaires Taylor

Jason de Caires Taylor is an underwater sculpter who combines his love of the underwater with his sculptures to create underwater seascapes that also act as artificial reefs. these sculptures speak volumes of the mans impact on the underwater world. in one of his works Unstill life he recreates a front room scene under the water which is actually a growing reef. I love his use of the confined domestic space in something as open and wild like space of the sea.

Frank Murdoch

Leonardo Erlich: Swimming pool

It is not always easy for me to dissect my work, but i have learned the necessity of it in which to consider the context of my work. i have always seen that my work incorporates kitsch elements and i do enjoy a lot of kitsch influences but these are mostly from a point of nostalgia and not from a purist sense. My influences are very much rooted in the world as i perceive it, at first i always thought this quite insular but i have since identified that the postmodernist perspective is more reflective of my work. 

According to Grenz, postmodernist have a particular perspective that starts with the persons reality and experiences. he goes onto tell us how art pieces will evolve and start to take on different meanings and reactions according to the place , time and experiences of the person considering it. So appreciating kitsch from a nostalgic place is not the same as Greenberg speaking about in his 1939 essay avantgarde and kitsch. 

Goldfish bowl

Current Cameras. Theory. Medium.

Cameras-
Since arriving in glasgow almost three years ago i have been notoriously unlucky with my equipment. Being the victim of two burglaries, a number of thefts and lost luggage has made me more open to using a range of equipment. These are mostly lower quality and are limited in what they can achieve but they give me scope for other textures and effects in video work. The imagery is of differing size and quality which enhances the contrasts in my imagery giving a sharp and defined transition of the images. The qualitative element is very different in all the cameras and strongly reflects me and my thought process.

The cameras i am currently using are a Fujifilm finepix S2800 HD Digital Camera, a Vivitar dvr510n with underwater case, a Samsung Hand held Camcorder, an Olympus 850sw waterproofed (this however is my parents so i have limited access) and numerous film cameras including, underwater disposables, Canon Z135 and Olympus OM-1.


Theory –
My theory base is very rooted within post modernism which I have found to be a more open medium allowing an eclectic mix of fields. “In practical terms it means that art could be made of anything, include any imagery and address anything” http://rhoadley.org/presentations/InstallationArt-s.pdf
The primary function of post modernism is that it starts from the persons reality and apparent realities. It acknowledges that Art is defined “by social constraints and is subject to change inherent in space and time”. I appreciate this open and enlightening perspective. My work is also heavily influenced by Kitsch art which brings to me a nostalgic element that strongly reflects my personal heritage.

Medium -
My work and thought process is more comfortable with post modernist perspective and presently I have found installation art (being mixed media, multidimensional created for a specific space in mind),  accommodates this most satisfactorily
Installation art is about a specific space and making it a place by understanding what the space represents.

Tim Allen

I came across an artist today named Tim Allen. He is based in seattle WA where my mother is originally from. He uses low quality media and produces some enlightening cosmic art. Here are a few of my favourite pieces.



http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/tim-allen.html

  

What really caught my eye though was this piece.

                                                      Once again the fish and the sky meet.

Dream Dictionary.

Clouds

To see fluffy, white clouds in your dream, signify inner peace, spiritual harmony and compassion. An  issue in your waking life may be clearing up.

To see dark or stormy clouds in your dream, symbolize depression or anger. It indicates an impending eruption of emotions. Alternatively, it represents a lack of wisdom or confusion in some situation. Thus, the dream may be a metaphor for your "clouded" way of thinking.

Fish

To see fish swimming in your dream, signifies insights from your unconscious mind. Thus to catch a fish, represents insights which have been brought to the surface. Alternatively, a fish swimming in your dream may symbolize conception. Some women dream of swimming fish when they get pregnant. The fish is also an ancient symbol of Christianity and Christian beliefs. Consider the common phrases "like a cold fish", "fish out of water" or something that is "fishy" about a situation. It may also imply a slippery or elusive situation. Perhaps your dream could be telling you that "there are plenty of other fish in the sea", with regards to some relationship issue.

To dream that you are eating fish, symbolizes your beliefs, spirituality, luck, energy and nourishment. It is food for the soul.

To dream of cooking fish, indicates that you are incorporating your new realizations with your spiritual feelings and knowledge.  

To dream that you are cleaning fish, suggests that you are altering  your emotional expression in a way that will be presentable to others. You are censoring yourself and not expressing how you completely feel.

Fish Tank

To see or clean a fish tank in your dream, indicates how you have full control of your emotions. You keep your feelings in check. If you are watching the fish in the fish tank, then you may feel that your life is going nowhere or that you are going in circles with your life.
To dream that you are living in a fish tank, indicates that you are detached from society. You are withdrawn. Alternatively, the dream may mean that you are feeling the pressure of those around you. Consider the phrase of "living in a fishbowl". You feel that you are being judged, criticized and scrutinized.

The more i look the more i see evidence of other peoples correlation between fish and clouds.

南米淡水フグ

Barrel Fish

''These pictures, just below, show a dark brown wooden barrel by my front door. The wooden barrel is cut in half, has a black plastic liner, and is filled with water. A beautiful Red & White Pond Comet lives in this barrel by my front door. In front of the barrel is a beige ceramic plant holder that has the shape of a carp.''
http://www.aquariumfish.net/pages/feng_shui.htm#top2

Shaman - L.S.I

beautiful use of colour and visual aesthetic.

I bought an underwater camera a few weeks ago  and it arrived last week. So we took a trip to troon along with my camera to experiment. The camera itself was actually really poor. The quality of footage was very low and the camera itself fogged up. I filmed all day and came up with this as a rough sketch of the day. I actually really like the way the footage turned out in the end, with the over saturation and the jitteryness of the film.