This first batch of work is laden with surrealist influences, and I think I just needed to get some of these images out of my system, and while some of them almost killed me in the making of them I’m happy to have them behind me.
**Note: Many of the images below can be clicked on to open a larger version in a new window.
Gull and Robot
This is a continuation of my “robots around town” series, and my ongoing objective with the series is to create a more organic connection between the robots and the background photos I shoot.
SCULPTURE
I have two types of sculpture that I’m working on; forms that are machined from computer files and a robot that will be made from about 50 to 100 different hunks of metal and lamp parts that are all bolted together.
The image below comes from a file that I’ll be using to have a 3d form machined from computer files. As I looked at surrealism and the organic forms involved I found it inspiring to look at the shape of things like feet and hands, and I was compelled to make a sculpture of a pair of flying hands. I'm also planning to make one based on a character who could best be described as one of the feet people. (see feet people image below)
The robot I’m making will be part of a tableau (for lack of a better word) I want him to be in the “thinker” pose, but I also want him to be contemplating something that is the subject of his gaze, which will be a box with a simple item on it, such as a flower. (I like the fact that this sort of extends the notion of the original thinker from Rodin) I think the notion of a machine contemplating something organic is also an interesting idea, and if I can realize this project I think it will make for a nice scene that can be set up. That being said, it’s a daunting amount of work in front of me.
STILL IMAGE WORK
There are a few things at play with my still image work. One is the notion of landscapes; I’m surrounded by beautiful coastal imagery and I continually strive to address organic elements in my 3d graphics, so I’ve got some images whereby I try to address things like clouds, water, rocks, etc… and incorporate them in some of my visual ideas.
I’m particularly struck by dusk, as the colorful skies, the interplay of electric lights with the fading sunlight, the shadows, textures and hues…. All of it presents an artistic challenge. And while I would never call my work “photorealistic” I do think the scene below (entitled “Down on the Docks”) has some nice elements in it, and I’m particularly happy with the painterly quality of the water.
I’m also experiencing a tug towards surrealism, and have been working on a few things that have elements of surrealism in them. The image of the “loper” below is an example. It’s a simple study that tries to address interesting lighting of the cubic form of the room, balanced with the roaming creature within.
Another surrealist influence is the feet people. (I think that just about any organic shape can be fodder for creating a character, and for some reason I saw the foot as a good shape for deriving a characters’ head, and henceforth the feet people were born. ) It was extremely daunting to actually make the image I conjured up in my head of a group of feet people going to church on Sunday. I don’t know where the image came from, but the composition was very clear in my mind and the execution of it presented lots of problems
This image has overt surrealist references to both Dali and Magritte. It also incorporates some of the research for my first paper, which will be comparing and contrasting the influence of surrealism on modern architecture.
As I started to make the image above I was being very receptive to the notion of a dreamlike environment with organic forms that are off kilter or out of context in some way, and simply couldn’t help but include the accountant floating along in his little cloud. I think he represents the fact that we always seem to be chased by some aspects of the world of paperwork; bills, taxes, rent, forms we must fill out, etc… and even in our dreams it’s unlikely that we’ll completely escape this aspect of our lives.
(most of the images above will be printed at 30 to 40 inches wide and I hope the colors come out well and that they have some impact at that size)
NEXT...
Running man building
This is the first in my series of architectural images, whereby I’ll be making some buildings with pop and surrealist influences and sticking them in photos of the surrounding area. I like the fact that this building addresses the concept of “gesture” in architecture, as it’s something I haven’t seen addressed in any of my research, even though I’ve found images of every whacky type of building design imaginable. (more buildings to come as I push forward)
Beyond a series of architectural images I also need to work on animated characters for a couple of animated pieces, and I'm going to try and build a portable (laptop based) system for doing performance animation, whereby one of my characters can talk and interact with an audience.
Not sure if this counts....
We just celebrated my mom's 80th birthday, and we had relatives from China, California, New York, Chicago, etc... all descend on southern Maine for a week of nuttiness. My mom is an interesting critter (one small example is the fact that, having lost the use of one arm to polio in her teens, she started playing one-handed trumpet in her 70's and regularly sits in with my jazz band - we went to a jazz jam last week and had three generations of my family playing on the same song... a public debacle but it made mom very happy) The story below (a mockumentary, I guess) is a 4 minute short film that chronicles her efforts to donate her brain to medical research, and I found it to be such an amusing and anecdotal tale that I couldn't resist retelling it with a little embellishment. It was a great hit at her party but I'm not sure how much others will like it. Nonetheless, a good excercise in doing home-based video production.
This should open a link to the video on youtube
