The double vitrine piece (the sublime compared with beauty) has been on-hold as it waits for the two frames. Since it is to be viewed close to eye-level, these need to be substantial and attached to a wall. They are currently being built at a local forge and hope to get them in the next few days. Then, I will fix these in the Degree Show space and continue their assembly.
Most of the studio work of late has been on the ‘fear’ piece. The joining of the tube part to the cube and the joining of the two tubes together. The cutting out of the central holes in the tubes and cube was relatively straight forward. I hadn’t known how the card-board would behave but it was stress-free in the end. More fun was the the aligning of 5 bolts through a 9mm MDF support ring, thick cardboard and 3mm ply. I ended-up up-ending the piece and working inside the cube while supported on two tables.
The next job was the decision on whether the inside of the tubes should be left as original cardboard or be painted. From a technical angle I thought that the inherent lightness inside would not help with the dark part of the video and also did not fit with the “feel” of the piece at that point in the sequence.So, what to do? Black was wrong, a dark scenic tunnel/tube-look would have been cheesy, so I went for mid-gray. This would be able to ‘take-on’ both the light and dark elements of the video being projected overhead. The insides are now mid-gray.
The last bit to assemble is the rear projection screen across the ‘hole’ at the base of the cube. I have decided to make the screen square and as large as I can (for use in future projects!), based upon the available screen material. This material is brilliant and produces a cracking image. Although not an issue for this piece, I have now found my projector has a “rear projection” setting, reversing the image. I will get some progress pics taken tomorrow.
Oh yes and I gave my 30min presentation (as part of the Dissertation) last Monday.
Yesterday, a photographic shoot beneath flyovers along the A55, M56 and M6 completed the supporting work for the ‘Secession and Uniformity’ vitrine. This line of work began by ‘finding’ the extraordinary space beneath the Llandudno Junction flyover on the A55 earlier in the year and led to a web search and then yesterday’s field research on road flyovers. What extraordinary spaces these frequently are, they really are reminiscent of internal church and cathedral architecture. They are not as symmetric but the curves of the roadway add another layer to the visual experience. If you then add the sounds which echo beneath these spaces, then to be there becomes quite a chilling and threatening experience. They deserve celebrating.
While at the sites I also collected sound at several places. This seems to come from the tyre thump over the expansion joints in the road deck… the sound level and attack of these noises can be quite unnerving. These sounds will be used to produce a soundscape for the ‘sublime’ vitrine.
A good day today. Have now installed the support system for the projector into the ‘cube’. From their I went on to cut up the lead mouldings (made last weekend) which will hold down the ‘arches’ in the vitrine once the water is added. I think they are heavy enough but I can always add more to the rear supports if they ‘decide to float’. Whilst working with the arches I also did a final sanding to get rid of residual saw burrs. The last task was to make an internal MDF ring to attach the tube to the cube by bolts. Rather than stick the tube to the cube with ‘No-Nails’ I decided to make the tube de-mountable to make the piece more ‘storage friendly’.
Just realised I forgot to take pictures of this stuff…a job for tomorrow.
Tomorrow is the last day before the Easter Break and I think I am on top of what I wanted to achieve by then. Over Easter, I will switch to filming/editing and soundtracks
The exploratory work on the lighting of the vitrine is now concluded at this stage. The final lighting states will be set once the tanks are filled and the haze levels set. The ‘sublime’ tank is now side-lit with 4 x 15W pygmy bulbs producing a promising shadowy ambience from partial shading of the tank side. Side, top and oblique lighting was experimented with using small diameter fluorescent tubes and LED lamps with an assortment of gel colours. The most promising colour effect was from a pale yellow filter at low lighting levels. I am now aiming for a ‘murky yellow’ look and plan to add the colour to the water rather than via external gels. I am currently sourcing a support system for the tanks.
The next job was to start making the ‘fear’ piece. This could be considered as either a ‘macro maquette’ or a ‘mini installation’ It consists of a 1m cube (containg a rear-projection system) to be supported on a cantilever out from a steel staircase and landing. From the cube, a tube extends down to around shoulder level. The viewer (wearing a pair of headphones) places their head into the tube and looks up to see “the sky” through a round hole above their head. They will hear the sound of a concrete slab grinding towards the opening and then see the slab sliding into place and ‘sealing them in’ in darkness. After a few seconds and via a jump-cut, what had been a concrete block is now revealed as the existing ceiling space above them. The intention of the piece is to explore the replacement of something potentially unpleasant by the normality of the actual studio space they are in, thus mimicking the ‘sublime experience’.
This piece had originally been conceived as a room installation but this was a practical way to test the concept.
The lighting for the “secession” vitrine is approaching completion. One half will have simulated direct sunlight using a set of daylight LED GU10 lamps. The intense light on the inner edge of the arches and the associated deep shadows on the “ground” now look convincing. The other half of the vitrine is to be lit with low intensity, shadowy, yellowish light. I had originally thought that very low, flat lighting would look menacing but it wasn’t and returned to the introduction of shadows. In retrospect that is rather obvious since it is what we do not know or cannot see clearly which causes distress. I also investigated the use of “flickering candle lights” to hopefully produce another layer to the lighting but while the effect was interesting I could not place the lamps near enough to the arches to realise it ( they needed to be in the vitrine and not outside it). The resultant effect was too weak. I then tried coloured pygmy lamps and this is looking promising and will adjust their levels with a dimmer.The final setting of the lighting will be done once the vitrines are filled with water and the haze levels adjusted.
We now have our exhibition spaces allocated and I will be using a double-height space of the entrance area. As an entrance it is a wide corridor and I am using an existing metal staircase to a) build a “void” work and b) attach a suspended micro-installation, into which you place your head and shoulders. This latter work is to investigate the fear/anxiety component of sublimity. The risk assessments for both these pieces have now been done so the construction can begin. I have also just received the back-projection fabric for the installation…first time I have seen that stuff upclose. It is interesting material which can increase the image intensity by around 2. I will post contruction shots as the build progresses. The “secession” vitrine will be located alongside these two pieces.
On Tuesday next the date for my presentation on the sublime (to go with the dissertation on the same) will be fixed.
