Recent Observations

Briefly, due to time constraints, I wanted to note a few recent observations.  I don't have much time for writing and not much time to contribute to this blog, although I appreciate those that read it and I acknowledge the collaborative history of the blog, when it was a hive of activity.  There are occasional posts and comments from others and I appreciate these as well.

The language I will use will be prose rather than the verbose language that has become de rigeuer for those that write about the artistic, academic or anything else that is, or is considered to be intellectual, on the Internet.  However, I acknowledge the value attributed to appearance rather than substance when it comes to on-line writing, indeed art-bollox and other pontifications seem to count for much these days.  Nonetheless, there are those that consider their audience/readers rather than play the game of "notice me".

The recession, from a UK perspective, is beginning to move towards a period of recovery.  As I posted on "Ideas in Motion", I believe that recovery from the economic downturn will take years and, although on paper we are no longer in recession, from a practical and everyday point of view, we still are.  My opinion is based on intuition, although there are numerous, notable cultural shifts and some economic stimuli that can be observed, some of them I listed on "Ideas in Motion".  For now, the recession is still having an impact on many peoples' lives in the UK and across the world.  However, I believe the seeds of a recovery are being sewn, although they are fragile at the moment. 

It is still too early to reflect on the impact of the global recession in a meaningful way, particularly when we ask what can we learn from this long-term recession that has had an affect upon us all? For now the adjustment to global markets and multicultural, Western realities are enough to be getting on with!  I will stop short of reflecting on the impact of politicians, bankers and directors on the UK and abroad as people are very aware of this.

The Internet and its effect upon people's behaviour is something else that I have observed.  I love the Internet!  I spend too much time looking at art/photography, browsing different types of pages and contributing to discussions.  However I value real-life (i.e.; life not in front of a computer screen) much more.  The West is changing faster than may of us would have believed 10 years ago and information overload contributes to this.  Values have shifted from quality to quantity, from clarity of thought to arbitrariness and from high quality consumer products to low quality, high cost products. 

The postmodern workplace is crammed full of problems and has become a legal minefield.  The Internet and information technology has contributed to this, as we try to adjust to more impersonal, computerised ways of working while we are all still adjusting to the recession and its impact.  Whereas businesses have to try very hard to advertise and keep up appearances (an important part of competition) during tough times, is continual and sometimes inefficient, adjustment to new technology a wise policy?  Balance seems the key, rather than all out change.

Finally, I wanted to mention the current state of sexual relationships in the UK and further afield, although my knowledge is confined to the West.  With the recent plethora of changes to Western societies, the legalisation of gay marriage may have gone virtually unnoticed.  The UK has already signed up to this idea and so has France.  It seems ironic that the legalisation of gay marriage has taken place while many heterosexual marriages are, quite frankly, falling apart.  There seems to be a large shift away from romantic love and providing a lasting, stable base for bringing up children, to a culture of short-term sexual relationships, casual sex and affairs.  Personally, I don't have a problem with this, although I am concerned about the well-being of children.  I wonder what the effect of our current approach to relationships will have upon children?  Indeed, what about the effect of gay couples adopting children or using surrogate mothers or fathers, or artificial insemination?  In a time dominated by cultural upheaval, legal minefields and an economic downturn, is romantic, enduring love very difficult to achieve, or undesirable?  If this is the case, then what are we to make of romance, or the Romantic, in the arts and entertainment.  There has been a vogue for romanticism* for some time, so the need seems to be there even if (because of societal pressures) we can no longer enjoy romance in relationships.  At least not to the degree that we used to.  Is this a reflection of a colder, Orwellian-type society(ies) that overly attempts to suppress emotion or other freedoms?  Perhaps, once again, information technology is contributing to the current state of relationships, by creating anonymous, impersonal and fleeting environments? 


Simon


*I acknowledge the difference between romance and Romanticism.  I also acknowledge the similarities.



 

At a Loss to Explain

At a Loss to Explain, originally uploaded by crescentsi.

Cork City - Impressions

Cork City - Impressions, originally uploaded by crescentsi.

Via Flickr:
Even in dull and freezing weather Ireland never ceases to fascinate the artisitic with its drama and beauty. The sky was amazing when I took this photo, so it inspired me to keep editing and then edit some more! ;-)

Simon

Capoeira 2

Capoeira 2, originally uploaded by crescentsi.

Via Flickr:
From the same series as Capoeira 1.
www.flickr.com/photos/thecrescent/8519983626/in/photostream

I could have left this photo pretty much how it was, with little or no editing. Perhaps I should have cropped it? But the crowd seem to add to the energy of the Capoeira practioners, so I didn't want to exclude them. I couldn't resist adding some light - the energy and the light that was already present in the photo suggested it! :-)

Simon

Notes on "Cloud Atlas" by the Wachowski's/Tom Tykwer

I guess I could describe "Cloud Atlas" as Art House meets Sci-Fi for the Information Age.  Ultimately this film is an attempt to bring numerous strands of sometimes, disparate stories together, culminating in a cohesive conclusion.

Despite some critical murmurings about over-complexity, "six films in one" and general incomprehensibility, the message of the film (and possibly the book it is based on) seems quite clear.  I also heard an accusation of over ambitiousness, which is a little bit sad in times when the arts are suffering from the affliction of post modernity. 

Essentially, "Cloud Atlas" endeavours to illustrate that human beings are all connected, despite race, time or our position in the "pecking order".  Intrinsic to this idea are the notions of reincarnation, an after-life or heaven and heredity.  It seems reasonable to claim that personality traits live on from one generation to another (Darwinism/heredity/genetics) however one assertion in the film, that traits and occurrences reiterate themselves throughout generations because of molecular or energy shifts in Space Time, seems a little whimsical.  Nonetheless similar ideas and speculations are found in physics, which may lend some weight to the concept.  Maybe not! 

A similar idea is explored in the film "Avatar" where aliens and human visitors to their planet can access a "tree of ancestors". 

Although somewhat tedious in its moralising, "Cloud Atlas" does elicit a potent sense of humanity, throughout each of the different stories.  In a similar way to the Matrix trilogy, ideas of truth, morality, heroism and the ability of individuals working together to overcome adversity or corruption are common themes.  In an artificial, constantly changing and disconnected reality, where objectivity and materiality continually question our sense of intrinsic humanness, this film offers the idea of a continuity of human and humanitarian values where ever the future takes us and throughout our histories.  One could argue that the film champions a secular, positive spirituality or, perhaps a kind of humanism.

For me, the film is interesting and worthwhile because it has an artistic relevance in the sense that it attempts to move towards a global art-form, within the genre of cinema.  Global art(s) describes art-forms and concepts that reflect the positive aspects of globalisation and multiculturalism.  My belief is that Global art moves us towards a new avant-garde that moves beyond postmodernist narratives of the decline of the West as a leading cultural, economic and intellectual force.  This avant-garde may comprise of the displacement of cultures and the merging of varying cultures to create new art-forms and styles.

Briefly, I wanted to mention a number of other salient aspects of "Cloud Atlas".  It is worth noting that, from my point of view, this film is not as good as the Matrix Trilogy.  However, there are times when the film screams "The Matrix" out at the viewer!  Particularly during the futuristic story lines.  Sydney Pollock's approach to cinema can quite clearly be seen as an influence, in both the theatricality of "Cloud Atlas" and the sci-fi elements.  Peter Greenaway may also have influenced the directors with his boundless enthusiasm for theatre and often, multi-faceted meanings.  The film allows the music to speak during emotional moments, often sounding like Glass or Reich, which conveys emotional potency.  Although there are some beautiful visual moments, the cinematic style is not dissimilar from jumping from website to website on the Internet.  Indeed, information overload seems to have influenced the cinematic style, however this does not detract from the ability of the film to cohese seemingly disparate story lines and bring them to an exciting climax.
 

ArtHouse: Jaya Suberg

ArtHouse: Jaya Suberg

Interesting mixture of ideas and techniques in Jaya Suberg's art.

:-)

10/01/2013

This blank page worries me as if I'd
already said that,
that I am about to say and this would
incur meaninglessness
as if to say "start again"

If we are honest art isn't really
about art at all;
art is about politics and
the fact that you know that,
possibly before I finished

saying it, further implies
politics as if politics
were representations and echoed
a concept of human relationships.
As if we could engage in relating
yet find ourselves askew

from relationships, estranged
from reality.  Facebook was created
to enable the world to keep in touch,
but we could already do that through
various simulations of relating.

Invariably strange, Facebook touches
the senses but keeps very few in touch,
to sense one another becomes
insoluble.  Distance is the key
to fiscal simulacra, distance

if only a representation of something
that lies between things and is measurable
by representations that evoke and
represent emotions.

No longer a blank page
this page instills a feeling
of purposelessness; which is the
Internet its incredible
imbalance with

a much more productive
real life
despite economic malaise.  Poetically
speaking, cliche and plain
language

are far more rewarding than
flowery prose that
evokes an impression of confidence
Entre nous
I've resisted lingua franca to

evoke clarity
so the reader can just "get it"
without tackling disparate metaphors
but I can't promise I won't
return to conventional poesy

to evoke optimism a la
histoire.  Really, this
isn't a poem at all
as poetry is something
we used to do

so this is a collection
of ideas in written form
text art I s'ppose
other than literature
and connected Western connotations of




 

Dark Ages 1

Dark Ages 1, originally uploaded by crescentsi.

Via Flickr:
Abstract Digital Art influenced by art created during the Dark Ages. :-)

Simon

crescentsi's photostream

crescentsi's photostream on Flickr.

Digital Art, Art and photography by Simon Harris (aka Crescent).

Jejune....
A very apt word 
starved of culture(s) perhaps?

Alien, distance du loin
a la mecredi (rouge et jaune)
money (Tuesday)

an entity, entirety
a misanthropic recluse par
an advertisement
hanging from a ceiling
as money changed hands 4
Excalibur (Friday)

(symmetry, arabesque attitude)
para (envision) re: leverage
in the great church to
high capitalism (Sunday)

A paean for (several meanings here)
a pastiche of simulacra
(referring to pathos)
you, an aloof creature....  (Dark Ages 4 lundi)

(Friday 28th December 2012)
Networking is symptomatic
of a lack of opportunity and
distance metaphorical and
/or actual entre nous (recherche encore)
faux faux-political correctness
compassion (fear of libel) ((money))
elicit illicit elicit illicit elicit illicit

The reason(s) le pourquoi et le
comment is everything must
be this way that is,
the rhyme the reason, the spirit,
the practicality and the materiality
of it

that is here to stay
but in
terminal flux.

Dogma one suspects
a filigree, Oriental influence a
bricolage of Eastern cultures
and with this, by
displacement
an avant-garde for the West

Trade for the East.  The Cutty Sark
perched historical
at Greenwich (Samedi)

in a media frenzy we
are fucked by our lack
of proximity to
the real (i)
ty disposition

impermeable (instigate)
(ii) conscious of solipsism
(January 1st 2013)

 

High Finances

High Finances, originally uploaded by crescentsi.

Via Flickr:
Digital art from a photo of Canary Warf, London

Simon

Pliable Surface

Pliable Surface, originally uploaded by crescentsi.

Via Flickr:
Thanks again to Julie!

xstockx.deviantart.com

:-)

Simon

Post (your) Memoir

Post (your) Memoir, originally uploaded by crescentsi.

Via Flickr:
September 2012, UK

This isn't just a landscape, it's an impression of a landscape. However, the line between subjective representation and "realism" is very fine. Essentially, an expression of topography as subjective experience, here I hope to reveal the potential of the land as a metaphor for mental comprehension. I use the word mental, rather than "psyche" or "psychological" as these words clutter perception with multifarious ideas.

I don't want to spew art-bollocks as this can be pretentious, derogatory to the audience/viewer and can inhibit the potency of an art work. Nevertheless, I wanted to point out the conceptual aspects of the work as they may not be immediately apprehendable, particularly when one considers the "random" nature of viewing art work on the Internet.

The title "Post (your) Memoir" is a nod to literary and philosophical conceptions of Postmodern culture(s). I spent approx. 3 years on Trace Online Writing Centre based at Leceister University, where I moved from literature to dance and photography/digital art. "Post Memoir" reflects both Baudrillard's theory of "the end of history" and the notion of the "death of the author", where the author (or other creative) becomes less important or redundant in the creation of literature/art. The land is also a vital component of cultural identity. Even in today's artificial times we experience the potency of the land in virtually every task that we undertake. The cultural (and mental) significance of the land is no accident! One can also "post their memoir" or other interpretation of this art-work, in a seemingly abitrary manner, that reveals the process of creating art at the helm of my motivations for photographing and editing a photogragh of a not unusual field, lying ploughed and fallow in central England.

Simon

Phoenix Rising

Phoenix Rising, originally uploaded by crescentsi.

Via Flickr:
This really was a labour of love! Julie's pose is great and can lend its self to many variations of photo editing. I used an old texture I had created 3 or 4 years ago and used depth maps and distortion to create flame-like effects. Press "L" to view on black - looks better! :-)

Thank you to Julie for letting me use her photo in this image :-)

Simon

xstockx.deviantart.com

Canary Warf 3

Canary Warf 3, originally uploaded by crescentsi.

Via Flickr:
Simon