Saturday, April 12

Giant Camera

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Scientists say that writing was originally pictures of visual events. These were symbols designed to release information that the reader already had. You know, the bull getting pierced with arrows. You see the stick figures, you understand it's a hunt, right? But suppose someone who'd never heard of bulls or arrows came upon the thing. The information the symbols were supposed to release would be forever lost.

All images are like that. Here the Giant Camera looms against the sky in a starkly impersonal alleyway seared by a noon-day sun. How much do I need to tell you to have these symbols make sense? How much sense do you suck from information which you bring to the viewing? Do you need to know that this is Seal Rocks, at the edge of San Francisco? Does ithe name of the place settle your questions? Or is there still a massive amount of mystery here? Hmmmm?

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Should you be interested, here's the original of the image above. Enjoy...

3 comments:

Andreas said...

Oh yeah, Hopper again. I love this image and I can't tell why. There is not much mystery, the modern clashes with the old in a not too pleasant way, and still ...

There is something in the way you made this, something that brings back the mystery again, some touch of De Chirico, maybe it's in the stylized treatment of the foreground building, maybe it's that very clash itself, I can't tell and that's part of the mystery. Anyway, I love it.

Stacey Olson said...

Beautiful. I have never been to SF, but could tell it was on the coast someplace. Sealrock creates images in my brain, and then questions. Where are the seals? You have once again done beautiful and thought provoking work here. Thanks for sharing

Ted said...

(Andreas): Thanks for your reaction.I'm really into this image. You know when you've preconceived an idea, photographed it to maximize your idea, then pulled it out in PP? Well this one has done that. I was studying Hopper before the California trip last month and carefully looking for his value proposition when I found this juxtaposition of strange object with savagely strict architecture against that sky and sea. Whoa!

(Stacey): Again thanks for your reaction. You especially would love SF. And I'd love to see it through your eyes. As for the seals (you wildlife person), the last earthquake shook them off of their rocks and they've swum over to Fisherman's Wharf where they now hang out, annoying the upscale condo owners with their honking, flatulence, sea-apples, and splashing at all hours. But they've become a major tourist attraction there and they get fed by the passers by so they're fat and happy and out of the waves that whip at their old home here on the rocks.

Frankly though, I really miss them here.