Marieke Self-Directed Research
My favorite English words right now:
1. Visceral
2. Cathartic
The most complete PORTRAIT possible
This research is about the notion of a visible identity. What are ways to make the most complete portrait possible? When is a portrait valid, genuine and authentic? How can you make the invisible parts of anatomy visible? Let's say with an MRI or X-Ray hospitals can make photos of the invisible. Or words, are words also valuable when you describe a person?
But people are also fluid and ever-changing so maybe still figurative images wouldn't be a wise choice. Unless they would be able to say something more then the first-hand impression.
Before I had questions about the meaning of reality but this has grown into more specific questions. The questions I have now are more clearly focused on humanity I guess. Maybe this reality is now more translated into concepts of authenticity and genuineness. So when is an image humanized or dehumanized?
To me this also has a lot to do with vulnerability and protection and the tension between them.
Important quotation from Steve's class: Maybe it's not about realities, but about different levels of abstraction.
Visual Research
As a result of the Toolbox class I made a personal challenge for myself: No programs for altering in experiments. This is to stop myself from always changing my imagery afterwards with digital programs. By doing this I hope to expand my visual language. I realized that with these programs I mainly tried to mimic infra-red, ultraviolet and (psuedo)solarisation images. So I decided to research new ways for me to get images like this.
Until now I have researched infra-red the most. I started this research by putting the Hoya IR72 filter over my Nikon D40 lens. A few of the results:
As you can see most of these pictures are not that clear and sharp.
There are some sharp ones but I didn't select them.
Because in a way the poetry loses when you see it clearly (I'm not saying this is always the case).
So I think I prefer it when the information you get from the image stays vague in a way.
In my practice I am interested in techniques that expose different layers.
That is why techniques like infrared, solarisation and the dissolving of prints are interesting to me.
Because of my painting background thinking and looking in layers is an almost automatic approach.
Research
Artists:
- Masahisa Fukase
- Jesse Kanda
- Chris Cunningham
- Francis Bacon
- Richard Mosse
- Bill Viola
- Daisuke Yokota
- Matthew Cetta
- Annaleen Louwes
Stuff on infra-red and solarisation:
- Solarisation
- Rollei IR 400
- Infrared film photography
- Introduction infrared photography
- History of infrared detectors
- Thermal camera: Migrants
- Infrared D-Day
- Military sensation video
- Difference Night Vision - Thermal Imaging + Uses
- Hiro Murai - Thermal Music Video
Resources:
Reading List:
- The Emergence of Cinematic Time - Mary Ann Doane - 2002
- Psychofarmaca - Solomon H Snyder
- Taking the mask off - Cortland Pfeffer, Irwin Ozborne
- Mothernism - Lise Haller Baggesen
- Objectivity - Lorraine Daston and Peter Galison
- Foundations of Social Theory - James Coleman
- Man and his Symbols - Carl G. Jung
- The Interpretation of Dreams - Sigmund Freud
Watch List: