My most recent project, Archaic Future, explores the relationship between 35mm film and the modern digital tools that have now become the rule rather than the exception. Each piece in the series juxtoposes an image hand-printed in the darkroom with a digital transparency. The aim is to highlight the advantages of each method, and to show their interdependency.
Above is a photo of the first version of this project. Posting an image of the piece poses an intriguing dilemma; as this piece is three-dimensional, a two-dimensional rendering does not fully illustrate the work’s meaning. After attending a lecture by Edward R. Tufte, I have a new appreciation for the issues associated with portraying a multi-dimensional object or idea on a flat plane such as a computer screen. Tufte employs a minimal, even mathematical approach toward solving this issue. His solutions are simplistic by design standards; he even goes so far as to say that design “blocks information.” From an artist’s point of view, I ask, isn’t there a happy medium? Perhaps a Tufte-ified rendering of Archaic Future will follow….
Comments are closed.