Brandon 2/11/10

As a post-pixel response, I attempted to set the sculpture(s) themselves in a different context. I was interested in Cole's decision to show the pixel as a sphere. A single pixel is a tiny element that comprises a much, much larger picture. It is essentially a single point of light, and we often see representations of photons as spheres - the most elemental "unit" of light. The sculpture, in a sense, is representing the infinitely small on a much larger scale. I took this idea a step further, ultimately alluding to the pixels as heavenly bodies - single elements in a much larger universe. Makes you feel small, doesn't it?






















As for logo ideas... it looks like a few of mine are pretty similar to what other people came up with. Additionally I recreated a few others that people posted (roughly). Personally I'd like a more graphical logo that's more or less than just a play on the font of the word - clearly I did an excellent job at this. Ha. That said, so far I like Sophia's logo the best... something that blends the text with a shape, or even better, just a graphic alone that implies "shift" and can be worked into the layout of the web site, mailers, etc. Please send thoughts and suggestions my way on this!






This week on my web site was really just working on a minor tweak for now. I'd like the vertical images to display a little higher up than the horizontal images. Horizontal images appear well centered within the layout, but the verticals don't have enough white space underneath. I'm adding a little intelligence to the php that checks the orientation of each picture, but right now the "intelligence" is still pretty dumb. In other words, I should have it working by next week.



The Walter Benjamin essay I'm pretty sure I've read before, but revisiting never hurts. The main points I gathered from the essay were about 1) the "aura" of an original work of art. This is something that still quite strongly exists today and I don't feel will ever be lost. 2) Photography while in and of itself has no original, can capture the essence of an original to some degree or another. He mentions photographs of loved ones which exist long after they're gone. 3) Benjamin mentions how widespread text reproduction is, and how almost any reader can choose to become a writer. His main example was "letters to the editor" in a newspaper. 4) He seemed to spend the most time talking about film cameras and cinema. My guess is because at the time of the essay's writing it was the newest medium discussed. He talked about the role of the film camera and how it changes the role of the actor and his or her interaction with the audience, the camera being an agent between the two (actor and audience). This has both advantages and disadvantages - the actor cannot respond to the audience during a performance, but the camera can enhance the actor's performance with the aid of angles, close-ups, etc. I wonder what he would think today, seeing how the art world has embraced our ability to reproduce things across mediums and as many times as we desire. And yet the value of the original, it's "aura", is and will never be lost.