Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Blissful blinking

The daily walk is always a good opportunity for the mind to reflect and philosophize.
While the daily running offers the possibility to the mind to express anger and aggression.

In any case, during yesterday’s post siesta walk the thought came to mind that in fact many hours of the day we do not see.
During the hours we sleep but also every moment we close our eyes.
And each time when we blink.
This thought we can carry further by calculating how many years of a life is spent not seeing.
For this we take a person that will reach the age of 75.
75 years is 27.375 days.
Let’s say that on average that person sleeps 8 hours a night.
That makes the person not see for 219.000 hours.
9.125 days spent in a lifetime not seeing.

Next is the blinking.
On average, a person blinks 14 times a minute.
If we take half a second as the time during a blink the eyes are not seeing, we can conclude that 7 seconds a minute of darkness is 1,86 hours a day.
In other words, in a lifetime a person spends over 51.ooo hours not seeing.
Almost 6 years of the life spent in the darkness of blinking.


This is an amazing result of a fact finding research.
But it is not true that we would see more in a lifetime if we would not need to blink.
The fact is that when eyes are open, they not necessarily see.
From the eyes cables go to the brains where the conscious is housed.
It is in the conscious where we actually see.
Where we realize what is in front of us using the eyes.

This is one of the issues that comes up in the current preface that is in the process of being written for the new book.
The new book shows the most recent conceptual photography and is titled “The PS-Series”.
To be published next month.

This book is about what we possibly can see.
In other words, what is there during those 51 hours of our blinking.

Fervent and loyal blog readers are now going to be able to already read this preface of the book “The PS-series”.
And are invited to respond.
To be the editor of this text.
Every person who responds with constructive and sense making criticism will be mentioned in the book.

What makes people interested to look at an image?
How can an image make someone reflect and feel?

Usually in photography interesting images are the result of a photographer documenting an important, surprising or exceptional event.
Such event is translated by the photographer into an intriguing image.

In fact, the job of photographers for the most part is to organize themselves into remarkable situations.
The additional specific characteristics of their style of photography are important but not essential.

What happens though when a photographer, on purpose, chooses to work on a location where nothing is happening?
Where nothing notable can be photographed?
With the ambition to return with interesting images anyway.
What will happen is, that because nothing is coming from the location to the photographer as a reason to make pictures, everything needs to come from within the photographer himself.
He gets the full responsibility for the important, unique or exceptional events to take place for the audience later to be interested in.

The location therefore becomes like a mirror.
Because only the own imagination, fantasy and creativity are instrumental to create the noteworthy events.
The location becomes a screen on which the projections coming from within the photographer are seen and next made into an image for the audience to share.

The images of the PS-series are icons of dreams and hallucinations.
What one sees is possibly not true.
But then maybe it is.
The images are a very personal interpretation of reality.
A version of reality never imagined.
Becoming a reality within the reality.
Stretching the imagination and opening wider the doors of perception.

Most of the ideas for the images of the PS-series were born in one place.
El Triple: a deserted bay with a long and sandy beach on Mexico’s west coast.
The pictures for these ideas were made at El Triple as well.
But the actual creation of the final images took place in Nowy Sacz, Poland in 2007 and Punta Boca del Salado, Mexico in 2008. (dit kun je wellicht nog toelichten )

The PS-series has its name for two reasons.

PS stands for Photoshop, the Adobe software program used in making the images in this book.
But PS also stands for post scriptum.
Because the beautiful bay of El Triple, Mexico, has been bought by an American developer and the construction of a holiday resort has started.









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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Michel - an old, retired English instructor suggests:

"How do people become engaged in an image? In photography, interesting images are usually the result of a photographer documenting an important, surprising or exceptional event. This event is translated by the photographer into an intriguing image.
What happens though when a photographer, purposfully chooses to work at a location where nothing is happening?
Where nothing notable can be photographed although he is determined to return with interesting images anyway.
What will happen is, that because nothing is coming from the location to the photographer as a reason to make pictures, everything needs to come from within the photographer himself.
He has the full responsibility for the important, unique or exceptional events in which the audience later is to be interested.

The location therefore becomes a mirror, because only the photographer's imagination, fantasy and creativity are instrumental in creating the noteworthy events.
The location thereby becomes a screen on which the projections coming from within the photographer are seen and then made into an image for the audience to share.

The images of the PS-series are icons of dreams and hallucinations.
What one sees is possibly not true.
But then perhaps it is.
The images are a very personal interpretation of reality.
A version of reality never before imagined; becoming a reality within reality.
Stretching the imagination and opening wider the doors of perception.

Most of the ideas for the images of the PS-series were born in one place: El Triple, a deserted bay with a long and sandy beach on Mexico’s west coast.
The pictures for these ideas were made at El Triple, but the actual creation of the final images took place in Nowy Sacz, Poland in 2007 and Punta Boca del Salado, Mexico in 2008. (dit kun je wellicht nog toelichten )

The PS-series is so-named for two reasons: PS stands for Photoshop, the Adobe software program used in making the images in this book.
But PS also stands for post scriptum; the beautiful bay of El Triple, Mexico, has been bought by an American developer and the construction of an exclusive holiday resort has commenced."

I enjoy your ruminations, pictures, and the effort you make to share your thoughts and daily experiences. Thanks again.
Kathryn








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