Beauty and the sublime
“Beginnings and Endings”
My aim for this assignment is to explore the theme of impermanence and the dynamic nature of life and all things. In part this is inspired by this time of year as people come together at Christmas dinner and reminisce about departed loved ones whilst looking forward to a new year.
The sublime constitutes a feeling, an emotion often too complex to voice. We ‘feel’ it and it can be overwhelming. Often it can make us feel small and insignificant. It can give us a sense of the presence of a higher power in whatever form that may be.
Location
I’m headed to the beach to one of my favourite locations nearby. I aim to take advantage of the fact that sunrise and sunset are at hospitable hours at this time of year. I’m under no illusion that it will be extremely cold especially before dawn, so I’ll be kitted out in suitable thermals, tea flask at the ready and of course a head torch. I’ll consult tide times etc especially as one area gets cut off at high tide.
Research
- The spiritual sublime is one area of research and a quick google search reveals information on abstract expressionist artists which is a very new area for me. There is also a lot of connection to various religious teachings, Taoism is an area I have some familiarity with.
- The emotion of grief in relation to Burke’s definition of the sublime.
- Seascapes and the sublime is a book I’ve come across on UCA library. This is an extensive area. The sea is associated with so many literary, spiritual references.
- How have other photographers and artists approached this subject. Of course Hiroshi Sugimoto comes to mind but I’m keen to explore more widely especially in use of colour. I plan to look at the work of Gerhard Richter, Andreas Gursky, Jaime Sicilia, Anastasia Samoylova and perhaps a few more.
Visual component
I’m keen not to look too far ahead at planning the visual. Whilst a bit of colour during sunrise and sunset is welcomed, I have no idea what the weather will be like. Often there is low grey cloud but the sea takes on a beautiful greenish colour. I’m also a fan of blue hour which might be worth utilising. I have in mind long exposures and it is likely there will be a minimalist, possibly abstract element to the images but I will see how things take shape.
Presentation
I have a tendency to pick up random papers etc for printing/presenting work. I have some tracing paper which is ink-jet compatible. As there’s no white in the paper, the images appear very washed out however when placed on a white background, they spring to life. I’m considering whether this might be a nice way to present. As the viewer turns the page, the images all but disappear. The white pages in between could possibly contain some text or a small part of the image. I’d be happy to make this into a book. I’ve bookmarked a tutorial on single page binding.
Landscape, Place and Environment 