2 analog sources:
Kunie Sugiura
“Dark Matters/Light Affairs”
University of Washington Press, 2000
Neususs, Barrow, Hagen
“Experimental Vision: The Evolution of the Photogram since 1919”
Roberts Rinehart/Denver Art Museum, 1994
· Objective Observations:
A black and white photogram. Portrait-style orientation. Cannot distinguish if it is a positive or a negative. Rain [or water] droplets that are reverberating across the surface. Many of these reverberations start to overlap and cross each other, creating a pattern across the surface of the image. A wide variety of tones.
· Subjective Thoughts:
It is because of the subject matter [the raindrops] that it is impossible to tell whether or not the image is a positive or a negative. The raindrop’s splatter is such an obscure, undefined thing to be able to distinguish of the rippling is a positive or a negative. This obscurity also blurs the lines of our vantage point as the viewer – are we looking up at the rippling, or down at it? The pattern of the droplets appear intentionally, not as if it were raining. There is a very relaxing aura to this photogram that may have to do with our association with the relaxing sound of rain falling.
· Biographical/Technical:
“Language of Echoes”, 1987
42.50x36.75inches
Adam Fuss
This image is to suggest a “scientific illustration of an atom or the solar system” or like “throwing pebbles into a pond with concentric circles rippling across the surface and colliding with one another”, as stated before I agree with the second suggestion [as is more obvious], but find it hard to believe the first suggestion, it is a bit of a stretch to make the connection to an atom or a solar system when the more obvious connection is to rippling water. I wonder if that suggestion was made by the author of the book or from the artist himself.
· Objective Observations:
A black and white image. A photogram. Portrait-style orientation. Confusing to tell if it is a negative, positive, or combination. Several squids of varying sizes were captured in this image. Soft, ethereal background – painterly.
· Subjective Thoughts:
The manner in which the photogram was arranged, allows the viewer to believe that we are either looking up from underneath the circling squids, or down from above the creatures – either way, we feel very much a part of the scene. The way that there are some shadowy smaller squid figures gives the photo a greater sense of depth of field. The shadowy squid figures also allude to the ink that squids emit when they are spooked. The circular shadows in the background, remind me of the sun reflecting on the water’s surface.
· Biographical/Technical:
“Squids 1”, 1990
Gelatin-silver print mounted on aluminum
40x30inches
Kunie Sugiura
There was no further information on the photogram or any similar photograms in the book.
· Objective Observations:
Black and white photogram. A positive print. Same plant type as in the previous image. Plants are facing opposite direction as previous image – the blooms are on the “top” and “bottom” of the image, with the stalks and leaves in the center. This image also has strong verticals. Portrait-style orientation.
· Subjective Thoughts:
There appears to be another attempt at melding the top and bottom stalks into single stalks that spans across the vertical axis of the image – creating a sort of hybrid plant that has no beginning and that grows outward from the center. The way the stalks and leaves converge together in the center of the image starts to make a sort of heavy mass of plants that is such a stark contrast to the very delicate flowers that bell outward on the top and bottom edges of the image. This tangled mass gives me some anxiety as it appears in such a confusion compared to the simplicity of the belled flowers.
· Biographical/Technical:
“Stacks Lillies A2 Positive 3”, 1996
Unique gelatin-silver print
40x30inches
Kunie Sugiura
This is a photogram of a photogram, touch is essential here: just as the flowers were touching the original paper to create the original image, the original image had to touch this paper to create this positive, the attempt at a geometrical arrangement of the flowers alludes to the predictable geometric petal patterns
Objective Observations:
A black and white photogram. Imagery of plant stalks with leaves and flowers blooming from them. The flowers converge in the center of the image from the “top” and “bottom” of the image. A positive of the photogram. Strong vertical emphasis. Portrait-style orientation.
· Subjective Thoughts:
The very delicate flower petals are a nice contrast against the bold leaves. The flowers meet in the center of the vertical and attempt to connect the top stalk from the bottom stalk – forming a continuous vertical that is drawn across the canvas. Though the leaves are quite bold, they still begin to be drowned out of the light of the background. As the stalks touch, I feel as if they are embracing each other, unwilling to let go. This is interesting to me, as I assume that these stalks are cut and they soon on their way to deterioration. The plants are somehow aware of this, and spend their final moments embracing. They will be represented and remembered this way, before fading into the light.
· Biographical/Technical:
“Stacks Lillies A2 Positive 3”, 1996
Unique gelatin-silver print
40x30inches,
Kunie Sugiura
This is a photogram of a photogram, touch is essential here: just as the flowers were touching the original paper to create the original image, the original image had to touch this paper to create this positive, the attempt at a geometrical arrangement of the flowers alludes to the predictable geometric petal patterns
· Objective Observations:
This image is black and white. This is imagery of flowers, stems, and leaves. This is a photogram. Some plants are overlapping. The plants are in a spherical/spiraling shape. The tones of the background are varying/inconsistent. The stems of the plants are very long and then. This is a negative. Portrait-style orientation.
· Subjective Thoughts:
This image appears to be shot from below, looking upward, though that is unlikely because it is a photogram. The background reinforces that idea, as it looks like clouds in a sky. The faux vantage point causes the viewed to feel as if they are lying on the ground, looking up at the sky. The muted blacks, whites, and grays convey a strange mood to a normal colorful view. By leaving the image as a negative, the flowers glow against the background and have an ethereal feel to them.
· Biographical/Technical:
“Rose Veins 2”, 1990
Unique gelatin-silver print mounted on aluminum
40x30inches
Kunie Sugiura
The cut flowers are transformed into garbage, and they are a symbol of time, we are forced to think about the struggle between what is being represented as “now” and “forever”, and what is no longer
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