Current Film Project

So recently I've begun to explore the sort of, advanced cousin medium to mine own (photography) which is that of the moving image. 

I'm a very form oriented individual. My photographic "parents" as some people like to call them, are Albert Renger-Patzsch, Julius Shulman, and Andre Kertesz. The important one in terms of this blog post is Albert Renger-Patzsch. Renger-Patzsch was a German photographer associated with the New Objectivity active during the Weimar Republic. Now, the New Objectivity was something that, for those who know me, would assume I would hold protest against. However, in looking at the photographs presented by Renger-Patzsch, his focus on recording the beautiful forms that exist in the world, I've found a substantial amount of nearly universal subjectivity tying together all of his work. Yes, the images were recorded at a somewhat "arm's-length-distance" in an attempt to reduce the photographers bias. However, the choice to make the photograph is the biggest form of subjective bias I can think of.

Anyway, his importance in this blog post is that the increased sensitivity to everyday forms and objects, as well as Julius Shulman's increased sensitivity to imbuing a subjective, emotional, aesthetic quality to everything he pointed his lens at helped me in my first (after a long hiatus) film project.

As for the cinematic influences on this project...well, in keeping with the Germanic/ western European love of form I was greatly inspired by German Abstract Cinema of the 1920s and later on Soviet film director (1929) Dziga Vertov's masterpiece, Man with a Movie Camera. < Please, if you have the time, watch Vertov's film.  Specific artists would have to include, Vertov, Walter Ruttmann, Hans Richter, Viking Eggeling and Oskar Fischinger. While the latter four are arguably more abstract than Vertov and my film is much more in the spirit of Man with a Movie Camera, I developed my appreciation for the musicality of forms and their inherent subjective qualities because I was first introduced to German Absolut Film before experiencing anything of Vertov's. (Again, if you can spare the time, please read the short wikipedia article about Absolut Film)

Currently it's called City of Light and Lines but I might as well call it Man with a Blackberry Camera as that's what I chose to shoot with for convenience, ease of blending in and capturing the true environment, and it offered me a lo-fi, old film look that I feel works.


As the film progresses it becomes more and more abstract. Elements of sci-fi and suspense. Light is personified as a concept and a character.

Without further ado...here's my short silent film:

Any feedback, comments, questions, any...anything is greatly appreciated! Please utilize the comment box either on Youtube, blogger, or my email address provided in the right hand side bar.

Warmly,

-steve


P.S. Here is the stable URL link to the youtube page.
http://youtu.be/EWZ0HTJpdF0

A Night of Architecture

Just before college I began to become very inspired by the work and images of Julius Shulman. The way he was able to compose the frame and present a space. His images may have sometimes been cold and lacked the personality of the artist, for he was a very chipper man as times. However, His ability to organize space within the frame was second to none in the world of architectural photography. He was able to add resonance, breath, and the sensation of movement to the sometimes distant feeling, stagnant, geometry of Modern design. I envy his ability to respond to space with such a heightened sensitivity. He was one of the reasons Modern architecture and design became popularized in America and arguably the most important architectural photographer of his time. Without him, Modern architecture would certainly not have been what it was.

Here are two (4) images that I made tonight inspired by Julius Shulman.
I greatly favor architectural photography to be in black and white because, unless color is an integral part of the space or design it distracts and detracts from the beauty of the space. I've supplie black and white as well as color versions of both photographs. PLEASE feel free to comment, critique, or ask questions.

I neglected to take down the address or the name of this apartment complex. I've got some searching to do.

Links to Julius Shulman's works:
http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/shulman/
http://ehehr1955.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/julius-shulman-photography/

Bing image search (large+wallpaper size only)

Here is an image I made over a year ago. To this day it is still one of my favorite architectural photographs of mine. I don't believe it's previously appeared on this blog so I'll upload it now.

SUNY Purchase Dance Conservatory - 2010 - ©Steve Shillling 

Revision (Sat. March, 31st)
It seems this photograph does appear on this blog in a much earlier post which can be seen by following this link.
http://visual-drone.blogspot.com/2011/02/inspiration-series-1.html
Again, Julius Shulman is spoken about and I provided some example work of his.

Promotional Trailer!

About a month ago I was Director of Photography for a friend's short film. Now, we've finally sat down and I helped Joel edit together a trailer.
Hope you enjoy it!






The Way Station:
Located at: 683 Washington Ave
btw prospect and st marks Prospect Heights, Brooklyn 11238
A to Washington
or 2/3 to BK Museum
or Q to 7th Ave B45 to Washington Ave and Prospect Place (stops right in front of bar)

Image of the Night #19

Untitled;  2012

Image(s) of the Night #17 + #18

I've been experimenting with some different photographic processes.

Here are two of the results.

Title: Mandala 1; 2012

Right-click and select open in new window in order to see full image and increased detail.

Title: 增長 ("Growth"); 2012

Upcoming Group Exhibition

Please come and look at some exceptional artists work in this upcoming group exhibition.

Check back in the near future as I will be posting a small write-up about the show and why it's more than simply a group of individuals suspending images on a wall.


*Note: This is simply my own personal promotion card. Each individual artist has made his or her own.

Back to Making Work

I've been spending quite some time reading interviews held between various individuals and John Cage. I'm working on ways to steer my work in a direction more similar to his. However, for now I'm just going to keep making the work I feel I need to.

Having said that, here are some examples of my most recent creations. As always, I'm going to leave out (aside from what one gathers from the titles) any notion of my intent or goal. Both of theses are or should be considered irrelevant for you, the audience. All they (the pieces) require of you is that you place your soul under careful observation, paying attention to its reactions.

A friend of mine mentioned that I should write up a manifesto of sorts and I'm currently battling myself with that idea. I want not to take the offensive but at the same time I strongly believe that art has been steadily traveling down a damaging path, largely to blame is capitalism, and that there should be felt some great urgency to correct it's path.

However, here, in this blog post, is not the place to do it.

Without further swelling my passions, here are some samples of new work:

100th Post - Recent Work

I've been neglecting this blog as well as the additional blog I run which, aside from some fundamental differences, shows the same work as I do here on One Hand Clapping.

Here is a compilation of the most recent work I've been focusing on:

Recent work

From left to right:
Arrangement for Yellows and Blues: Alegro con Brio - 2012;  36" x 29"  Pigment print from digital file
Arrangement for Reds and Blues: Larghetto con Motto - 2012; 36" x 29" Pigment print from digital file
Nocturne in E: Grave quasi Lamentoso - 2012; 36" x 29" Pigment print from digital file
Arrangement for Tones - 2012; 18" x 28" Pigment applied to mulberry paper

The less I say about them the more freedom I give to you in order to interpret them or better put, experience them as your own, in your own way.
Enjoy and thanks for sticking with me till now.
: )

Sincerely,

-S.

P.s. - To view the image larger than Blogger's native viewing window size please right click and select "open in new window" or "open in new tab."

Image of the Night # 16- Arrangement for Reds and Blues - Larghetto con Moto - 2012

Arrangement for Reds and Blues - Larghetto con Moto - 2012

If you would like an example of what a piece set to the Larghetto con Moto tempo sounds like then I direct you to Ferdinand Ries' Symphony No. 7 Op. 181 II. Conducted by Howard Griffiths with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra. I'll admit there are parts of the song that I feel do not really harmonize with the image but it is merely for educational purposes of demonstrating the tempo. If you wish to listen to the song and view the image together then I suggest first clicking on the video and then opening the image in a full screen format.

Image of the Night #15 - New York City, Nocturne in Blue and Red

New York City, Nocturne in Blue and Red; 2012

Here's the most recent Image of the Night.  Created with the inspiration garnered from the paintings of James McNeil Whistler. I was looking out my window and my eyes fell to the AC unit of my neighbor. I noticed that there was enough light so that the interior parts were just visible. Inside there were an arrangement of pieces that reflected various colors, all of which seemed to fall into the blues and red portions of the spectrum. The photograph was made late in the day so I knew that the sunlight was a much cooler color temperature then my eyes were showing me and I knew I could use that to my advantage. Though it is entitled a nocturne it can be seen that it displays a rather violent array of verticle bars of a high value. Seeing this caused me to think about it in predominantly two ways. One of which was that each vertical line sounded like distant staccato trumpet or violin notes. The other way was that it also appeared to be a very illustrative example of a music staff with each black space being the measure and each white vertical line being a standard bar. Now, in order to bring the music to life I found an online example of color-tone relation. These notes serve as a relative consensus between two composers, Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin and Nikolai Rimsky-Korakov. Now, if you really want to sit down and play the picture in accordance to the colors shown in relation to the circle of fifths then be my guest but that's too much for me. I enjoy the aesthetic experience of relating the blues to low violin, cello and double bass sounds while the reds appear to be more in the spirit of the soft warm tones of the horn, and some woodwind instruments. I can give no insight as to how long or short the image will play out for you or if it even will at all. I also must say that nothing presented here is a definite science, rather, it's a product of myself realizing my views on the visual world, how I've experienced and enjoyed them for years and years, as well as my findings of like-minded individuals that seem  to have agreed with me.

I'll share with you some quotes from one of my favorite painters, Wassily Kandinsky.

from (Original Source): Chapter 5, Uber das Geistige in der Kunst (Munich: R. Piper, 1912), pp. 37-42 (actually published in December, 1911)

My source: Chipp, Herschel Browning., Peter Howard Selz, and Joshua Charles Taylor. Theories of Modern Art: A Source Book by Artists and Critics. Berkeley: University of California, 1968. pp. 152-155. Print.

"If you let your eye stray over a palatte of colors, you experience two things. In the first place you receive a purely physical effect, namely the eye itself is enchanted by the beauty and other qualities of color. You experience satisfaction and delight, like a gourmet savoring a delicacy. Or the eye is stimulated as the tongue is titillated by a spicy dish. But it grows calm and cool, like a finger after touching ice. These are physical sensations, limited in duration. They are superficial, too, and leave no lasting impression behind if the soul remains closed. [...] On he other hand, as the physical coldness of ice, upon penetrating more deeply, arouses more complex feelings, and indeed a whole chain of psychological experiences, so may also the superficial impression of color develop into an experience"(p 152).

 "Only with higher development does the circle of experience of different beings and objects grow wider. Only in the highest development do they acquire an internal meaning and an inner resonance. It is the same with color, [...]" (p 153).

"The eye is strongly attracted by light, clear colors,a nd still more strongly by colors that are warm as well as clear; vermillion stimulates like flame, which has always fascinated human beings. Keen lemon-yellow hurts the eye as does a prolonged and shrill bugle note the ear, and one turns away for relief to blue or green"(p 153).

"They [colors] produce a correspondent spiritual vibration, and it is only as a step towards this spiritual vibration that the physical impression is of importance" (p 153)

"The sound of colors is so definite that it would be hard to find anyone who would express bright yellow with bass notes, or dark lake with the treble" (p 154).

UPDATE (1/16/2012): Recently, a very good friend of mine, Emily Yost, a fellow photography enthusiast as well as quite the artist told me that when she viewed this image she could not help but think of the Theme song to Cowboy Bebop. Now, seeing as it's one of my favorite, if not THE favorite anime I've seen, I loved hearing that news. If you are unfamiliar with the theme, here it is in full.

Recent Work (Wharton State Forest)

Recently I was able to have the opportunity to take one of my cameras and accompany my friend Ryan Shorosky for an adventure in Wharton State Forest located in Southern New Jersey near Hammonton and Lower Forge. These are some of the images I made during my time spent there.
 Since these images are on the internet and therefore, I believe them to be loosely "in the public domain" I'm allowing full distributing rights to those who wish to use them (e.g. phone backgrounds, wallpapers, teaching instrument or instruments for critique, etc...). However, it would be greatly appreciated if you could either link to my site or give credit to me as the original artist.
You'll notice some slight to moderate vignetting on many of the images. This is due to the fact that I was operating an old Mamiya 645 medium format camera with a slightly wider than standard 70mm lens. As the aperture is decreased in order to broaden the depth of field (range of what will be percieved as in focus by the human eye) the edges of the frame are exposed to a dramatically lower amount of light resulting in the appearance of somewhat burned or darkened corners.
You'll also notice that I've neglected to remove any instances of dust that happened to be on either the scanner or the negative during the time of scanning. This is partly due to the fact that uploading these are a luxury I take during my more free times during the day. If anyone would like to inquire as to how to obtain a professional print and at what sizes they are available please feel free to email me at SRS2Photo@Gmail.com.

I hope you enjoy these recent images.

Peace
 

Taken by: Steve shilling II

Taken by: Steve shilling II

Taken by: Steve shilling II

Taken by: Steve shilling II

Taken by: Steve shilling II

Taken by: Steve shilling II

Taken by: Steve shilling II

Taken by: Steve shilling II

Taken by: Steve shilling II

Taken by: Steve shilling II

Taken by: Steve shilling II

Taken by: Steve shilling II

Taken by: Steve shilling II

Taken by: Steve shilling II

Taken by: Steve shilling II

Taken by: Steve shilling II

Self Curatorial Project

–Press Release–

Emotional Impressions:

Visual Cognitions of Spaces

A duet of visual explorations presented by Stephen Shilling II and Alexey Titarenko

Curated by: Stephen Shilling II

Grouping view: Top Row: Stephen Shilling II's images 

Bottom Row: Alexey Titarenko's images

     Alexey Titarenko received his Master of Fine Arts degree from the Department of Cinematic and Photographic Art at Leningrad's Institute of Culture in 1983. He began taking photographs at the beginning of the 1970s, and in 1978 became a member of the well-known Leningrad photographic club Zerkalo, where he had his first solo exhibition (1978).
     Titarenko has received numerous awards from institutions such as the Musee de l'Elysee in Lausanne, Switzerland; the Soros Center for Contemporary Art in St. Petersburg; and the Mosaique program of the Luxemburg National Audiovisual Centre. He has participated in many international festivals, biennales, and projects and has had more than 30 personal exhibitions, both in Europe and the United States.

     His works are in the collections of major European and American museums, including The State Russian Museum (St. Petersburg); the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Art; George Eastman House (Rochester, N.Y.); the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston); the Museum of Fine Arts (Columbus, Ohio); the Museum of Fine Arts (Houston); the Museum of Photographic Arts (San Diego); the Davis Museum and Cultural Center at Wellesley College (Mass.); the European House of Photography (Paris); ...

The artist is represented exclusively by Nailya Alexander Gallery 

41 East 57th street, 10022, New York, NY, USA  |  Phone: +1.212.315.2211

     Stephen Shilling II is a photography student currently exploring the photographic medium at the School of Visual Arts. Tired of the traditional and enduring past–mind of photography he focuses on energy and the theory of the “universal vibration resonance” of life’s energies. Believing that photographs, sculptures, paintings and so forth are not works of art but rather art products, a phrase first coined by Prof. John Dewey, he works to explore photography with a present–mind. The current norm among art institutions and in the critical world of art is focused on speaking about work in a predominantly non-progressive way, utilizing, to a great degree, only it’s “past–mind.”  he believes that, “if one begins to speak about a photograph so that in their mind they have formed an image from their memory, which is already in their “past–mind” or if one begins to consciously reference a previous work of art then what has happened is they have accepted a previously existing authority on the matter and transformed the current art product to the past object, to what has happened and neglected to look at what is happening.”  It is his own firm belief that “there should exist no criteria for producing or experiencing art” and that “art is either successfully brought about or not, and this of course depends on the personal cognitive interactions laid forth by each audience member individually.”

  These thoughts have not brought about a radically new style of photography, nor has the artist expressed a desire to produce something that has never before been seen and is totally, visually original.  “I merely wish to produce objects which I feel embody a visual hint towards the emotions, the energies, the truths of a place, an object or what have you. Other than that how the audience interprets my work is up to them as it is and should be totally out of my control for, what authority do I have to tell people how to think? None. I’m merely dissatisfied with the current ‘past–mind’ point of view from which we approach art and the lack of progressive thought that’s restricted for not just photography but art as a whole form of expression. You see, art is a language, and languages should not have limitations, least of all art. There should not exist this photographic dialect that cannot be quite so understood by the painters, the carpenters, the designers, writers or the musicians who each have in turn their own dialect. Rather, art as a language, is an expression of emotions in hopes that members of the audience will be given a doorway into an experience similar to that of the producer.”

   “What must be brought about is not necessarily a new form of art. Rather, there must be a change in our consciousness from which art or the art product is created and thus, how it is viewed. This, I feel, can manifest itself in the minds of man as a way of transforming already created art products into new products themselves, almost as if a new style had come about. In the free mind, in the mind done away with past–mindedness authority, man can observe absolute truth in the world around him. By freeing the mind when viewing anything, something new can be brought about. This I believe to be totally true.”

    


       In Emotional Impressions: Visual Cognitions of Spaces curator and photographer Stephen Shilling II pairs his own work with the work of established contemporary Russian photographer Alexey Titarenko.  Titarenko has expressed that with the images of St. Petersburg he focused on trying to visually represent the feelings and emotions of places he found stimulating throughout the city of St. Petersburg.  His use of multiple exposures intend to assist in providing a disconnect between the viewer and the place represented in the photograph by showing a non-objective reality of the location. What’s photographed cannot be actually and objectively seen if one were to go and view those spaces. However, what is apparent is the sensation that Titarenko has translated inner emotional experiences into a sort of legible or understandable, visual language.

     Stemming from a similar philosophical approach to the photographic medium, Stephen Shilling II chose to focus more on the printing of the images rather than simply the photographing of them.  The rich tones of the images combined with the heavier contrast (in comparison to Titarenko’s work) create the sensation that some of the spaces photographed are about to experience an earthquake. There is a sense of vibration in the total and absolute stillness of his images. The relationship between Titarenko’s flowing and breathy, multiple motion exposures and Shilling’s stark and stagnant still images play very well together. Both artists bring about the sensation of emotion, and movement which can be thought about as Shillings’ “universal vibration resonance” theory.

Citation Notice: All information about Alexey Titarenko was gathered from his "About" page on his website.
-ALEXEY TITARENKO | PHOTOGRAPHY. Web. 3 Dec. 2011. <http://alexeytitarenko.com/about.html>.


Note: All my images are my own and all of Alexey Titarenko's images are under his Copyright protection. I've merely appropriated them for use in an educational context.


Additional Note: The beginning eight warm-toned images are of mine while the second group of eight neutral-toned images are Alexey's.

Universal Vibration Resoncance is not yet a set in stone term, nor has the definition been entirely laid out yet. Another possible and the original term was "Existential Vibrational Resonance(s)"; I've not yet decided which term to use. There may still be a better term out there.
This is similar to but working separately, apart from the information located on this site: http://www.u-res.com/. 

   

Letter to a Priest

I've recently been traveling around New York City in an attempt to photograph many of the churches and sacred spaces starting with Manhattan. Recently I stepped inside the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America - St. John The Baptist church. It's located at 143 East 17th Street New York, NY 10003. You walk inside this dimly lit space with only one aisle, velvet red carpet, red candles, a beautiful alter and the walls are lined with dramatic paintings. It's a wonderful space and the priest is a kind man who used to build and ride motorcycles. If you ever find yourself in the area, stop by and see if he's in. His name is Father Vasilios Bassakyros.

Peace,

-S.

P.s. It you wish to read the letter it's best if you right click and select open in new window. unless you're running Firefox in which case I believe it does that automatically.

Also, please do not click download file. I understand I'm presenting this file on the web where nothing is safe or private or personal but these are my words and I'd like to feel that I can share my thoughts online.

Information regarding the swastika and it's uses in world religions.
Information taken from:
http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/symbols/swastika.htm

"The swastika (Sanskrit svastika, "all is well") is a cross with four arms of equal length, with the ends of each arm bent at a right angle. Sometimes dots are added between each arm.

The swastika is an ancient symbol found worldwide, but it is especially common in India. It can be seen in the art of the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Celts, Native Americans, and Persians as well Hindus, Jains and Buddhists.

The swastika's Indian name comes the Sanskrit word svasti, meaning good fortune, luck and well being.

In Hinduism, the right-hand (clockwise) swastika is a symbol of the sun and the god Vishnu, while the left-hand (counterclockwise) swastika represents Kali and magic. The Buddhist swastika is almost always clockwise"

New Images from a Recent Roll #2

Here are some recent images (about half that I decided were good enough to scan) that I shot. They're only 35mm Agfa slide film images. There's no real thesis that I had in mind when shooting them. Just the usual whatever interests me type of mentality.

Hope you enjoy.

Sincerely,

-S

©Steve Shilling II -  2011
A tree that's won against the city.

©Steve Shilling II -  2011

©Steve Shilling II -  2011

©Steve Shilling II -  2011
While walking around Chelsea one morning I found an urban Crucifix. 

©Steve Shilling II -  2011
An especially interesting and somewhat musical find.

©Steve Shilling II -  2011
On the High Line Park