3D

In the 3D segment of the diagnostic term we have started by going back again to the summer project for inspiration (as well as any and all work we have been doing in other classes so far), in particular the theme of cardboard boxes as a material for drawing on, or simply carving directly into. With the piece I am working on, I am using a rectangular box about 1x1 foot wide/tall, and about half as deep. I opened the box out flat and started making geometric shapes in pencil on the inside of the box. The box was originally for cookware so the exterior is glossy and covered in graphics, so would not be appropriate for drawing onto without making it harder to see. Once I was satisfied with the complexity of the shapes and lines (all of which were straight, no curves), I decided which shapes would be cut out and which would not, and then went over the pencil lines for the shapes to be cut out in biro. This process allowed me to rapidly determine what kind of shapes I wanted to see. The end result I am working towards is stark simplicity, high contrast. I have painted the glossy exterior of the box in white (second coat pending) and I will be painting the interior of the box in a vibrant red, to create a sense of exposure, emphasising the gaps in the cardboard and indicating sensitivity inside. The box has holes made in three of the four sides, whist the base and top of the box are unchanged except for paint. I will be placing a second, much smaller box in the centre-base of the larger structure, following on the same colour theme, the interior white box contrasting again quite strongly against the red interior, with it's own red interior separate from it's exterior. Inversion, and contradiction, are the concepts I am experimenting with for this piece.

After applying the first coat of white paint to the large box, I needed to hang it to dry out of the way whilst I  continued on with the cutting of the smaller box. There was a projector set up and still operating in the room. The cardboard box was hung up, unfolded, from the projector sheet, resulting in the projection (at the time, just the Windows desktop screen) being cast onto the box and subsequently through the exposed holes, creating a segmented impression on the wall as well as an uneven surface for the projection to land on as the cardboard dangled in mid-air. This was an unintended but also very relevant side effect, as I have long been interested in video projection, as a technology, a means of special effects and also as symbolic of cinema as a whole. One particular instance of projection that has always been interesting to me is when it is used during performance, in examples such as film production (for example, projections of moving backgrounds to represent the exterior of a car journey, filmed in a studio, usually giving a slightly peculiar impression of the outside world that is not entirely realistic). Another instance that I have enjoyed is during music performance, and I have seen this example used well by Neurosis and the related act, Tribes of Neurot, as seen on stage and also in the Neurosis DVD for 'A Sun That Never Sets'. Neurosis' members include one person, Josh Graham, whose main role is the visual accompaniment aspect, a role that is considered no less integral to the artistic concept of the group as a whole, and is not serving the purpose of purely advertisement or promotion, but rather furthering the expression of the collective members.

The work is dangling in front of the projector. Only one side is painted at this point, in white. The geometric shapes are casting peculiar shadows, as well as creating equally strange shapes of projected light.

Neurosis performing 'A Sun That Never Sets'

The imagery used during Neurosis' live performances tend to be quite abstract, but relative to the bands general musical themes of nature, humanism and universal truths in general. During different periods of the bands' existance, images have ranged from heavily altered nature footage or video of natural phenomena, to infamous video footage such as that of the televised suicide of disgraced American politician Bud Dwyer in 1987. The video imagery is used to reinforce the tone of the music, which is consistently dark, often oppressive, but just as often as it is compressed and dense it is open and sprawling, vast and unbound.