Disinformation "The Analysis of Beauty" teaser / trailer

Disinformation "The Analysis of Beauty" demo sequence - installation conceived Dec 1999 and first exhibited at Kettle's Yard gallery, Cambridge, UK, Jan 2000 (alongside work by Art and Language, John Dee, Umberto Eco, DJ Spooky, Peter Weibel and Marc Quinn). The "Noise" exhibition at Kettle's Yard was curated by the artist Adam Lowe and Cambridge historian of science Prof Simon Schaffer. "The Analysis of Beauty" installation takes its name from the book of the same name written and published by the painter, engraver and satyrist William Hogarth in 1753. On account of the (subjective, but strong) similarity between the imagery of this installation and DNA, (recent controversies notwithstanding) this work was exhibited directly opposite one of Francis Crick and James Watson's original models of DNA. The sinusoidal patterns visible in this installation produce an optical illusion known as the Kinetic Depth Effect - whereby impressions of "sculptural" form emerge despite the absence of any of the (object) precedence, (geometric and aerial) perspective, stereopsis and (motion) parallax cues traditionally thought to determine visual perception of three-dimensional space. After a little while, the lines may appear to fuse into a rising column or rotating vortex (this impression and its changes in orientation are not generated on-screen, but inside the mind of the viewer). The jumpiness and rough quality of You Tube sequences can compromise the formation of this illusion (it works alot better in real life than it does on video), so it may be necessary to let the data for entire clip load completely into You Tube once, before watching the video for a 2nd time, to achieve a smoother image. You may find the image clearer if viewed at the smallest You Tube magnification (buttons to the bottom right of the You Tube screen). Some changes in rotational orientation take place spontaneously, others may be induced by tilting the head from side to side, by blinking, or simply by THINKING about this imagery in a different way. Although there are superficial visual similarities with the film "Equation X+X=0" (made by Robert Fairthorne and Brian Silk in 1936), "The Analysis of Beauty" is arguably one of the strangest Science Fiction films ever made. Although "The Analysis of Beauty" gallery exhibit also features small sculptures, images and text, the technical set-up that produces the central image (as pointed out in "The Rumble" catalogue) strongly resembles the idea of ultrasonic visual music, played with cathode ray tube and tone generators, described by Sci-Fi author J.G. Ballard in his classic short story "The Sound Sweep" (Nova 1962). "The Analysis of Beauty" featured in 8 Disinformation solo exhibitions, and has also been exhibited at (in "The Rumble" exhibition at) The Royal British Society of Sculptors (London), Sonar at CCCB (Barcelona), The Chamber of Pop Culture (London), Study Gallery of Modern Art (Poole), Orleans House Gallery (Twickenham), and gave its name to the Disinformation UK national touring exhibition, supported by The Arts Council England. A dedicated "The Analysis of Beauty" exhibition was also proposed to Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art curator Alistair Robinson in Jan 2003, 18 months before NGCA took the idea, to stage a show of the exact same name, described as "pretty ugly" by The Guardian, which even managed to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Hogarth's "Analysis" in the wrong year (which is why the NGCA website is - at least until until Jan 07 - still pretending that Hogarth's "Analysis" was published in 1754). A new commentary about this installation is available at http://www.slashseconds.org/is... "The Analysis of Beauty" exhibition catalogue is available from http://www.strangeattractor.co... "Noise" exhibition catalogues are available from http://www.amazon.co.uk/Noise-... The new 35mm cinema version of a Disinformation project called "Fire in the Eye" (commissioned by Threshold Studios for The Arts Council of England) premieres at The Edinburgh International Film Festival on Saturday 21 June (the first still-image version of "Fire in the Eye" was made in 2004 and first exhibited at Wrexham Arts Centre in 2006) http://www.wrexham.gov.uk/engl... http://www.edfilmfest.org.uk

Channel: Film & Animation
Uploaded: December 15, 2006 at 2:53 pm
Author: JHLKJHLKHLK

Length: 05:19
Rating: 4.10
Views: 22637

Tags: art  Ballard  Carsten  Disinformation  DNA  illusion  JG  kinetic  NewScientist  Nicolai  noise  optical  oscilloscope  Pan  Sonic  

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