#conceptual work

[tea-bone-steak]

Current WIP of the Lost One

Twitter @TeaBonesArt

Instagram @TeaBonesArt

[sinserif]

Call Me By Your Name Andrè Aciman Book One – Jan 2018

[mossandfog]

Beautifully Balanced Conceptualism by Josh Caudwell

Fine art photographer Josh Caudwell captures everything from high-end watches to luxury perfumes and cosmetics for brands around the world. His precision and eye make for drool-worthy looks. But we’re especially taken with his conceptual work, which explores themes of balance, geometry, and time. Below are some of our favorites from his conceptual collection, which showcase his skill as both a…

Beautifully Balanced Conceptualism by Josh Caudwell

[everythingwhateverblog]

John Baldessari, Wrong, 1967.

[ungodlydandelion]

[ID: an infographic for "The Original Sin Fallacy" - symbolized with four arrows pointing into an X. The Original Sin Fallacy is defined as:

[The] assertion that a complex issue, up to but not limited to the state of the world, is caused by a single moral failure of individual action. [Also known as] the Linchpin Fallacy, the Wrench Fallacy, or Singularity Oversimplification.

Two examples are listed.

The first is: "there is suffering in the world because of the sin of Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden."

Wherein the complex issue of the suffering in the world is pinned to one morality-based action (the "original sin") of two individuals, when it is factual that the suffering in the world is due to multiple factors & will take multiple systemic changes to "fix".

The second is: "if everyone went vegan, we would fix global warming / violence / all the world's current agricultural issues."

Wherein the complex issue of either global warming, violence, or the world's agricultural problems is pinned to one morality-based action (going / not going vegan) of individuals, when it is factual that all of those issues are due to multiple factors & will take multiple systemic changes to "fix". End ID.]

[junichiroishii]

15 centimeters

【English below】

そこで拡張されるものは何か

『科学の興味の対象は、空間内の「遠近」の観察から、「瞬間」という時間の観察へと移りつつある』 フランスの思想家、ポール・ヴィリリオ（Paul Virilio / 1932 - 2018）は、1990年に著書「瞬間の降臨 」においてそう指摘した。現代の科学はもはや人間に与えられた「最初の目」を信じておらず、自ら作り上げた「機械の目」によって、そして自分たち独自の理解の方法で、本来は見えない世界を観察しているという。[*1]

アインシュタインの相対性理論に従えば、ものの大きさは、観察者との相対的な関係によって初めて決まる。幅一メートルというのは、あくまで静止している観察者が決定した大きさにすぎない。広い森を短期間で走り抜ければ、知覚される空間は狭くなり、ゆっくり歩いてゆけば空間は広くなる。つまり知覚される森の広さは、知覚する主体が経験する時間の長さによって決定される。

したがって、等身大の意味において、空間と時間は同義である。「どれだけよく見えるか」は「どれだけ近づけるか」であり、「どれだけ離れているか」は「近づくのにどれくらいかかるか」である。

わたしたちが何かを「よく見よう」と思って目を凝らしてみても、そこには自ずと限界がある。技術の発達によって拡張された「目」は、現実をピクセルに分解しながら、大きさを問わないイメージを生成する。この「新しい別の現実」においては、実際の大きさはもはや問題にならない。『ビデオスクリーン上の月の大きさが、画面の横に置かれたリンゴより小さくとも、不思議に思う人はいないだろう。（…）月と太陽がスクリーン上に並んだ時、言い換えればスクリーンというインターフェイスを通して見た時、月は太陽よりも小さくなければならず、初めて大きさは意味を持つようになる 』[*2]。

ところでそうしたピクセルの集合体として、ものが実物よりも大きく描かれるとき、私たちは一体何を見ているのだろうか。

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15 centimeters © 2018 Jun'ichiro ISHII

作品 «15 centimeters» は３枚の「15cm」の写真によって構成された作品である。写真のフレームはそれぞれ 15cm四方で、１枚目の写真には画面の中央に「15cmの定規」が写っている。15cm四方のフレームの中に被写体として「15cmの定規」が写っているのだから、当然イメージは画面構成的な要求から、鑑賞者が認識しやすいサイズにまで「縮小」されている。

続く２枚目の写真には「実寸大」の15cmの定規が写っている。15cm角のフレームに実寸大の15cmの定規を配置すると、当然ながら両端が「見切れる」。１枚目の写真の基準、つまり具象的な、あるいは説明的な文脈においては、この２枚目の「15cmの定規」は確かに不完全なものである。定規はフレームの外で20cmまで続いているかもしれないし、あるいは「0」を中心として、反対側にも長々と目盛りが伸びているかもしれない。（そんな定規はない、と言い切れるだろうか？）しかし、同時にこの写真（フレーム）は、端から端までがきっちりと「15cm」なのである。つまり画面の外にどれだけ想像力が続こうとも、物体としてのこの「写真フレーム」はどうしても15cmであり、したがって実際に（そう望むなら）「15cmの定規」として使用することも可能なのである。

最後の３枚目の写真の中央には、大きく「15」の文字が写る。画像の「15」の目盛りの右のほうには定規の端も見て取れるから、これは紛れもなく「15cmまでを測る」ために作られた製品である。そして写真は、そのもっとも象徴的な要素を「拡大」提示したものであると言える。

しかしあらためて１枚目の写真、具体的・説明的「縮小」の画像と比較してみると、これはやはり異なる文脈の中で機能していると言うことができる。つまりここには、ゾウの鼻だけを指して「これはゾウである」と断定するような高文脈の抽象性が存在する。また２枚目の文脈と合わせてみた場合、「定規」は相変わらず画面の外では分度器に変わっているかもしれず、（そうでない定規がある、と言い切れるだろうか？）そういった意味で３枚目の写真は、他の二枚との間にあって「相対的な抽象性」を獲得するのである。

冒頭のポール・ヴィリリオの声にもう一度耳を傾けたい。「現代の科学はもはや人間に与えられた「最初の目」を信じておらず、自ら作り上げた「機械の目」によって、そして自分たち独自の理解の方法で、本来は見えない世界を観察している」「スクリーン上の月の大きさが、画面の隣に置かれたリンゴより小さくとも不思議に思う人はいない」

それぞれの「15cm」は、それぞれの文脈において意味を確立している。文脈の異なるそれらを、同列に配置することによって、初めて認識の奇異が発生する。わたしはジョセフ・コスースの同義反復的な技法を援用しながら、作品 «15 centimeters» においてまず、この前提を提示した。

/ / / / / /

[*1] L'inertie polaire / Paul / Virilio / 訳：土屋進 [*2] 瞬間の降臨 / ポール・ヴィリリオ / 土屋進（訳者）補足より

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15 centimeters © 2018 Jun'ichiro ISHII

What is expanded there?

“The interest of science is shifting from the observation of distance in space to the observation of an instant in time.”

In 1990 French philosopher Paul Virilio (1932-2018) wrote: “modern science no longer believes in the ‘first eyes’ that are given to humans, instead observing the invisible world through self-invented ‘mechanical eyes’ with their own manner of understanding.”[*1]

According to Einstein’s theory of relativity, the size of things is only determined by the relative relation-ship with the observer. One meter wide is just the size determined by a stationary observer. If you run through a large forest for a short period, the perceived space will become narrower, and if you walk slowly, the space will become wider.

In other words, the perceived size of forest is determined by the length of time it is experienced. There-fore, when it comes to life-size meaning space and time are synonymous. “How well we can see” means “how close it is” and “how far away” means “how long it takes to approach”.

Even if we have the intention of observing something, there is a limit to how much we really wish to see with our own eyes. The ‘new eyes’ that are augmented by digital technology are transcoding our reality into pixels, generating images that don’t question the real size. The original size is no longer important in this new, alternative reality. “Nobody will be surprised even if the size of the Moon on a video screen is smaller than an apple that is next to the monitor. […] The Moon has to be smaller than the Sun when they are juxtaposed, in other words, the size gains meaning when they are observed through the same interface, the screen.”[*2]

By the way, what exactly we are seeing when we observe things as an aggregation of pixels that is reproduced bigger than its actual size?

[*1] L'inertie polaire / Paul / Virilio / 訳：土屋進 [*2] 瞬間の降臨 / ポール・ヴィリリオ / 土屋進（訳者）補足より

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15 centimeters © 2018 Jun'ichiro ISHII

The work «15 centimeters » is composed of three 15cm photographs. Each photo frame is a 15cm square. The first picture features a 15cm ruler in the centre. Since it’s a picture of a 15cm ruler in a 15cm square frame, for the sake of composition, the image is of course shrunk to a size that’s easy for viewers to recognize.

Next, the second photo shows a 15cm ruler at actual size. Of course, by placing an actual size 15cm ruler in a 15cm square frame, the ends of are cut off from view. In the context of the representational, explanatory standard set by the first picture, this second 15cm ruler feels somehow incomplete. It could continue 20cm beyond the frame, or with the 0 as the midpoint, it might extend on and on in both directions (can we really say such a ruler doesn’t exist?). However, at the same time the photo (frame) is exactly 15cm from end to end. In other words, no matter how much one’s imagination extends beyond the frame, the physical photo frame is definitely 15cm and as such (if one wishes) it’s possible to use it as a 15cm ruler.

The middle of the third and final photo shows a large number 15. To the right of the “15” mark, the edge of the ruler can be seen, and so, this is without a doubt a product that was made for measuring as far as 15cm. You can also say that this photo features the most abstract element enlarged.

However once again, when we compare it to the first very representational, explanatory scaled down image, we can say that this image is functioning in a different context. Here we have high-context abstraction, like how we can point to the trunk of an elephant and come to the conclusion that it’s an elephant. Furthermore, when we combine it with the context of the second image, the ruler may have turned into a protractor outside the edge of the frame (can we say for sure such a ruler doesn’t exist?), for which reason the third photo becomes abstract in relation to the other two images.

Let’s return to the words of Paul Virilio from the opening: “modern science no longer believes in the ‘first eyes’ that are given to humans, instead observing the invisible world through self-invented ‘mechanical eyes’ with their own manner of understanding to observe a world that would be otherwise invisible.” “No one would find it strange that a moon on a screen should be smaller than an apple placed next to the monitor.”

Each “15cm” has meaning in its respective context. By placing these three different contexts side by side, a strangeness in perception occurs. Using the tautological method of Joseph Kosuth, I presented this premise for the work «15 centimeters».

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Exhibition : 2019.08.11 - 08.14. "TODAY IS YESTERDAY'S TOMORROW" HIGURE 17-15 cas, Tokyo, Japan 2018.09.21 - 09.23. "15ans, c'est un anniversaire" 2angles, Flers, Normandy, France

[arpit-nigam]

What We Choose to Forget

Before you begin to read my artist statement, please take a moment to appreciate the work, and attempt to imagine what is behind each block of colour.

My concept for this piece was based around memory and what we choose to remember and therefore, what we choose to forget about the world around us. I decided to use bright, pure colour blocks to censor out the things we choose to forget, to draw attention to them. The first image in the sequence (Green Rectangle), is censoring out a man handing out fliers near Dundas Square. While this is a regular occurrence in this area, most people would be lost when asked to recall what the man was handing out, what he was attempting to market and, almost certainly, why he was doing so. To many, the man may as well not exist, for how little effect he has on their life in the brief moment he interacts with them and therefore, our brains choose not to remember him. The next image (Blue Rectangle), is of Mike, a homeless man who lost the life he once had after a series of unfortunate events. He lost his job, then his family and after moving from Ottawa to Toronto, the last of the money he had attempting to find work here. He had the little belongings which were left to him, stolen by another person doing their best to survive on the streets. I spent over an hour speaking with and photographing him, learning his story and the troubles he faces, how he is working hard to recover from the theft, find a job and put a roof over his head. In that time only a handful of people spent more than glance looking at Mike before they too chose to forget about his existence. It was heartbreaking, seeing the way people regarded him. He was once a framer in the construction industry, but due to factors outside of his control he lost his life, a sequence of events which could happen to anyone and yet, no one had an ounce of sympathy for him, only pausing to make quips or spew put-downs about him or his “authenticity” as a homeless man. The thousands that passed him in the time that we talked, almost all turned a blind eye to his plea for help, money for food, to his circumstance, to his humanity… to him. They chose not to remember him or acknowledge his existence. They treated him like trash, or worse so, as more people would have stopped to pick up and throw away a piece of litter on the sidewalk, which brings us to the third and final image in this sequence (Magenta Rectangle). The block of colour is censoring not a person but a piece of trash, based on the previous two images the intention is to subvert the viewer’s expectations as the other two images have been of people. The angle is supposed to be of a bystander, walking by, looking down on the subject both literally and metaphorically as that is often the treatment we give those we believe are lower than ourselves. My intention with this piece was to challenge the way we see the world and the things, or people, which we believe are lower than ourselves. I wanted to ask the question, why is it that we choose to be blind to certain things in the world?

Video Sequence of What We Choose to Forget: https://youtu.be/oss4VSad77o

These photos were taken on the Canon T7i with the Canon EF-S 18-135mm lenses with post work done in Adobe Lightroom Classic CC and Adobe Photoshop CC 2018.

[junichiroishii]

K / H

【English below】

グローバルな時代の身体感覚

「グローバル」という言葉が一般に使われるようになって久しい。わたしたちの日常生活においても、もはやこの形 容詞を聴かない日はないようにさえ思われる。「相互関係の親密化」「複合的結合」「ハイパーコネクティヴィティ」... その状況を言及する語彙は多々あれど、ところで、わたしたちの身体感覚は、はたしてこの「球状化現象」に伴走する ような形で、充分に発達しているのだろうか。わたしたちは一体どれほど、身体感覚を持って地球の裏側で起こる出来事に同調しているだろうか。オンライン情報が地球の表面を(隅々まで)瞬時に駆け巡る万能感全盛の時代、わたしはそこにある「理解と身体感覚のズレ」を視覚化してみたいと考えている。

作品 «8,884km / 6hours» は、壁掛け時計とプリント・アウトされたオンライン・ニュースによって構成される作品である。

2018年5月14日、オンラインのニュースは、アメリカ大使館がエルサレムに移設されたことを告げていた。ニュースに よると、大使館の移設に反対するパレスチナ人とイスラエル軍との間に激しい衝突が起こり、パレスチナ保安当局 は、ガザでは少なくとも52人がイスラエル軍によって殺害されたと発表した。

2018年5月14日は、1948年に後の首相デビット・ベングリオン（David Ben-Gurion / 1886 – 1973）率いるユダヤ人指導 部による、イスラエル国家設立宣言の70周年記念日にあたる。 この日に米政府が大使館をエルサレムに移動するというのは極めて政治的な行為であり、諍いが起きることさえ十分に予見できる判断である。ニュース・メディアはそのような憶測も交え、「今・そこ」で起こっている、様々な「現実」を 報道した。

わたしたちの住む世界は千々に裂け、あらゆるところで断絶している。地域紛争は日々その悲惨さを増し、久しく絶え る兆しさえない。わたしたちは互いに干渉し、染色しながら激しく複雑な化学反応を引き起こしている......

ところで。それは「誰」の現実だろうか。 最新の「悲劇」が、ほぼ同時中継でポケットの中にまで届けられる、今日の高度情報化の環境にあって、わたしたちは知らず他者への共感能力が麻痺して、インスタントな「不幸」という電気信号に、思考停止した偽善的主張ばかりを繰り返す、形骸化した単調な化学反応になってしまってはいないだろうか。それとも、こうした言説は今日あまりにも ナイーヴに過ぎるだろうか。では、はたして問題が「地球温暖化」にすり替わったとしたら?無責任にガザを憂う不幸の視聴者のその姿は、海岸で日光浴をしながら地球温暖化を憂う姿に似てはいないだろうか?

「情報」と「現実」の間には差異がある。この差異を視覚化、あるいは別の言語で要約するにはどうすればよいか。わ たしは «8,884km / 6hours» と題した作品において、以下の通りの設計を行った。

「オンライン情報」によると、京都とガザは8,884km離れており、6時間の時差がある。またわたしたちの生活する地球 は、赤道の円周で40,076kmであるという。40,076kmを360度で割れば、111.322..kmとなる。つまり、地球上でわたしたちが111.322..kmを移動すれば、宇宙からそれを平面的に眺めてみた場合、1度、その外周上を移動した、という計算になる。そして、京都からガザが、インターネットの教える通り、8,884km離れているのであるとすれば、8,884を111.322で割る、すなわち79.806..度が、宇宙から見た場合の、京都とガザの位置関係である。

展示の機会があった展覧会において、わたしはガザの現地時間である、日本時間より6時間遅らせた時計を、壁に 79.8度傾けた状態で展示した。またその隣りには、インターネットからプリント・アウトしてきた同日のガザのニュース を配置した。

作品 «8,884km / 6hours» は、時間と距離に関する実用的な情報を提供することにより、「肉眼では捕捉不可能な距 離の先にある現実を、なんの違和感もなく観察している」という、ポスト・インターネット時代の現実に着目した。

人類は今日、自ら作り上げた「機械の目」を通して、そして自分たちの独自の理解の方法によって、本来は見えない世界を観察している。わたしは時計という象徴的な道具に、最小限の行為——時計を傾けること、すなわち宇宙の観点からガザの人々の「垂直」を描き出してみること——を加えることによってあらためてそれを、身体感覚を伴った物質的な現実に変換しようと試みた。

「他者」を知ることで「自己」を認識できるように、「他国」を知ることによって「日本」を意識することができる。ならば、「グローバル」なわたしたちの時代は、「グローブ」を客観的に観ることによって、はじめて認識することができるのではないだろうか。インターネットがますます当たり前になり、日常社会のあちこちのその窓がぽっかりと開いているようなわたしたちの現実。わたしたちの足元に広がる球体に対する認識は、ますます脳内だけのものへと収縮されてゆくのだろうか。それとも、そこになにかしらの共感を喚起する、すなわち「等身大の現実」感覚を刺激する、物質性を獲得してゆく ことは、可能なのだろうか。

K / H © 2018 Jun'ichiro ISHII

Physical sensa on in the global era

In just a few decades, the word "global" has become part of our daily lives. It seems like there isn’t a day that we don't hear this word. "Intimacy of mutual relations", "complex-connectivity", "hyper-connectivity"… There are many terms that describe this state of affairs, but leaving that aside, how can we really perceive this "Spheroidization phenomenon”? Can we really consider what is happening on the other side of the Earth as a part of our own lives? In the era of omnipotence, where online information runs instantaneously all to every corner of the globe, I would like to focus on the gap we feel between the information-based understanding and real experiences.

The work «8,884km / 6hours» is a piece composed of a wall clock and print-outs of news articles.

On the 14th of May 2018, online news outlets announced that the Israeli American embassy had relocated to Jerusalem. They reported that the move caused physical conflicts between Palestinian and Israeli forces, and that according to Palestinian security officials, at least 52 people were killed by Israeli troops in Gaza.

This day marked the 70 years since the declaration by Jewish leadership establishing of the State of Israel, headed by future Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion (1886 – 1973) on the 14th of May 1948. For the US government to move the embassy to Jerusalem on this day was a very political act, and it was perfectly predictable that it would result in physical conflict. News pundits speculated wildly as they reported on various "realities" occurring "there and now”.

Even if it seems superficially unified, our world is fragmented and disconnected. Day in day out re-gional conflicts increase misery with no end in sight. We meddle in each other’s affairs, causing in-tense and complex chemical reactions while dyeing... by the way, whose reality is it? "While worry-ing about Gaza”, we might prepare a presentation in the morning, then later in the afternoon we might look at new products online also "while worrying about Gaza". What is this irresponsible view-er-like reality?

The latest tragedy is delivered directly into our pockets in real time. Are we not becoming a net-work of electric signals that reacts instantly to the "tragedy" and repeats hypocritical assertions, without knowing that our ability to empathize with others is paralyzed in this hyper-connected environment? Or are these discourses too naive today? So what if the problem was global warming in-stead? Doesn’t the spectator of tragedy that irresponsibly worries about Gaza resemble "sing opera to the sun on the coast while worrying about global warming”?

There is a gap between "information" and "reality." How could I visually represent this difference? Is it possible to translate it into another language? I designed a work entitled «8,884km / 6hours».

According to information on the internet, Kyoto and Gaza are 8,884 km apart with a time difference of 6 hours. The Earth we live on is said to be 40,076 km around the equator. Dividing 40,076 km by 360 degrees gives us 111.322... km. In other words, if we move 111.322... km on the Earth it means we move 1 degree on the outer circumference of the planet as seen from space.

Furthermore, if Gaza is 8,884 km away from Kyoto, as the Internet says, then 8,884 divided by 111.322, is 79.806... degrees, which is the positional relationship of the between Kyoto and Gaza as seen from space.

At an exhibition that I happened to participate in, I exhibited a clock, that is 6 hours behind Japan time - the local time in Gaza, tilted at a 79.8 degree angle on the wall. Next to that, I juxtaposed printouts of the news about Gaza from the Internet.

By providing practical information about time and distance, the work «8,884km / 6hours» describes the situation of the post-internet era: that humans are observing a reality far beyond the distance that cannot be captured by one’s own "first eyes" without a sense of incongruity.

Humanity today observes a world which is only visible through the artificial “mechanical eyes” coupled with our own method of understanding. The intention of the work was to make it visible by using a symbolic item and minimal act, which is tilting a clock to express Gaza's "vertical" position in the universe, I have intended to re-transcode the information-based reality into the tangible visual language.

Just as we can recognize "oneself" by knowing "others", we can be aware of "own culture" by knowing "other cultures". Therefore in our "global" era, we can only recognize the "globe" by looking at it objectively from the universal point of view.

The reality is that the internet is becoming more and more commonplace, opening windows into our daily lives at any time. Will our perception about the spheres, that are spreading at our feet, be increasingly contracted to something only in our brain? Or is it possible to acquire materiality that evokes some kind of empathy, in other words, that stimulates a sense of something like "human-size reality"?