Thoughtfactory: abstractions

developing the tradition of photographic abstraction

Posts for Tag: Abstraction

granite abstraction #13

This abstraction of a granite  formation was made just west of  Petrel Cove when I was on a poodlewalk with Kayla in the early morning:

 I was working   nearby on a series of salt abstractions at the time--mid February 2019--and I  saw this rock formation.   

sea abstract #5

Another image  in the sea abstraction series that emerges from  my daily walks along the coast of the southern Fleurieu Peninsula: 

This  was made in the summer of 2018 whilst on an afternoon  poodlewalk with Maleko. I recall that I got very wet as  a large wave swept over my  feet and legs. 

Below  is the converted black and white version of the digital file:

There is not that much difference between these two interpretations. 

As can be seen from the earlier images in this series---- hereherehere and here--- I   do struggle with this series. Their emergence from my daily walks indicates that  these  abstractions reject the common  view that  abstraction is a withdrawal from the modern world, almost a safe house for art. Maybe this series refers  to chance---standing on the rocks amongst  the swirling sea waiting for  the formation of  a visual form/image? 

granite abstraction #12

This  abstract photo  was made in January 2019 whilst I was on a coastal poodlewalk along the southern Fleurieu Peninsula with Kayla. The picture  or image was  made  in  the  early morning near from Petrel Cove in the summer light.

The word 'image’ often gets tied to the  arbitrariness entailed in individual perception and opposed to the external solidity associated in the vocabulary of ordinary language philosophy with the ‘picture’. Susan Sontag held that  images don’t tell us anything, they remind us what is important. This  implies that   the ‘image’ as a type of inner perception, or mental idea, impression or memory. 

This can be interpreted  along the lines that an image that exerts a hold and that lives beyond its medium presupposes an agent who is engaged by it, i.e., who finds it meaningful or significant. An image is a sensuous experience of meaning that organises a world.  It possesses a communicative force that is surplus to its perceptible form.

granite abstraction #11

This abstraction was made at  the bottom of the western edge of Kings Head, Waitpinga. It is almost to the point.   It was made whilst I was on an afternoon  poodlewalk in January, 2018:

At the time I  was struck by the light across  the face of the granite as well as the complexity of the shape of the granite formation.   The picture  was made with a digital camera,  and it was  a study for a  possible large format b+w photo. I've  never been  back  to do the b+w photo session as the Sinar f1 camera wasn't ready.  

yellow abstract

This was made on an early morning poodlewalk with Kayla whilst we were slowly making  our way to  the Petrel Cove car park: 

The touch of sunlight playing  across the front of the granite caught my eye.  

orange granite

This abstraction was made on an early morning  poodlewalk with Kayla 

I just happened to see it whilst working on a still life nearby.  

granite + salt abstraction

This picture was made with the newly acquired  Sony A7r111 digital camera  whilst I was on a poodlewalk to the foot of the Newland Heads in Waitpinga:

These little salt ponds are very ephemeral. They are there one day, gone the next. 

bark abstraction

This abstraction of the bark of a eucalyptus tree was made whilst we were on the way to the beach at Encounter Bay in Victor Harbor:  

The bark is in the reserve opposite Encounter Studio. We have planted most of the trees in the reserve over the years.