Deconstructed Tulip

[drg]

This is the second image that I'm exploring as potential theme or base for a display or contest piece for the upcoming year. I'm also posting the same basic text with a few additions in the Photography as Art Forum as this image has some other elements.

There's no Larger Version (yet) for this one.

Deconstructed Tulip

This is the second piece exploring the palette/spectrum theme via photography.

Botanical items were chosen for the shapes and colors they bring to a picture and that they are familiar to viewers. This is to minimize the distraction of the subject, in this case the tulip, from the whole work.

Deconstructed Tulip comments, either "tongue-in-cheek" or ironically, on Documentation vs. Imagination as a recurring issue in photography.

The argument surrounding "Is a photograph of another work of Art in itself Art?" is spoken to by reversing the visual presentation and embedding the original work (the inset framed photograph) in the foreground as the model with the palette in the plane of the secondary work, the painting. The palette contains the component colors for the painting in the shape of the main blossom of the tulip along with some of the mixtures necessary to form the needed hues. Since the palette relates to both photo and painting it must lie partially outside of the observers view, ergo the frame cuts the palette board.

The identical frame for both the inset and whole work are to accent the derivative nature of one work from the other and by doing so asking where the intent of the work truly lives.

Some technical notes:

This is a preliminary, explorative work (as is "Hosta Intent") and has several technical issues including:

1. The positioning of each of the elements in overall frames.
2. The acutance or overall sharpening of the photograph.
3. The color correction and intensity levels of the photograph.
4. The crop of the tulip in the "painting".
5. The style of the framing and its perspective. The framed photo and the derivative work are intentionally presented in different ratios to further accentuate their difference.

This work currently exists only in the virtual (Photoshop, TIFF, and JPEG files) world and is continuing to grow and change.

-CD Price 2 February 2005.

"Create Artist, don't talk." - Goethe

[DownByFive]

Jeez, this must have taken a lot of work...and imagination.

[jar_e]

Wow, your really into this spectrum thing aren't ya?! The Hosta Intent photo, and then this. Interesting shot, and I love the original picture, with the water droplets. Regardless of the dozen pics of seen of flower with water droplets, none of them seem cliche at all. The one thing I don't like about the whole set up of this, is the "scratchy" border around the pallete. It kind of morphs into the white of the pallete, and you lose the border for those few inches. That, obvisouly, can be fixed, but that's the one thing that I'm not fully liking. Great background shot too with the added effect.

Great shot,

Jared

[opus]

You could sell prints of this.

[justpaul]

While reading the description I got lost some wear in the middle (then again I could get lost reading a cereal box!). Once I viewed the work I said " I get it ". Furthermore let me add, WOW ! I love it. This creation of a new piece from the original in the manner you describe is fantastic. As was said prior your efforts with this project are shown in the results you achieved.

[Trevor Ash]

It's bass-ackwards.....but I suppose that's on purpose. Man, I'd love to meet you in person if only to find out whether we speak similar languages or not

I'm not really digging this one. I almost wish you'd just left the words out and let me come up with whatever explanation I wanted to come up with. Now I just find myself trying to compare the image against your words in order to interpret what you were writing about. About the backwards comment, I said that because I would have expected the portion containg the paint holder to be part of a "photo" and the current "photo" part to be part of a painting but I think you did that on purpose as that's how I interpreted your words.

There's too much going on with this...two different kinds of borders, two copyright messages in the different elements, etc. Can this experiement me simplified so that the intent is amplified even further? I can see what you're doing, but I think there's too much distracting from it.

You have a wonderful mind and are very creative but I can't help thinking the words came "after" the work. I don't see the whole "palette" thing going on here compared to the series. The other work you recently posted was very clear that color was an important element. This work doesn't have that kind of clarity, in any form. Do you see what I mean? I don't think this one is as successful as your prior work, but it is creative.

[drg]

At the top of my list is the second, refined version of this one which I haven't quite finished.

Yes, its going to slight different and better matched frames, (they actually are the same actions but they look different when slightly different widths(??). I'm not real satified with the ragged border style and have a variation for Version 2. The palette has undergone some changes and been repositioned but I'll just work on getting it posted!

Kelly, I don't know that I'm planning on selling prints of this, but am going to use it to sell prints of other images. If my arm got bent, perhaps.

Trevor, yeah we gotta meet sometime. We're not that far apart. In fact I'm trying to get a day set to go to the Auto Show or the Motorcycle Show in Chicago this upcoming week. That's up in the air at the moment, though. We keep seeming to comment on a lot of similar photos.

The text didn't exactly come after the picture. The final version did, but I'd been making notes for a couple of weeks after spending time with some old college friends over the holidays and one whose daughter is studying Mechanical Engineering and Contemporary Philosophy. (Dad's and Engineer, Mom's an Artist) We all got to talking about Jaques Derrida and that whole school of thought and it went downhill from there. It still seems it fits with the theme.

I've changed the mandala part of the series and will post it when I'm a little more satisfied.

Glad you all took the time to comment and I appreciate your remarks. We will see what you think of the Second version of this later (I hope) this week.

-CDP

[Trevor Ash]

Thanks for commenting again. I realize my words were a little strong in my last post, I'm glad you took to them kindly. I'd love the opportunity to meet and I'm sure it'll happen soon enough.

(Dad's and Engineer, Mom's an Artist)

This explains SOOO MUCH to me!!! You're very analytical and must have acquired a mix of Mom and Dad It helps explain why you write the things you write. It must be a challenge at times to balance your analytical with your creative sides. But it sure produces creative and unique works in the long run.

I'll look forward to the next version and additional work of yours

[drg]

Trevor,

I mentioned in some posting, you're right, we gotta meet.

Did I dangle a participle again? Its a college friends kid who has the Engineer and Artist(Fine Artist) for parents. Mine I can almost truly say Papa was a Preacher and Mama was a GoGo girl. Mom is a trained Actor and taught for many years. Dad's was really a Theologian and member of the Clergy.

Sloooow day at work. Can you tell? Maybe I'll steal some time and work on my next photo to post.

-CDP