23.1.10
22.1.10
De ziua ta, mamico,
In dar ti-am adus inima
si crede-ma, mamico,
Un dar mai frumos nu se putea.
Am vrut sa-ti culeg o floare,
Un mic ghiocel frumos,
Dar pana la urma moare
Si cui e de folos?
Am vrut sa-ti culeg stelute,
sa-ti fac un frumos colier,
Dar cine nu stie oare
Ca in zori stelutele pier?
Am vrut sa-ti culeg o raza
De soare, sa-ti prind in par,
Dar tu stralucesti mai tare
De dragoste si dor.
21.1.10
It's all about the details...
Details from the book Childhood Poems (Poeziile Copilariei), Gama, 2009
19.1.10
14.1.10
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13.1.10
The Postman- Cover
This is the cover of the book called The Postman, created during my MA studies.
The title page
12.1.10
5.6.09
The Big Deal
a story by Jamie Brindle
illustrations by Anca Sandu
He started by telling them how they would die. Sometimes, he thought that selling deaths was all his job really was.
It was always good to start with the death. That's what the customer was invariably looking for. That's what really sold them.
Having described how his client would die, Quince would then go on in a rather matter-of-fact way to explain other notable features of the life he was hawking: childhood joys and traumas (as well as any exceptional neurosis that would result from them), love affairs, major accidents, famous things they would achieve, and so on. He would then finish off by displaying a rather nice rendering depicting a trans-temporal image of the body to be inhabited, tilting in holographic increments through infancy, childhood, adolescence, and so on until, after ninety degrees, to old age and death.
He would then look at them levelly and ask them: so?
Quince had never lost a client yet.
He had never lost a client. They always said yes. Not a single time in the whole of his existence - although he existed in a place where there was, technically, no time - not one single time had he even had to offer up a second life for perusal. The Poor Souls always snapped up what he had to give them.
Quince used to wonder if these Poor Souls were the only type. Certainly they were the only ones he ever came across. They were so empty and pitiful, these Poor Souls, these clients of his, so light. Of course, there was no sight here, just like there was no smell, taste, sound, warmth, cold, or anything else at all, at all, not even any time. And yet, were he asked to describe the Poor Souls, Quince would not have been at a loss for so much as a moment. They were symmetrical without having a shape. They were luminescent without having form or light. They were humble without having a self to humble. But, above all, they floated. Above all, they were light.
It came to him one day, as a revelation, that they were Poor Souls not because they were to be pitied, but rather because they were not rich. The Rich Souls - if they actually existed - never came to him. His job was to provide the Poor Souls with a means of gaining weight - he assigned them a life in which they might be forged into something with shape and purpose. Existence here was not a life-affirming experience. Only life was one of those.
Having described how his client would die, Quince would then go on in a rather matter-of-fact way to explain other notable features of the life he was hawking: childhood joys and traumas (as well as any exceptional neurosis that would result from them), love affairs, major accidents, famous things they would achieve, and so on. He would then finish off by displaying a rather nice rendering depicting a trans-temporal image of the body to be inhabited, tilting in holographic increments through infancy, childhood, adolescence, and so on until, after ninety degrees, to old age and death.
He would then look at them levelly and ask them: so?
Quince had never lost a client yet.
He had never lost a client. They always said yes. Not a single time in the whole of his existence - although he existed in a place where there was, technically, no time - not one single time had he even had to offer up a second life for perusal. The Poor Souls always snapped up what he had to give them.
Quince used to wonder if these Poor Souls were the only type. Certainly they were the only ones he ever came across. They were so empty and pitiful, these Poor Souls, these clients of his, so light. Of course, there was no sight here, just like there was no smell, taste, sound, warmth, cold, or anything else at all, at all, not even any time. And yet, were he asked to describe the Poor Souls, Quince would not have been at a loss for so much as a moment. They were symmetrical without having a shape. They were luminescent without having form or light. They were humble without having a self to humble. But, above all, they floated. Above all, they were light.
It came to him one day, as a revelation, that they were Poor Souls not because they were to be pitied, but rather because they were not rich. The Rich Souls - if they actually existed - never came to him. His job was to provide the Poor Souls with a means of gaining weight - he assigned them a life in which they might be forged into something with shape and purpose. Existence here was not a life-affirming experience. Only life was one of those.
20.3.09
Brain Candy
Televiziunea nu "povesteste", ci construieşte lumi alternative, combinând imagini şi cuvinte, şi bazându-se mai mult pe simţurile nostre vizuale. Impactul psihologic profund pe care imaginile îl au asupra noastră este demonstrat de Dr. Steven Most, care a descoperit că imaginile ne pot "orbi" succint, uneori chiar şi timp de jumătate de secundă. Mecanismele creierului, care de obicei ne ajută să ne concentrăm atenţia, devin "paralizate" in faţă unei imagini şocante, captivante, devenind incapabile să răspundă la alţi stimuli. Studiile asupra percepţiei la copii arată că creierul acestora răspunde mai activ la stimulii audio, iar efectul combinat audio/video, de exemplu in cazul jocurilor video, poate avea un impact distrugător. Studiile recente arată ca stimularea vizuală continuă, de gen media, asupra regiunii cortexului, poate avea efecte profunde asupra creierului în dezvolatare al copilului. Consecinţe ulterioare pot fi deficitul de atenţie, hiperactivitatea, sau chiar comportamente violente.
Unii critici semnalează o altă deficienţă în cultura imaginii este dificultatea interpretării. Lipsa unui cod care ar permite raportarea la un anumit set de valori după care se poate emite o judecată, dar şi atrofierea codului(vorbire), ceea ce va aduce dificultăţi şi în transmiterea zestrei culturale către generaţiile următoare. Stephen nu observă că proliferarea noului limbaj nu se datorează superiorităţii lui faţă de limbajul scris/vorbit, ci pentru că satisface dorinţă noastră de 16 gratificare imediată, iar televiziunea este canalul perfect pentru a ne oferi această gratificare, şi de a prolifera astfel cultură video. În "The rise of the Image, The Fall of the Word", Mitchel Stephans susţine teoria conform căreia imaginea înlocuieşte cuvântul, devenind principalul mijloc de "transport mental", şi îl citează pe Ridly Scott, producător de film: "Filmul este teatrul secolului XX, şi va deveni litereatura secolului XXI". Însă el nu percepe pericolele. Deşi scrisul şi cititul s-au dezvoltat tocmai pentru a deveni o unealtă a maselor, ironia este că literatură se va reîntoarce către elite.
Mutaţia dinspre spaţiul privat spre spaţiul public al televiziunii poate fi perceputata ca un asalt de imagini şi mesaje. Conştienţi că trăim într-o lume a imaginilor, în care oamenii sunt obişnuiţi "să vadă", nu numai "să audă", chiar şi organizatorii de concerte de muzică clasică au încercat introducerea unor secvenţe video în spectacole, însă muzicienii sunt sceptici în privinţa alăturării acestor genuri, temându-se de pericolul de a nu deveni o altfel de "cultură MTV", şi privind acest act ca pe unul de capitulare.
16.12.08
“Let truth be the prejudice"
"Vestea că fotografia poate înşela a adus şi mai multă popularitate fotografiei."(Susan Sontag)
Unele din cele mai faimoase manipulări ale imaginilor fotografice sunt realizate sub comanda megalomaniei paranoice a lui Stalin, care şi-a omorât toţi duşmanii, dar i-a şi şters din orice fotografie, prin diverse tehnici. Însă chiar şi in societăţile non-totalitare, tehnicile de falsificare au fost folosite pentru a înşela masele (precum fotografiile cu expunere dublă ale spiritelor, cele ce prezentau diverşi guru levitand, sau cele publicate în diverse reviste de 1 Aprilie).
Revista ”Life” a compus o fotografie a unui democrat, astfel încât să apăra vorbind in public cu un pliant comunist. Alegerile au fost pierdute. National Geographic a alăturat două piramide pentru a se putea încadra în formatul coperţii, folosind tehnologia Scitex.
Christine Rosen enunţă însă apariţia Photoshopului în 1990, un mijloc necostisitor şi uşor de folosit, ca punct de început în rescrierea istoriei vizuale. Consecinţele "democratizarii imaginii” sunt însă imprevizibile. “You give people a tool, but you can't really control what they do with it." (John Knoll, inventatorul Photoshopului). Rosen afrma că oamenii ajung să îşi piardă respectul pentru tot ceea ce pot manipula cu uşurinţă.
O înscenare faimoasă este cea a lui Muhammad Ali antrenandu-se sub apă, deşi el nu ştia să înoate, sau cea a lui Andreas Serrano, care a înscenat imagini fotojurnailistice. Campania Bush-Cheney a fost criticată pentru că a duplicat un grup de soldaţi, pentru a crea imaginea unei mulţimi mai mari de oameni, fapt asemănător montajului "Stalin şi Masele". Aceleaşi metode au fost folosite şi de Kerry în campania sa, pentru a simula sustinere din partea populatiei.
Existenţa tehnicilor de înscenare şi manipulare a imaginilor a adus un anumit grad de scepticism în rândul publicului. Chiar si anteriori, fotografia ce surprinde momentul morţii unui soldat republican în timpul războiului civil spaniol (Robert Capa) sau cea a ridicării steagului american la Iwo Jima(Joe Rosenthal) au fost contestate, pe nedrept, ca fiind false.
Fotografia lui Robert Capa surprinde momentul mortii unui soldat.
Efectul grav al Photoshop-ului ar putea fi considerată acea democratizare a abilităţii de a comite fraudă. În consecinţă, s-au dezvoltat programe care analizează codurile imaginilor şi sesizează pixeli anormali.
22.9.08
Eyes wide OPEN
"Eyes Wide Open, the American Friends Service Committee’s widely-acclaimed exhibition on the human cost of the Iraq War, features a pair of boots honoring each U.S. military casualty, a field of shoes and a Wall of Remembrance to memorialize the Iraqis killed in the conflict, and a multimedia display exploring the history, cost and consequences of the war". (Mary Ellen McNish,
General Secretary, AFSC)
One day in the Iraq equals:
-423,529 children with healthcare, or
-6,482 families with homes, or
-34,904 four-year college scholarships, or
-1,274,336 homes with renewable electricity, or
-720 millionj dollars.
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