Rayel on Art, Images & Design

A poëtic evocation...

2010-10-30T16:37:00.004+02:00

The same cellphone from the Sicily pictures came spontaneously in my hands during my stay with Jan van Delden and I started taking some shots without thinking of making a movie. This is what it became thanks to the simple but effective editing application 'iMovie' on the Mac.

See it on youtube

Manipulating the Sky

2010-10-29T12:25:00.006+02:00

Deciding to travel with the lightest equipment possible I took as a camera only my new cell phone, the Nokia N93.
Earlier I showed already a snapshot of a remarkable cloud. Now you can see the use of it when combined with one of the other shots I made in Sicily. It was a lot of fun and the results were great.
There is of course a limit in how big you can go in printing. They are printed on A3 paper (29,7 x 42 cm) and framed in black which gives a 40 x 50 cm frame.
So within the technical limitations the old adagio is proven: it's not the camera but the man behind who makes the picture. Certainly so when 50% of the result is made by the post-production of the shot (read Photoshop).

Manipulate This... Canadian Digital Art Exhibition

2008-09-06T09:54:00.005+02:00

'Manipulate This' is an exhibition featuring the work of ten Stratford area artists, which expresses their vision of hybrid art. It explores the digital arts from the perspective of traditionally artistic backgrounds such as that of painting, sculpture, photography, drawing and printmaking.

A snippet from an exhibition announcement.
Arts writer Christine Walde comments on artists influenced by the new media arts:
“Artists have always employed the technologies of their time, and as the knowledge and usage of computers and digital technology increases, it is only natural that artists should incorporate this technology into their work, pushing the boundaries of their artistic practice. As a result, a new generation of artists are emerging, exploring technology at the root of its power. As the future pulls us forward, many artists feel they are compelled to follow in modernism’s footprints, propelled by the technology that carries them. In many ways, digital technology and new media is the new clay. But what’s most interesting, however, is when the technology falls away to reveal the art itself and the viewer is empowered.”

Glad to read that I'm not alone in this search...

My Videos on Art

2007-05-06T10:16:00.000+02:00

As a movie fan with a creative background, I of course couldn't resist the temptation of making movies myself. Documenting the art work of my spouse was a good excuse to do so. The results are shown here and at YouTube. Go see Marika's blogspot for the result of the Nokia N93 cell phone when zooming in from a great distance on a stage with the worst possible lighting.

More about the creations of Marika Bäumler

Catching clouds

2006-11-07T18:20:00.000+01:00

Finally I'm able to catch those moments when you see something and you wished you had your camera with you. Like when you are driving and sees one of these marvelous skies.
That became possible because I needed a new mobile phone. Already a long time ago I made a list of what my next GSM should be able to do (compatible to my Mac for addresses and calendar, a more than 3 megapixel camera...) And finally they made what I always wanted and even more... video shooting in MP4! The Nokia N93, as this multimedia marvel is called, is now my permanent companion and works as a sketchbook, just quicker. It makes a very spontaneous photography possible and it's a lot of fun. Mainly because of it's point and shoot capacity with the big display. I am curious what his influence will be on my future creative work...

More about the Nokia Nseries

An icon created again

2006-10-04T17:41:00.000+02:00

Between these two Nike's lies more or less 2200 years. The one on the right is the Winged Victory of Samothrace. Originally she had marble hands and head and was an ode to the goddess of victory to remember a sea battle that was won.
The left picture is placed in Sicily on the shore of Naxos where the first greek colonists arrived. Because of its famousness it uses the image of the former as we know it but it tells us the opposite.
This new bronze version is a more graphic, less threedimensional, sculpture. The movement and empty space gives it a fragile look, as of a deteriorated leaf. It shows that however big the moment was at some time in history, time itself will bring down those moments. So we build monuments and statues to remember - even to remember the transitory.
It's a visually strong artwork with one flaw - there are two disturbing reinforcements for the wings (not shown in this picture).

About the original Nike...

Mandala making

2006-09-14T19:18:00.000+02:00

While playing around with the leaves of a Japanese tree and with the help of a birds drinking water this mandala came out.
The grass was manipulated into a circle and with the right color temperature of the unstable evening sun the one megapixel of the video camera could shoot it. Thanks to his movable display and my long arms it could be taken flat.
With some Photoshop manipulation for the color of the grass these nature elements transformed into an attractive mandala.
Since the petals are floating on water it was at least for me a meditation. Maybe something comes across when you focus on it...

More on mandala's

Discoloration in nature

2006-09-13T14:25:00.000+02:00

Few years ago a small Japanese tree was planted for his seasonal change of color. Since it was so beautiful it inspired me to create something with the fallen leaves.
Creation always works with the inspiration, the coincidences and the openness for all possibilities that the subject itself offers. But sorting, classification and looking for some structure in it can help too, as well as ‘playing’ with it.
So this came out... among others. Enhancing the beauty of the colors with a black background and giving a material contrast with the rain.

Don't call it ‘Art’ when it is something else

2006-04-15T14:30:00.000+02:00

Beside ‘Art’ there are other modes of visual expression and it may be hard sometimes to distinguish them from each other.
Try looking at the the way different creations communicate with people. They can use the same means but their starting point and goal are quite different.

This pyramid can help you see their hierarchy. Starting from the material level it goes over the mental to the spiritual top. These levels are not closed.

At the base are the designers (architects, industrial and graphic designers) who translate the wishes of their clients while others have to execute their creations.
The image makers (illustrators, photographers and film directors) can create their own vision into a visual form. Which is an in between stage that can connect more with art (free) or more with design (commissioned).
The artists prime source is the ‘intuitive’, his inspiration (‘in spiritus’ - from the spirit) that comes from a higher level, not his own thoughts. He act as a ‘medium’, a mediator between that higher level and the viewer. The result of his work, which he alone is responsible for, can take the viewer, when he is open for it, to the level he is trying to express.

Each of this levels need of course talent, feeling and technical knowledge (in short: competence). But we should distinguish them among each other because they have another goal besides (hopefully) a beautiful combination of form, color and matter.

Some Flemish examples