About the Book
Impermanence, shot in Times Square, reveals the unseen layers of movement through time. I see this space of moving digital architecture and fast-paced crowds as a physical representation of our electronic culture, an icon of media saturation. I want to place my viewer in an alternative dimen- sion of time. When encountering the video, one is met with stark black and white flashing images of people and many levels of grey tones as the past layers of time start to fade out of sight. If something or someone moves within the composition, they are imaged as white, and as they move from one place to the other, they leave trails of time behind them.
As the crowds of people move through the screen leaving trails of time, they layer on top of each other, intertwining past and present times. I focused on the different kinds of time that I could per- ceive in Times Square. I found many onlookers and people taking a moment to sit still and take in the environment. I sought out these stationary people within the crowds and placed them as focusing points of my compositions, as people continued to shuffle by behind them. The resulting image cre- ated a silhouette of contrasted time. Not only are others’ movements surrounding them, but the other is also defining them. The images are revealed to us like memories, flickering insubstantial forms that periodically give rise to vague details that are always in a state of flux.
I hope when the viewers see this they will come face to face with their own impermanence. When confronted with an existence that is saturated by the technology and isolated by the technology how do we exist in private space? Public space? Where do we place ourselves in our ever-changing digital culture?
As the crowds of people move through the screen leaving trails of time, they layer on top of each other, intertwining past and present times. I focused on the different kinds of time that I could per- ceive in Times Square. I found many onlookers and people taking a moment to sit still and take in the environment. I sought out these stationary people within the crowds and placed them as focusing points of my compositions, as people continued to shuffle by behind them. The resulting image cre- ated a silhouette of contrasted time. Not only are others’ movements surrounding them, but the other is also defining them. The images are revealed to us like memories, flickering insubstantial forms that periodically give rise to vague details that are always in a state of flux.
I hope when the viewers see this they will come face to face with their own impermanence. When confronted with an existence that is saturated by the technology and isolated by the technology how do we exist in private space? Public space? Where do we place ourselves in our ever-changing digital culture?
Features & Details
- Primary Category: Arts & Photography Books
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Project Option: 6×9 in, 15×23 cm
# of Pages: 218 - Publish Date: Sep 29, 2011
- Keywords Eric souther, video art, Souther, unseensignals, unseen, impermanence
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About the Creator
Eric Souther
Alfred, NY
My work is part of a continuing investigation of order, organization, and complexity within modes of information flow in which I control and reinterpret code in order to create electronic forms. I use an algorithmic visualization program called Max/MSP and Jitter to program and manipulate video live to create interactive environments to allow for my audiences to have immersive experiences. I obtained my B.F.A from the Kansas City Art Institute in Kansas City and am currently obtaining my M.F.A at Alfred University in Alfred, NY.