Reese's Task Number Four

Using methods common to explorations in typology, such as adherence to particular compositions and similar applications of artificial and available light, I have photographed close to thirty portraits of socks in their usual ball state when I am not using them. Socks, like many other types of clothing, are often adorned with rich use of colour and design to appeal to varying tastes and preferences. Each pair is a set of containers that can conform to the unique body shapes of its user, similar to the way film and digital media depend on the particular mechanical settings and local conditions in which the photographs are made. Sock balls, however, is a pair that has been turned inside out, stretched and twisted, becoming containers contained within them, all as if devouring each other. The precision of colour and design are temporarily disabled but its structural make-up must still contort and adapt in its attempt to negotiate with the changing needs and demands of its owner. While studying in OCAD, I have often come across people who speak of their black and white imagery with an heir of superiority, as though colour is unrefined or superfluous. As expected, they have usually been matched with arguments supporting otherwise. While "After Colour" engages with particular use and thoughts surrounding greyscale applications, it is also accompanied by investigations and perhaps some doubt in the role and meaning of colour in a world that cannot escape it and with which we have become so familiarized.

Reese's Task Number Three

Gaspar Noe takes advantage of Tokyo’s excessive use of incredibly brilliant neon lights in his film Enter the Void. Their buzzing sounds and colours that fill the atmosphere often reflect the overall mood and experiences of the characters. For example, near the beginning of the film, before Oscar experiences drug-induced hallucinations, there is a part during the scene when the varying lights beyond the balcony become blurred while he begins to feel the effects of the drugs and then momentarily blacks out. These colours emerge again during an abstract psychadelic hallucinatory sequence. I began to think of situations where similar bright and saturated colours could exist in the world naturally and my first thoughts were the aurora borealis and sunrise. The sunrise, in particular, is an often photographed and highly romanticized subject. Google can prove it. I entered "sunrise" while searching through Google images and was provided with pages upon pages of various sunrise photographs. I layered around the first fifty of them together with Photoshop, which resulted in the above image. The quality and distribution of hues are usually the same within each frame, allowing the most dominant ones to hold their position in the final flattened piece. While the forms and structures aren't as distinguishable as in the original Google pictures, the particular harmony of colour, saturation and brightness that are already familiar to us can be easily recognized. This is another example of how personal experiences are often linked to our interpretations of colour, fueling affect and the alluring qualities of an image.

Reese's Task Number Two

My mom bought this GAF Anscomatic 62 Super 8 movie camera during a stay in New York soon after the model’s release in 1971. She was in her early twenties then, living abroad from the Philippines and adjusting to sociocultural differences and a contemporary Western lifestyle. Considering that I am currently around the same age as her when she made most of the film that’s been preserved at home, it’s interesting to compare her footage with my everyday photographs. It’s a generally fun experience hearing my mother reminisce about her time before married life.

For this task, influenced by Rothko’s paintings, I created compositions using a palette consisting of the colours found on my mom’s Anscomatic. The three colours are red, black and grey (in the place of silver). The amount of each colour used is based on its respective percentage of surface area on the camera. These are three of the different shaped canvases I tried, thinking that perhaps the effect of the colours may differ depending on shape and orientation. However, the black is so prominent that it doesn’t seem to matter. In Western culture, black often connotes negative thoughts like evil, depression and death. In one’s aura, it would indicate blockage or something being hidden. Funny how these aspects contrast with the more positive feelings associated with the object from which this color palette originated.

Reese's Task Number One

Lunch 29/01/11

When first given this task, I immediately thought of abstract expressionist painting. I’m typically drawn towards the use of defined edges and an intuitive approach to the composition of shapes and colours. Using the scanner as a camera is a particular method I continue to explore, a relatively recent technology and still relevant to the present time. It allows me to create various compositions and assemblages that are difficult to make otherwise. Using items readily available at home and, in this case, items from a meal, I am able to transform these everyday objects into a personal take on the very abstract art I admire.