Rossetti 5. 2013
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Rossetti Encounter 5. Installation view at The Public 2013 -
Animation still 1 Graphite 20 x 15 cm -
Animation still 2 Graphite 20 x 15 cm -
Animation still 3 Graphite 20 x 15 cm -
Animation still 4 Graphite 20 x 15 cm -
Animation still 5 Graphite 20 x 15 cm -
Animation still 6 Graphite 20 x 15 cm -
Animation still 7 Graphite 20 x 15 cm -
Animation still 8 Graphite 20 x 15 cm -
Animation still 9 Graphite 20 x 15 cm -
Animation still 10 Graphite 20 x 15 cm -
Animation still 11 Graphite 20 x 15 cm -
Animation still 12 Graphite 20 x 15 cm -
Animation still 13 Graphite 20 x 15 cm -
Animation still 14 Graphite 20 x 15 cm -
Animation still 15 Graphite 20 x 15 cm -
Animation still 16 Graphite 20 x 15 cm -
Encounter with Self Portrait by Dante gabriel Rossetti 5 Animation Installation detail -
Rossetti Encounter 5 Installation visualisation detail -
Rossetti Encounter 3,4 and 5 Installation visualisation Animation in centre. Internally lit cabinets (left and right) each containing a drawing with glass magnifying lens -
Rossetti Encounter 3 left, 5 centre, 4 right. Installation view at The Public 2013
Rossetti Encounter 5 Animation (youtube) (vimeo) (3 minute extract)
Rossetti Encounter 5 Animation (6 minutes 46 seconds)
Rossetti Encounter 5 Installation
Process
This hand drawn animation traces in layers, the process of evidencing my in-situ observation of the Rossetti Self Portrait in the Print Room at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Using nearly two thousand drawings, the process of making this animation, much like the memory of an event, parallels the saccades of the eye, layered in time to create the piece.
Presentation
Installation within a windowless space recalls the Print Room space at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. The anticipatory nature of drawing, the core concern of the animation, is amplified by projection from above onto a sheet of white paper placed on a matt black desk measuring approximately 110 cm x 90 cm. The horizontal presentation of the animation is informed by viewing the Rossetti Self Portrait in the museum Print Room. The projector, speakers, and media player are supported by a bespoke frame attached by slim metal rods to a ceiling brace. The animation is looped to repeat with the animation audio filling the installation space with the sound of the museum and of drawing.
Research
In his examination of the nature of modern attention writer and art critic Jonathon Crary describes the reconfiguration of vision at the turn of the nineteenth century as tending towards models that stress the, “…dynamic, temporal, and composite…” (Crary 1999, p.148). Contemporary theories continue to emphasize this instability. The French philosopher Jacques Derrida for example, understood drawing to be, “…an act deep-seated in memory and anticipation…” (Derrida, 1993. p.49) The anticipatory nature of drawing is the core concern of this animation and is the culmination of theoretical and practical knowledge acquired over the past two years.
My encounter with the Rossetti self portrait at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery was the catalyst for a publication: Ali. C. (2013) Trace [online] in TRACEY Drawing and Visualisation Research Journal – drawing in-situ
References
Crary, J. (1999) Suspensions of Perception: Attention, Spectacle, and Modern Culture. Cambridge, Massachusetts, London. The MIT Press
Derrida, J. (1993) Memoirs of the Blind The Self-Portrait and Other Ruins. Translated by Pascale-Anne Brault and Michael Naas. Chicago, London. The University of Chicago Press