Trying to paint lightlesness as a gradual increase of darkness, and diminishing of light.

Another reel from the brownie. From the left is Munchs appartment across from my window; fossveien 7.

To the far left is a two minute exposure from the lecture of Kari Branseng. The ghost in the corner is Magne.

If one blinks and throws in a lot of good-will, Thomas’s ghost can be seen reaching for the projector lampt in the ceiling.

All things overlap.

Here is another photo from the brownie. This is from the northern borderline of the site, up against the Silo.

Another edge of environment that is unexposed to the public, and blocked from its immediate surroundings.

The image is again double-exposed due to the film/camera size difference.

The silo erecting itself from the bank by the river, acts as a sort of yardstick:

It is completely dark against the shrubbery at the bottom, and extends gradually towards full light-exposure at the top.

I like how the double-exposure sort of underlines this by accident.

Developing the films shot with my Brownie was a bit dissapointing.

I’ve cluttered up rolling the exposed films from the 120mm rolls back onto my original 116mm.

This means that I’ve exposed them a bit to sunlight, and they were ruined.

The only rolls that turned out right was the Ilford FP4 125 and the Kodak TMAX400 (above).

One unforseen error on my part is that my camera exposes a broader image than 120mm, so the exposure counter at the  back of my brownie is half an exposure off…. I’ve got overlapping pictures.Some of them came out right though,, like the long exposure above, where I’ve tried to replicate Munch’s self-portrait technique.

Darkness

Lightlessness

I’ve found a word to focus and describe my project: Lightlessness

While dark and darkness is a state and a coming-into-being, I find lightlessness to be more poeting and intrigueing – it evokes an image of something pulling away, of the absence of light. I like the thought of this movement, and think I can work with it. Finally.

The word ‘dark’ and darkness are a bit to well-defined to me; sort of like the word ‘black’.

It is very condense and concrete word – and I find it sterile to work with.

I found the term Chiaroscuro on Wikipedia:

(Italian for light-dark) is a term in art for a contrast between light and dark. The term is usually applied to bold contrasts affecting a whole composition, but is also more technically used by artists and art historians for the use of effects representing contrasts of light, not necessarily strong, to achieve a sense of volume in modeling three-dimensional objects such as the human body.

CHIAROSCURO is to foreign a WORD, with no equivalent in Norwegian. I can’t use it, but I like what it describes; a tension rather than a fixed state….

Merriam-Webster:

Function:
adjective
Etymology:
Middle English derk, from Old English deorc; akin to Old High German tarchannen to hide
Date:
before 12th century
1 a: devoid or partially devoid of light : not receiving, reflecting, transmitting, or radiating light
b: transmitting only a portion of light
2 a: wholly or partially black
b: of a color : of low or very low lightness
c: being less light in color than other substances of the same kind
3 a: arising from or showing evil traits or desires : evil
b: dismal , gloomy
c: lacking knowledge or culture : unenlightened
d: relating to grim or depressing circumstances
4 a: not clear to the understanding
b: not known or explored because of remoteness
5: not fair in complexion : swarthy
6: secret
7: possessing depth and richness
8: closed to the public

Click image to go to gallery

Crit.

I have lots of cards on the table that inspire me; photography, the camera, a site, Munch, effects, the Dark Ting, the neigborhood, working with wax again and on and on and on.

As usual I’ve spread out too much, and now need to find out what my project is all about. Per said “Darkness”, and pinpointed something to me.

(Might explain all the underground and subterran projects I’ve had). I haven’t had the opportunity to take the trip to Horten, so instead I’ve revisited the expert on darkness in his own resting place; Emmanuel Vigelands own mausoleum – Tomba Emanuelle.

The atmosphere in this building is the strongest one I know.

Its the only piece of architecture i know of that has darkness as such a concrete element.

In the room there are lamps with black opaque shades, higher than the eye, and pointing upwards.

This makes the whole room completely indirectly lit, and no lightsources can be found.

After a good five minutes, the eyes adjust to the environment, and the mural paintings in the cieling first start to appear.

Then shapes, outlines, and forms are barely descipherable in the darkness so thick that it is almost tangible.

Emmanuel’s sculptures, as contours, and then the lit frontiscepiece and the surrounding walls.

Click to see the gallery