Narrative motion on the two-dimensional plane: the “video-ization” of photography and characterization of reality

Narrative motion on the two-dimensional plane: The “video-ization” of photography and characterization of reality

Murat Germen

Sabanci University, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Visual Art and Communication Design Program, Istanbul, Turkey

Abstract "Art is not truth. Art is a lie that enables us to recognize truth" Pablo Picasso Time, as known to many, is an indispensable component of photography. Period(s) included in “single” photographs are usually and naturally much shorter than periods documented in video works. Yet, when it comes to combining photos taken at different times on one photographical surface, it becomes possible to see remnants of longer periods of time. Whatever method you use, the many traces left by different moments, lead to the positive notion of timelessness (lack of time dependence) due to the plural presences of time at once. This concept of timelessness sometimes carries the content of the photo to anonymity, the substance becomes multi-layered and hierarchy disappears. This paper focuses on creating photographical narratives within the two-dimensional world. The possibility of working in layers with transparency within the computer environment enables us to overlay succession of moments seized from time on top of each other, in order to create a storyline spread in time that is otherwise not possible to express in a single photograph, unless properly staged. Truth with the capital T is not taken as the departure point in this article; on the contrary, personal delineations of temporary yet experienced smaller realities is suggested. 1. Introduction Time, as known to many, is an indispensable component of photography. Period(s) included in “single” photographs are usually and naturally much shorter than periods documented in video works. Yet, when it comes to combining photos taken at different times on one photographical surface, it becomes possible to see remnants of longer periods of time. There are different ways of doing this: German photographer Michael Wesely extends exposures up to unbelievably long durations like two years, during which it is even possible the see remarkable and unique traces of the sun’s course at various seasons of the year.

Figure 1: Michael Wesely: Open Shutter at The Museum of Modern Art. November 20, 2004–June 27, 2005

An alternative to this, only possible digitally in the computer environment, is to perform time lapse photography on a tripod and instead of making a stop-motion video using the resulting photos, superimposing them using layer transparency in order to obtain a composite image as a durational pattern. This article will discuss the particular advantages of this latter method since it offers more control to play with time slices and what they contain.

Figure 2: Vigilance, 2008. Photo by Murat Germen, exhibited in Fotografie Forum Frankfurt, 2008.

Whatever method you use, the many traces left by different moments, lead to the positive notion of timelessness (lack of time dependence) due to the plural presences of time at once. This concept of timelessness sometimes carries the content of the photo to anonymity, the substance becomes multi-layered and hierarchy disappears: There is not one central element to the whole, all elements are relatively equal parts to the whole, as the concept of rhizome reminds us.

Figure 3: Rhizomatic formation. Image captured from http://www.sevensixfive.net/informatix/index.html on December 6, 2008.

The lack of a hierarchic system in rhizomatic structures has become one of the main themes in Deleuze and Guattari’s philosophy: “A rhizome has no beginning or end; it is always in the middle, between things, interbeing, intermezzo. The tree is filiation, but the rhizome is alliance, uniquely alliance. The tree imposes the verb ‘to be,’ but the fabric of the rhizome is conjunction, ‘and . . . and . . . and’ This conjunction carries enough force to shake and uproot the verb ‘to be.’ Where are you going? Where are you coming from? What are you heading for? These are totally useless questions.” [DG87] The same conjunction also takes us to old days when multi-layered content would exist on a palimpsest, with the particular dictionary meaning of “an object, place, or area that reflects its history” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/palimpsest, taken on 31st of October, 2008).

Figure 4: A palimpsest was created when an old vellum was erased and recycled and a

new text was placed on. Image captured from http://analepsis.wordpress.com/2008/04/24/this-is-a-palimpsest/ on Dec. 6, 2008.

2. Non-linearity The particular sequence of the above mentioned multi-layered structure reminds the very actual notion of “non-linearity” very popularly present in multimedia processes and connects photography to new media.

Figure 5: A mind map is a diagram that represents semantic or other connections between portions of information in a radial, non-linear graphical manner. Image

captured from http://www.ltu.se/tfm/fpd/research/tools/mindmaps?l=en on Dec. 6, 2008.

Though a single photograph was previously perceived as the strict symbol of a moment in linear time, now it is possible to conceive it as a “disrupter” in time's linear flow. In order to be able to bring alternative characterizations of reality, it is crucial to escape linear time and end up with nonlinear narratives. For instance, including the same object several times within the same stage may give you a narrative potential: Describing various states, giving a sense about the big picture by joining the different phases of our experience, emphasize one detail in the content of the photographic artwork, attract attention to a particular mood, bring alternative approaches to the perception of people-space relationships, giving clues about the “before” and “after” by introducing a sequence and finally create impossible states within time.

Figure 6: Different images taken at various levels of an escalator combined in one layer. Photo: Murat Germen, 2008.

Vilém Flusser’s following statement sustains a similar viewpoint: “As the scanning glance travels over the image surface, it grasps one image element after another: It establishes a time relation between them. It may return to an element already seen, and thus it transforms ‘before’ into ‘after.’ This time dimension, as it is reconstructed through scanning, is thus one of eternal return.” [Flu00] Talking about reconstruction; there is no way that the representation, image, description or photograph of an object / subject can thoroughly convey what is experienced. The reason is that representation is yet another act of creativity. The particularity of the expression is what matters, not what the particular event that took

place there. Depiction, more or less, always includes exaggeration; especially if the narrator has been praised by the audience previously: All what you hear after the applause is a performance to be appreciated and it is to your advantage to be suspicious about what is being told. The narrator starts to solo, in other words improvise; the “real” experience is replaced by the beautified and / or comical anecdote and representation becomes the parasite of experience, exploiting it incessantly. 3. Reality vs. construct Going back to photography from the latter statements that negates the notion of an ideal truth, Mark Kingwell asserts that “photographs are not multiple depictions of some single reality, waiting out there to be cornered and cropped, and somehow regulating, even in the cornering and cropping, how / what the image means. Rather, photographs offer multiple meanings. The presented image is not a reflection, or even an interpretation, of singular reality. It is, instead, the creation of a world.” [Kin06] The concept of objectivity, similar to the above mentioned illusion of single reality, is also criticized by Flusser: “The apparent non-symbolic, ‘objective’ character of technical images has the observer looking at them as if they were not really images, but a kind of window on the world. He trusts them as he trusts his own eyes. If he criticizes them at all, he does so not as a critique of image, but as a critique of vision; his critique is not concerned with their production, but with the world ‘as seen through’ them. Such a lack of critical attitude towards technical images is dangerous in a situation where these images are about to displace texts. The uncritical attitude is dangerous because the ‘objectivity’ of the technical image is a delusion. They are, in truth, images, and as such, they are symbolical. [Flu00] Since we deal with symbols at this point, the notion of representation comes in. As Fritjof Capra states in his Tao of Physics; “representation of reality is so much easier to grasp than reality itself, we tend to confuse the two and to take our concepts and symbols for reality.” [Cap75] This is also very much in parallel with Jean Baudrillard’s statements in his philosophical treatise “Simulacres et Simulation” where he asserts that simulated copy has superseded the original object, therefore representation has replaced the reality it illustrated. Since representations are personal definitions of particular personal experiences and perceptions, it becomes rather problematical to talk about objectivity when reality is concerned. The denial of objectivity can be taken as the acceptance of multiple subjectivities. This approach leads us to the theory of perspectivism, which “is the philosophical view developed by Friedrich Nietzsche that all ideations take place from particular perspectives. This means that there are many possible conceptual schemes, or perspectives which determine any possible judgment of truth or value that we may make; this implies that no way of seeing the world can be taken as definitively ‘true’, but does not necessarily propose that all perspectives are equally valid.” (Wikipedia definition of perspectivism) Once we accept the presence of multiple subjectivities we can start talking about the notion of construct. Let’s first start with the bigger picture: "Construct" is a temporary process that exists for a while and finally transforms itself into an end "product": A building, a culture, a society, an idea, a freedom, a dogma, etc... Not only buildings and structures are built; the major components that constitute the spine of the society we live in, such as tradition, culture, religion and identity can also be constructed. Societies, nations that perceive life in longer terms take this “immaterial” construction process

very seriously and get the outcome of their action plans slowly. Even a sublime merit like freedom of speech can sometimes be exploited as part of this construction method. People who express themselves freely within this frame often end up revealing themselves to the public and get indexed in the name of security; the system that allows a freedom within certain limits only determines your “color.” In addition, it can control how these colors can be mixed / separated and how different tones of colors can be “latently” adjusted with the help of propagation tools like TV, cinema, press and such. Everybody expresses his / her ideas freely yet nothing changes: Power exploits poverty, arms continue to be sold, oil or other sources of energy remain as the main cause of wars… The powerless “vassals” never give up being robots that never question and they let others define (i.e. construct) their own freedom: You (think you) are free within boundaries set by others. This freedom is actually a purchasable commodity; in other words, the “thing” presented as freedom is mostly the freedom of consuming till you drop dead.

Figure 7: Deconstruct #1 from “Construct” series. Photo: Murat Germen, 2007.

Figure 8: Reconstruct #1 from “Construct” series. Photo: Murat Germen, 2007.

If we take this “big brother” type of global construct aside and focus on the personal scale, we can see personal “micro” constructs are actually what save us on the individual scale and they protect us from the hypnotizing Hashasheen type “macro” constructs. Therefore, instead of trying to reach a Western type of deterministic definition of the truth with the capital T, i.e. the Truth; it makes more sense to concentrate on a more indeterminate, undifferentiated, honest yet flexible, enduring yet momentary individual elucidation of diverse instances of reality. Mark Kingwell puts it clear: “The image is made, not found, and the making is inherently personal, rooted in prejudice. The important truth is to recognize and acknowledge bias openly, not least in the essential decisions around framing the image.” [Kin06]

4. Relationship of still image (single) to moving images (multiple) Vilém Flusser states that “No single photograph, but only a series of photographs, can show the photographer's intentions.” [Flu00]

Figure 9: I build a pyramid, 1978. Photo series by Duane Michals. What was previously discussed in this article on ‘reality vs. construct’ may suggest an alternative view that the sum of multiple subjectivities carries more potential of telling more than a single layer of objectivity. A proof for this fact are the motion studies by Eadweard Muybridge and Étienne-Jules Marey motion studies which reveal phases of movements that are otherwise not possible to be seen by neither naked eye, nor single still image, nor video.

Figure 10: Woman walking downstairs, late 19th century. Photo series by Eadweard Muybridge.

On the other hand, a simple succession of photos in the right intervals (avoiding a “slide show” aesthetics), with the support of masterful sound effects and narration, can be more than enough to stimulate the feelings to be expectedly instigated by movies proper, that have much faster frame rates. La Jetée (English: The Jetty or The Pier), dated 1962, is a perfect example for this: It is a 28-minute black and white science fiction film by Chris Marker that is constructed almost entirely from still photos which remain on the screen for relatively much longer periods of time, as compared to the real movie rates like 1/24th of 1/30th of a second. Telling the story of a post-nuclear war experiment in time travel, the film constitutes a clear source of inspiration for Terry Gilliam’s 1995 movie “12 Monkeys.”

Figure 11 & 12: Screenshots from La Jetée, 1962. Film by Chris Marker.

Another way of sequencing still images together is superimposing them on one plane, remembering the palimpsest notion mentioned in the beginning. Superimposed composite photos almost “play” the many frames taken at various days in a very fast manner to the point it freezes stories in time as one moment: Though the resulting palimpsest is still, the eye tends to see it animated. While the photo reincarnates what’s not on the stage, the eye manifests what is not in the photo: The truth to be conveyed by the uniquely sequenced photo becomes richer in definition and soul, and therefore more “real.” Any photographical depiction closer to what one personally perceived is more real and any manipulation that takes you to this point is legitimate. To reach this state of mind, one must be ready to fight ideologies that are supported by photographical iconographies. Mark Kingwell puts it this way: “Our investigation must entail a special kind of refusal: a refusal to take the taken-for-granted for granted. It follows that the responsible image is the one that makes that refusal necessary, unavoidable, insistent. That is the truth in the image though perhaps not the truth we thought to find. It follows, too, that the best documentary photographs, which is to say the most compelling and arresting ones, are therefore ontologically unstable. They seem, at first glance, to offer simply a record of 'what was there.' But they also manage to indicate just how contingent, and constructed, their revelation is. Though clearly the residue of choice and subjectivity, they spill beyond the chosen frame, indicating a series of relations with what lies outside the image: time, circumstance, events. The documentary is a special kind of fiction, a fiction predicated on an exploded concept of truth. [Kin06] 5. Conclusion This paper focuses on creating photographical narratives within the two-dimensional world. The possibility of working in layers with transparency within the computer environment enables us to overlay succession of moments seized from time on top of each other, in order to create a storyline spread in time that is otherwise not possible to express in a single photograph, unless properly staged. Truth with the capital T is not taken as the departure point in this article; on the contrary, personal delineations of

temporary yet experienced smaller realities is suggested. The photos that belong to the author and included here are created with the motivation of generating a richer definition of reality as an accumulated entity that is the result of a particular witnessing at a particular time. A final quote from Mark Kingwell will back this aim: “The truth of the image is the truth of time: not its metaphysical essence, whatever that might be, but its presence; its inescapability. A photograph, I want to say, is a machine for making worlds.” [Kin06] References [Kin06] KINGWELL, M., 2006. The Truth in Photographs: Edward Burtynsky's Revelations of Excess. Steidl, Germany. [Flu00] FLUSSER, V., 2000. Towards A Philosophy of Photography. Reaktion Books. [DG87] DELEUZE, G., GUATTARI, F., 1987. A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, USA. [Cap75] CAPRA, F., 1975. The Tao of Physics. Shambhala Publications, Inc.; 4th edition (2000). Original edition, Wildwood House (1975).

Appendix (Author’s Artworks)

Figure 13: Cigarette break, 2008, Frankfurt, Germany. Photo by Murat Germen.

Figure 14: Dancing with time, 2008, Gandia, Spain. Photo by Murat Germen.

Figure 15: Break before the last supper, “Way” series, 2007, Alexandria, Egypt.

Photo by Murat Germen.

Figure 16: Frustration, 2008, Lisbon. Photo by Murat Germen.

Figure 17: Trap, “Way” series, 2008, Prague, Czech Republic. Photo by Murat

Germen.

Figure 18: Photo taken with a Sigma 15mm diagonal fisheye lens, corrected in steps

and saved as different versions using Lensdoc Photoshop plugin, and finally superimposed using Photoshop layers. Photo: Murat Germen, Lisbon, 2008.

Figure 19: Untitled, “Way” series, 2008, New York, USA. Photo by Murat Germen.

Figure 20: Untitled, “Way” series, 2008, New York, USA. Photo by Murat Germen.

Figure 21: Untitled, “Way” series, 2008, Paris, France. Photo by Murat Germen.