Shadow Axes

For this project, I set out to examine the interface between the self and the "environment," as discussed by McLuhan on pages 68 and 69. For me, the idea of the human environment immediately brought to mind the build environment. To best express this idea, I looked for pieces of human infrastructure that I could project my self, my shadow, onto. But a mere shadow image wouldn't say quite what I wanted it to say. I took inspiration from the McLuhan passage: "The main obstacle to a clear understanding of the effects of the new media is our deeply embedded habit of regarding all phenomena from a fixed point of view." (McLuhan, 68). To attempt to fix multiple points of view in a single image, I used the technique of long exposure (~2.5-8 seconds) and moved my camera and body slowly along (usually) a single axis. My shadow would remain a seemingly fixed object, while the environment around it appeared in flux, viewed from many different angles at once.

Comments

  1. astra medeirosMay 2, 2021 at 9:29 AM

    This sort of project is important in that it explores rudimentary imagery but also the idea of perspectives that can shape us, as well as the tools we use that in turn shape us, as McLuhan says.

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