Saturday, March 04, 2006

Developing Diva (video)

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Size: 1.49MB
Length: 1.25 seconds
File type: wmv
Music playing in the background: snippets of tracks from my Manzanilla CD (it was playing in the background as I worked on Developing Diva).
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I worked on this stage of Diva some time last week (just before Carnival weekend). It's one of my favourite stages so far, and it's something I've never done on a lamp before. I found it to be quite an interesting development.
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Elspeth

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5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Very interesting Elspeth. How did the idea come to you to use the negatives? Did you draw on the negatives after they were attached. I think that when lit, the deep sepia colour of the negatives will go well with that orangey gold of the frame. Can't wait to see how it all comes together with the other panes. Now, the other questions that came to mind were, Whose negatives are those? What images can been seen when they are backlighted? Where is Pippa???

10:13 AM  
Blogger Kris Loya said...

Love the film idea! Ever tried etching on the glass?

4:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i guess i am like TGH (the glass hermitage) i would really like to know what is the purpose of the film strips? and whose is it?

to me it looks like you just using any old thing and and calling it art.. ya needs to come better than dat. and people need to just stop accepting it.

7:48 PM  
Blogger Elspeth said...

Hermitage - no I didn't draw on the negatives after they were attached. I used the negs not only because they will create an interesting effect ... but also because they add a new dimension for everyone who looks at the lamp. Each frame is like a frame on a storyboard. Different people looking at the images through the light will have unique interpretations of what is there - resulting in a constantly evolving conversation piece. It becomes interactive and inspirational when used to construct stories, create visual linkages, find deeper meaning in each frame, etc. They are negatives from two rolls of film I took: one in England in December 2005 and the other on Mount St. Benedict in 2003 or 2004. The use of these two specific rolls is more intuitive and coincidental than deliberately symbolic. When backlit, the images are varied and numerous - each with its own significance. When sticking the strips, I found they enhanced my perception of "Diva" - the image of a star on the silver screen (i.e. another kind of diva). And one of the images on the negatives is of a star (as you may have noticed in the video).Pippa wasn't around when I was working on that stage. She was outdoors.

Webgrl, yes, I've etched (on heavy glass), but not on the window glass, which is quite thin.

8:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks Elspeth.I am so grateful for the opportunity to witness the creation.

Anonymous, I just read your comment and I laughed. Your lack of shyness in expressing your skepticism is refreshing, though not at all what I’d like to have being breathed down my back if I were the artist!!

Tanto, tanto. Just wait. Have some patience. The process and the materials might seem haphazard to you but the artist’s skill, unifying intuition and openness to inspiration is what will pull everything together. I am not at all doubting Elspeth’s creativity or skill. I ask questions because I am fiercely interested in all the little details of the process. Apart from those craft and do it yourself programmes on the television, I have never had the privilege of being invited to witness a Trinidadian artist at work. I think that this openness is something that requires courage and generousity. Keep on watching and commenting. All views, I imagine, can be incorporated.

1:20 AM  

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