.jpg)
.jpg){kind=small}
Like most
of the work here, this piece is an exploration of feedback and its form has
been created by recording an (analogue) feedback pattern, selecting a ‘frame’
and then assigning the colour and tonal values a three-dimensional depth using
a (digital) computer. This three-dimensional ‘graph’ has then been converted to
a hologram and now appears as an object that does not really exist.
It relies
on basic interaction with the viewer, who has to stand in a particular place in
order to see the complete picture. The person stood next to them will see
something slightly different, in much the same way as no two people see exactly
the same rainbow. I am reminded of the time I saw Marcel Duchamp’s kinetic
sculpture from the 1920s titled, ‘Rotary Glass Plates (Precision Optics)’, at
the Museum of Modern Art Barcelona
Duchamp was
the first artist to really start examining art as a process and to really
recognise it as an ongoing ‘conversation’ between the artist and the wider
social circle of the audiences. Though nearly all art relies on some sort of
object, the art is not that object. The art begins in the mind of the artist, and
then continues in the mind of the viewer. The object is a medium. By focussing
on feedback, Eaglen has extended this consideration of process into another ‘loop’:
an artist does not create in an isolated ‘bubble’, they are a product of the
way that their mind interacts with, and is influenced by, many aspects of the
culture that surrounds them. By exhibiting their work, they are presenting it
to that wider culture which, to a lesser or greater extent, is then altered by
its presence. That altered culture is, in turn, experienced by the artist. A
feedback loop has begun.
 |
| above: an example of optical feedback from Wikimedia Commons |
Although the
art space at the Galeri is small and oddly shaped, this exhibition fits perfectly
as it has lots of small detail, cleanly and elegantly presented. It is not a
large exhibition, but it will reward the viewer who spends time to engage with
it. The lasting impression that I came away with was a simple beauty born out
of chaos and complexity.
You can see
examples of Mark Eaglen’s work at his website here...
Or go to
the Galeri website for more information about his current exhibition.
Posts
