Re: Thoughts on Judging

[P3D Peter Davis <pdavis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Eric Goldstein writes:

> We're with you and Dr. "F." I have expressed similar views before on
> this list, and as you can imagine it is not one which gets lots of
> support. For the very reason you articulate so well, I think stereo
> photography is less well suited to abstract artistic expression than
> plano. The extra dose of reality stereo provides works against moving
> the viewer into a more abstract rhelm. It's kinda why many people feel
> that B & W is a more easily artistic medium than color, painting more
> easily artistic than photography, radio more easily artistic a medium
> than television. The fewer the reality/sensory cues, the greater the
> ambiguity, and the more easily the audience is moved into the abstract.

I don't think that 3D is less well-suited for artistic creation than
2D, but it's more difficult.  Compare somebody's home video with a
Hollywood movie.  Hollywood has mastered the techniques for creating
illusion, conveying mood, etc. with sound and moving pictures.  The
home video, on the other hand, constantly reminds you that it's a
handheld camera that Uncle Bob was swinging around at the family
party.  I think the more the reality/sensory cues, the more work is
needed to create the effect, but the richer the effect can be when
successfully created.

> An interesting test of this comes with the book "3D Museum" from Japan,
> which some list members have seen. I briefly saw Paul Wing's copy
> yesterday. In this remarkable book, well-known painted masterpieces have
> been brilliantly manipulated via computer (probably with a
> photoshop-like program) to produce stereo pairs and planes of depth
> which the modern-day artist feels are appropriate to the original
> paintings. While the results are at first visually stunning and
> technically awesome, I think that the originals make for much finer
> "art" than the stereos...

So, does that mean that sculpture is less artistic than painting?  I
think the effect you mention results from 2D works being adapted to
3D. 

By the way, good to see you again, Eric.  Sorry we didn't have more
time to talk.

Cheers,

-pd

--------
Peter Davis		       "Education is not the		 617/873-4145
BBN Educational Technologies	filling of a pail, but	    FAX: 617/873-2455
70 Fawcett Street		the lighting of a fire."       pdavis@xxxxxxx
Cambridge, MA 02138			-- W. B. Yeats

	URL:  http://copernicus.bbn.com/people/PDavis/


------------------------------