If a slanted sunrise sounds antithetical, that might be because, for many of us, sunrise summons horizontality. By default, witnessing a sunrise firsthand or visualizing a sunrise described by another, our unconscious expectation is for a glowing orb to rise straight up from a horizon. Perpendicular to the plain from which it emerges. An ocean. A field of corn. Even distant hills, mountains, and cityscapes blend into horizons from which the sun rises. I over-generalize, of course. Certainly there are those who habitually observe sun rising out of an adjacent skyscraper or nearby mountain. With time their default assumptions might be different from mine. But for me — and perhaps for you? — the idea of sunrise and horizon are related. So a slanted sunrise, the one included in this post, for example, suggests an intentional shift in perspective. I’m hoping that exploring this a little further in conjunction with the idea of a polyptych process might offer me some direction. It’s a hunch. Little more.
If you’re unfamiliar with polyptychs, let me try to demystify things a bit.
“A triptych is an artwork, usually a painting or photograph, formed as a trio.” (Source: Artfinder)
“A diptych is a two-part work of art; a triptych is a three-part work; a tetraptych or quadriptych has four parts, whereas a polyptych describes any work of art formed of more than one constitutive part.” (Source: arthistoryreference.com)
Helpful? Hope so.
Both rehabilitating Rosslyn and redacting Rosslyn share something in common with the polyptych process. Reimagining and redesigning and managing the rehab drew upon (and still draws upon) a multimodal approach for me. Dissimilar to Susan’s more organized, AutoCAD centric, academically forged process, mine is an undeniably disorganized and spontaneous journey. More Dionysian to her Apollonian methodology, perhaps? But I’m losing the thread…
Regroup.
Perhaps intuition, experience, and an ever evolving interaction with space, *understanding* of space, is my my most dependable and illuminating way to discern and create… I crave experimentation. I need experimentation. Sometimes whimsical, sometimes anachronistic trial and error. Iterate, iterate, iterate. Discover what works best by eliminating one alternative after another. Evolve the vision if necessary. Sculpting slowly, liberate beauty by pairing and whittling away the common, the insipid, the generic, the distractions…
Again losing the thread.
Stream of consciousness is a risky runaway course to raft. Shooting the rapids, one’s liable to roll and pitch pole.
Regroup. Reboot.
Next time!
What do you think?