Semi Technical, Somewhat Spatial

It's really nice to see how our work so far sits together (might I just mention that this is our 100th post!). I have been looking over some of the blog archive (!) today and I think it is a super accumulation of really amazing thinking and talking and experimentation.

While reveling in our collective choice-ness, I also have a few things bobbing about in terms of making a meeting between our work and the lightboxes. I opened up the birds-eye view today:

Firstly, I thought the trees a NOT that big, or broccoli-like right? But also the lightboxes (and some of the trees for that matter) are clearly arranged in pairs, and it reminded me about how different the street side/footpath sides are. When I was in Wellington enjoying the sunshine (boohoo), I noticed that pedestrians really don't walk on the street side unless they are looking specifically at the lightboxes, but, according to this handy diagram, cars and buses drive past there all the bleeding time. I would propose that the footpath side pairs make intimate spaces for viewing, and the street side works more like a grouped sign space.

I started thinking about the two sides in response to your Rouugh az layout Liz. It was really cool to see a really hot, kind of streamlined, graphic approach to the light-boxes as a group, but I also really like quite a number of the single lightbox images/designs that have appeared on the blog, and think there is loads of potential in sitting lightboxes with quite different visual spaces next to each other -- even if they "roll" blog-style, or intervene with each other. So, I wonder if you guys would be interested in working with the two sides differently? Can we think about them as two different facets of the project? A kind of popaganda space on the street side and a more slow-paced, intimate collection on the footpath side? What I am imagining is to follow what I took from your lay-out Liz, and use the street side for pattern/graphics/text approach that used all eight lightboxes as a single work -- really thinking about traffic being the main type of encounter (as the cover of our book?). Perhaps we could only use sign-writer style vinyl for these sides? And the footpath sides being a combination of text/image/graphic that asked for a closer relationship -- small-print text, more complicated image combinations, etc... basically a electric combination of what we have posted as single/pairs of images.

The other thing is kind of more low-level technical note in response to your idea, Rachel, of making a bi-peep through from one light-box to the other side. Clare explained to me today about what the light boxes look like inside and how they work (thanks C, you rule!). But first illustration A:
So this is an empty lightbox. The lights are in the frame of the lightbox, running down the vertical sides. The way the light is distributed across the back of each image is via a nifty sheet of perspex that sits between the two images. Why is this sheet nifty I hear you ask... well, this sheet of perspex is scored in a fine grid pattern, and this grid catches the light coming from the frame of the lightbox. During the day (as in the above image) the lights are off, so you cannot see the grid, but at night the grid would be visible if you stood close to the lightbox. So, Rachel, regarding your great cut out hole idea:

Thinking about the interlocking girl circles back in the early posts - with the woman by the pool. How about circular holes - quite big on one side of the light-box - say black vinyl with hole cut out so you can see through to other side of light box where there might be text like Katy Perry... or Gay-der! ? Not sure, just pondering more ocular wannabe moments - and I guess I'm finding the bino's optimum ocular imagery and wanting to know if they would work with a building up or repetitive notation of them across some of the light boxes, i.e. me in the long grass, bino's on blue background etc...

We would have to be aware that at night this hole (depending on its size) might turn into a ball of light from the gridded perspex instead of a view to the other side. Keeping that in mind though, I think the idea is a super good one. Activating a different kind of looking. I imagine that the text we wanted to be seen through the hole would have to be printed backwards -- so it was seen the right way through the hole. As an invitation to get closer. If we do want to work with the two sides as different facets of the project, this would also be a point to break this difference.

OK, last thing. Clare and I have rented a camera for tomorrow. It is some kind of fancy pants digital image making machine, so we thought to pass on that if there is anything more general you guys would like photographed, let us know by your 9pm, and we can do our best. On our image-list at the mo is:

• re-photographing Clare's lesbian rule
  
• pile of abandoned clothes
• hyperbola of abandoned clothes
• some hand-binoculars (to add to Rachel's safari team)
• re-photographing Clare's stage
• coloured-beam torches
  

Did I mention that this is our 100th post! Here is a little something special:

Ruth Buchanan, A Different Kind of Love, 2007, video still