Ego Dialogues

Let’s go!

Stephen Gibb — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:31:18 +0000

Sounds good!

Inspirational Peeks

Sabina — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:52:23 +0000

It could be interesting to share the progress half way through, or so, and risk an accidental additional inspiration. March 15th is a Thursday…. so we could present what we have on March 1st and then again on the 8th?

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Strap on your pressure suit

Stephen Gibb — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:47:22 +0000

I’m ready to go. I just wonder about the value of any kind of exchange during the actual art making period, or would that cause interference and influence the other in an adverse way? Kind of like “no peeking”… But I think “peeking” would be cool too because it would continue the process of a long-distance collaboration. [...]

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Creation Launch

Sabina — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:54:22 +0000

I didn’t mean to split hairs but simply each of us to list a few (three or so) must-have elements (details), but we can do it this way as well. The image started conjuring up a long time ago, and shifted and changed a few times too, so yes, I am fine with wrapping it [...]

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It’s a wrap…

Stephen Gibb — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:37:21 +0000

Masked figure (central figure), mirror (central prop), circus (setting). Those are the three elements that HAVE to be included in the image. Is that too general? I don’t think so. If we start splitting hairs as to what circus elements be included it could take months to arrive at an agreement. I’m sure with this [...]

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Solidifying the Cast

Sabina — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:48:00 +0000

Yes, it’s time to start solidifying our ideas.
Masked figure engaged in a mirror. – Yes!

Being that the circus is an outward spectacle and all about performance and audience, it makes more sense to me as a reference to “reality”, even if it’s a distorted view of reality (though it doesn’t have to be distorted!). By the same token, the mirror is reflective, introspective; the character gazes into the mirror to find the true self, unaffected by the surrounding circus. It works either way though, and maybe that’s an added charm of the dual outcome.

As for fine-tuning the consensus, and how far to go, I’d say that we should agree on some must-have elements, general meaning, but details like color, position, etc. should remain a surprise. How about we each name a few things that must be included as part of the general image? The general setup we have pretty much already described, haven’t we?

Masque of Amontillado

Stephen Gibb — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:53:29 +0000

Now I’m veering off into Poe-land… A jester, an Italian city (Venice, Venetian masks), Carnival (or circus) and the deception (being bricked into your own tomb)…

OK let’s start to build an image. I like the mask idea. Let’s somehow use this as a central image, perhaps the masked figure engaged in the mirror??? The circus or carnival becomes a reference to what is going on inside the masked chatracter’s mind, the reflection in the mirror being the reality. If you agree that this could be a foundation to build outward from, we can proceed to flesh out the secondary details. It all depends on how far we want to fine-tune the consensus. Do we have to scrupulously describe every detail down to colour and position or do we rough-out the scene with ambiguous latitude for interpretation?

Masque de Charade

Sabina — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 15:16:11 +0000

I may have been fixed on the spectacles as I saw them very clearly, and they looked really good too, but I can easily shed that vision in lieu of a new one.

A facade or a charade. Charade goes better with the jester. A Venetian carnival mixed in with the circus. Everyone wearing a Venetian mask, even the animals.
I am not really trying to make any sense at the moment, rather going with the flow. Not sure that any of this is worth keeping.
The music from the Tomb Raider game comes to aural mind, the Venice theme… which adds an element of chase…

Click here to view the embedded video.

The music is playful as well though. Children playing hide-and-seek, angry adults handing out Venetian masks to the kids, angry because it’s not proper to go outside and play unless you are wearing yours.

Masks are a pretty obvious symbol. Too obvious for a main feature but may work as an added goodie. What do you think?

Marquis de Facade

Stephen Gibb — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:33:05 +0000

I think you are fixed on the spectacles, with their clear allusion to illusion and vision. That’s OK, but I have a sort of affinity to the “facade” component of performance. The clowns and acrobats and magicians are there for our entertainment, a contract between the audience and performer. I paid – you entertain. Entertainment is a facade put on by the performer, an interface. It usually has nothing to do with what is going on in their private life so it is not a genuine extension of themselves - hence the facade connection.

I like the stars, the darkness, the mystery. I aslo like the jester, I see him as a surprise element, maybe a little unsettling in appearance, kind of popping into view…

Something Profound

Sabina — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:50:41 +0000

I don’t know Stephen… I don’t think it’s all fakery. Maybe I’m fooling myself, but I would rather be a fool with noble ideals than a bitter cynic, at least at this point of my life. I don’t mean to imply that you are a cynic, I hope that’s a given, nor a fool. This is simply me getting warmed up.

Being a cynic is like being a joker. The cynic is a nihilist of sorts, and so is the joker. Could fear be at the source of both their attitudes? Fear of rejection perhaps?

If paint is organized on a panel it doesn’t make it any less profound. The universe itself is organized. Chaos is organized. Just because there is no obvious pattern or order, visible to us, doesn’t mean that something is any less profound, any less sublime. The circus is definitely not chaos, I agree, unless we say it is organized chaos. Like preparing a scene in a play, and the scene is meant to depict chaos. If all goes well, and if the actors do their part, then the audience will perceive it as chaos, however that impression is intended and what is behind it is studious work and organization.

Something profound in the center ring. I like that, but let’s not address that yet. I would like the center ring to remain a mystery for now.

What if, instead of the plywood cutout, there are glasses or spectacles of some sort in the center (same position and view as you described for the cutout), and the image in the mirror that is visible through these glasses in not the same as the image in the mirror outside and around that area?
So the viewer of the picture is the one looking through the glasses. There is no mediator between the viewer and the mirror, except for the glasses?

Could the aforementioned center ring be visible through the spectacles?

Beyond the mirror, the dark depths of a circus tent fading into a starry night sky. The whole background would be darkish, the mirror somewhat brighter, and the area visible through the glasses the brightest, the clearest.

Would a court jester have a place in this picture? Not a clown… but a court jester.