tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2293319073550947163.post4558149190012116822..comments2024-03-16T17:43:25.784-04:00Comments on DanielMaidman: The Ratjen Collection II: Swiveling PerspectiveDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597234920324948705noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2293319073550947163.post-9772334647088444902010-12-03T12:11:18.646-05:002010-12-03T12:11:18.646-05:00Hi Ed! You should totally get off your duff and go...Hi Ed! You should totally get off your duff and go check out this show. Don't miss the Munch prints show either - lots of repetitions showing really interesting variations on the same print. Right up your alley. <br /><br />This drawing is actually fairly small, although I don't know exactly how big it is. Anyhow, there's lots of good stuff in the show that I didn't include in this series.<br /><br />That's a really cool anecdote. Let me offer one back: my dad, who studies ancient history, was always perplexed by a particular military account. This army rode through a ravine, and the account says, "At noon, it was as dark as night." Finally my dad himself went through a narrow forested canyon, and said, "Oh, I get that now."<br /><br />Anyways, I'm glad you liked the drawing and also the moonscape. I think it was pretty big - those paintings are large, because they're designed to be photographed by a 35 mm camera and then blown up to movie-screen size. Although they're large, they're not blow-you-away large. Just large enough to have an imposing presence.<br /><br />Thanks as always for reading this stuff, Ed, and I'm really happy you're still enjoying it.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15597234920324948705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2293319073550947163.post-19770858739909793762010-12-03T10:09:54.337-05:002010-12-03T10:09:54.337-05:00That is a beautiful piece and I should get off my ...That is a beautiful piece and I should get off my lazy ass and go downtown to see it. How large is it??<br /><br />I agree that it gives a deep sense of panorama. And the sense of turning the head to take in the entire scene. And I do like Fred's thought that it literally shows the passage of the time it took to draw it.<br /><br />But I don't know if I get the feeling that the moment depicted in such a scene isn't possible. <br /><br />The trees in shade on the left side of the drawing are lit on the back, top surfaces. I don't look at light with the scrutiny of an artist such as you guys, however. But there is a place I used to drive through to get back and forth to college. At the continental divide, where the highway cuts through the top of the Blue Ridge mountains, I've marveled at the disparity of light and dark, of warm and cold. One side of the rock face can be covered with thick ice and snow, and the other side can be awash in bright, warm, spring sunshine with grass and new flowers. Someone viewing a painting of that scene might think it took the artist four months to complete the work!<br /><br />I couldn't agree more about the composition and when/where he chose to stop. I love it.<br /><br />Also that moonscape is cool as shit and I also wonder what the size of that painting is.<br /><br />Great post, Dani.Ed.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08992347401319922675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2293319073550947163.post-47614992974704150972010-12-02T17:53:44.335-05:002010-12-02T17:53:44.335-05:00I'm so glad to be able to share it, Fred. Got ...I'm so glad to be able to share it, Fred. Got a few more dazzlers for you in the next post, which I should have time to put up tomorrow. Gotta catch up on reading your blog, too - the topics look great.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15597234920324948705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2293319073550947163.post-2026746183878448572010-12-01T23:42:28.102-05:002010-12-01T23:42:28.102-05:00In any case, an absolutely magnificent landscape d...In any case, an absolutely magnificent landscape drawing, by an artist I'd never heard of before, so thanks!Fredhttp://fredhatt.com/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2293319073550947163.post-62544357068684809902010-12-01T09:38:18.893-05:002010-12-01T09:38:18.893-05:00Fred - that is a really interesting idea. When I w...Fred - that is a really interesting idea. When I was trying to figure out how this drawing happened, I assumed the gorge had a really small radius, so that the change in lighting angle relative to object across the visual field was much smaller than usual. Of course, I assumed this because he hasn't framed the drawing as panoramic - he's chosen a rectangle that we take for representing the ordinary field of view. If the entire angle change fits in a normal field of view, then either the landform curvature has to have a small radius or the landform has to be really far away. The detail and change in apparent distance of objects throughout the image led me to conclude the landform wasn't far away - leaving only the rapid curvature. But it didn't occur to me that perhaps the damn thing was lit uniformly and it just took him all day to paint it. Thanks for bringing up that possibility, it is very interesting, just as you say!Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15597234920324948705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2293319073550947163.post-16106638425381482212010-12-01T08:43:51.750-05:002010-12-01T08:43:51.750-05:00Interesting point! You do see that effect in pano...Interesting point! You do see that effect in panoramic photos that cover a wide arc of view. The effect is striking in this beautiful drawing. But I wonder if the angle of view here is really wide enough to account for the effect. It could also arise from the changing angle of the sun over the time it took to do this drawing, if the shading was done proceeding from one side of the picture to the other. In that case it's even more interesting, as we see a drawing recording the passage of time.Fredhttp://fredhatt.com/blognoreply@blogger.com