Studio View: Viral Series

New work for Delineation: Contemporary Dialogues with Drawing, photographed in my studio prior to framing. This is the first time the drawings have been hung together the correct way up, having been created with the paper hanging landscape.

Dead Media Archive...

Thoughts on digital photography from the Dead Media Archive:

"...In dealing with the digital we are dealing in things that are intangible. We can touch a computer, we can touch a DVD or a CD, but we cannot touch the contents they contain for they are located in encoded bits of information. All the more, the experience of the world comes through to some by way of the Internet and their communications through it. An empirical example of this can be seen in the constant need to photographically document all aspects of one’s life that is prevalent among many people today.

The great amounts of storage available on digital cameras have made it so that we can literally document everything that happens to us on a given day without having to reload the camera. Not having to develop anything, we can take these pictures immediately home and upload them: instant memories. But this new mode of image capture and image distribution has not come without serious epistemological consequences. Digital photography has fundamentally altered our relation to images of the world—how we come to have knowledge and form beliefs about the world.

Bernard Stiegler addresses this radical change in his essay “The Discrete Image.” Stiegler, drawing on Roland Barthes’ Camera Lucida, argues that with analog (i.e. photochemical) photography, the viewer had a certain faith in the fidelity of the image to some actual past event; this belief is completely elided in the realm of the digital, what Stiegler calls “the discrete image” and the “analogico-digital image.” As Stiegler explains: 'The digital photograph suspends a certain spontaneous belief which the analog photograph bore within itself. When I look at the digital photo, I can never be absolutely sure that what I see truly exists—nor, since it is still a question of a photo, that it does not exist at all. The analogico-digital image calls into question what Andre Bazin calls the objectivity of the lens [l’objectivité de l’objectif] in analog photography, what Barthes also calls this was [le ça a été], the noeme of the photo. The noeme of the photo is what in phenomenology would be called its intentionality. It is what I see always already, in advance, in every (analog) photo: that what is captured on the paper really was. This is the essential attribute of the analog photo. That it would then be possible to manipulate this photo, to alter what was, this is another attribute, but it can only be accidental; it is not necessarily co-implied by the photo. This may happen, but it is not the rule. The rule is that every analog photo presupposes that what was photographed was (real)..."

From: Dead Media Archive, NYU Dept Media, Culture and Communication

cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php/Analog/Digital_Transition

Sketches

Carol Wilder: Being Analog

"...As a level of description, it [analog] is closer than digital coding to the physical world, closer to corporeality, more kinesthetic, tactile, more-dare I say- 'real'. This can be compared to the 'digital level of description' which 'represents a more abstracted disembodied consciousness, which is at once more expansive and less visceral'...''

From: Carol Wilder, Being Analog in 'The Postmodern Presence: Readings in Postmodernism in American Culture and Society' (2008)
Full essay, Being Analog, at: carolwilder.net/beinganalog.pdf

Viral Series: Delineation Installation Proposal

Above: A digital impression of the drawings from the Viral series in situ in the Crypt Gallery. The exhibition Delineation: Contemporary Dialogues with Drawing opens on 27 October. Viral I and II are currently being prepared for framing prior to installation.

New Work: Viral II

 

Viral II (2010), graphite on paper, 200cm x 150cm

Viral II is the second new work to be shown at the forthcoming exhibition Delineation: Contemporary Dialogues with Drawing at the Crypt Gallery, London. Another work from the series, Viral I, will also be exhibited, along with a collection of diagnostic works that interrogate the presence of drawing in my current practice.

Work in Progress: Viral II

Work in Progress: Viral II

Top: Viral II, in progress.
Below: Viral II, detail
200cm x 150cm
--
vi•rus | 'vīrəs |
noun
an infective agent that typically consists of a nucleic acid molecule in a protein coat, is too small to be seen by light microscopy, and is able to multiply only within the living cells of a host : [as adj. ] a virus infection.
• informal an infection or disease caused by such an agent.
• figurative a harmful or corrupting influence : the virus of cruelty that is latent in all human beings.
• (also computer virus) a piece of code that is capable of copying itself and typically has a detrimental effect, such as corrupting the system or destroying data.

da•ta |ˈdatə; 'dātə|
noun [treated as sing. or pl. ]
facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis. See also datum .
• Computing the quantities, characters, or symbols on which operations are performed by a computer, being stored and transmitted in the form of electrical signals and recorded on magnetic, optical, or mechanical recording media.
• Philosophy things known or assumed as facts, making the basis of reasoning or calculation.

Essay: The Paradoxes of Digital Photography

An extract from an interesting essay about the digitisation of photographic
processes by Lev Manovich:
--
...Digital photographs function in an entirely different way from traditional
photographs. Or do they?  Shall we accept that digital imaging represents a
radical rupture with photography? Is an image, mediated by computer and
electronic technology, radically different from an image obtained through a
photographic lens and embodied in film? If we describe film-based images
using such categories as depth of field, zoom, a shot or montage, what
categories should be used to describe digital images? Shall the phenomenon
of digital imaging force us to rethink such fundamental concept as realism
or representation?

In this essay I will refrain from taking an extreme position of either fully
accepting or fully denying the idea of a digital imaging revolution. Rather,
I will present the logic of the digital image as paradoxical;  radically breaking
with older modes of visual representation while at the same time reinforcing
these modes. I will demonstrate this paradoxical logic by examining two
questions: alleged physical differences between digital and film-based
representation of photographs and the notion of realism in computer
generated synthetic photography.

The logic of the digital photograph is one of historical continuity and
discontinuity. The digital image tears apart the net of semiotic codes, modes
of display, and patterns of spectatorship in modern visual culture -- and, at
the same time, weaves this net even stronger. The digital image annihilates
photography while solidifying, glorifying and immortalizing the photographic.
In short, this logic is that of photography after photography.

Excerpt from:
Lev Manovich, The Paradoxes of Digital Photography
First published in: 'Photography After Photography',
exhibition catalogue, Germany, 1995.
--
Read the full text:
manovich.net/TEXT/digital_photo.html

Work in progress: Viral II

Above: Viral II, work in progress

Work on Viral II progressed in the studio today. I continue to work on the drawing with it hanging on its side, only for it to be turned upright to its exhibition position once the work is completed. Through this process I focus on drawing the abstract forms created by the enlarged, distorted photocopy I am replicating by hand. Figurative representation of the source material - a found google image, transformed through a series of printing and photocopying processes - is not a consideration at this stage of production.

Saatchi Gallery Profile Update

My Saatchi Gallery online profile has been updated today, with new artwork uploads and extra blurb about TBC Artists' Collective:

saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/artist_profile/Charley+Peters/4351.html

TBC on YouTube

TBC TV is now live on YouTube. The first TBC film, TBC Studio Views: Charley Peters, is a short document of the production of Viral II, which can also be viewed here on Carbon Particles. The Viral Series will be exhibited as part of TBC's forthcoming show Delineation: Contemporary Dialogues with Drawing in October at the Crypt Gallery

There will be many more TBC films to follow so stay tuned...

youtube.com/watch?v=OGBA0zNE0dw

Progress of a Drawing

Excerpt from a film documenting the production of Viral II, a new drawing for TBC Artists' Collective's forthcoming exhibition Delineation: Contemporary Dialogues with Drawing. Filmed 13/09/10 in my studio.

Research: Defective Pixels

Above: Close-up of an LCD, showing a dead green subpixel.

Defective pixels are pixels on a liquid crystal display (LCD) not performing as expected. The ISO standard ISO 13406-2 distinguishes between three different types of defective pixel - dark dot defects, bright dot defects and partial sub-pixel defects - while hardware companies tend to have further distinguishing types, such as the stuck sub-pixel.

Similar defects can also occur on CCD or CMOS image sensors in digital cameras. In these devices, defective pixels fail to sense light levels correctly, whereas defective pixels in LCDs fail to reproduce light levels correctly.

Full article at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defective_pixel

The Windhorse Project: Article by Laura Davis

FIRST the RLPO hosted a concert from within the virtual world of Second Life, now a group of international artists are exhibiting their work in a gallery built within the digital universe.

Hosted at the Art at the EDGE gallery, contained within Second Life, the show features artist Vanessa Cuthbert's The Windhorse Project. Based on the idea of Buddhist prayer flags, a group of contemporary artists each created a piece of work expressing something they care about, with an overall ecological theme.

If the thought of visiting a gallery without leaving the comfort of your living room is just too freaky to get your head around then you can attend a special preview event at Manchester Digital Development Agency on September 16. You'll be taken on a tour of the virtual gallery on big screen, and a digitally made moving image Windhorse Project sequence will play in a darkened room. There will also be laptops and high-speed wireless broadband available to those who wish to independently explore the exhibition at their own pace.

The idea for showing the works on Second Life came from Dr Erica Wright, one of the artists on the project. She has this to say about it...

"Bringing this project to the prestigious Art at the EDGE gallery, is an important step forward for real world art. Second Life offers the global art audience chance to experience high end contemporary art in a whole new way, simultaneously viewing art in a gallery setting from armchairs and computer desks around the world. Through sharing the experience of viewing and discussing real art with others in a much more immediate way than is possible with other social media, Second Life's excellent free communication facilities allow for live conversation, note sharing and instant feedback about the art being viewed remotely. The potential benefits offered to artists and educators by this technology are simply breathtaking."

The Windhorse Project artists are Vanessa Cuthbert, John Hyatt, Charley Peters, Erica Wright, Olga Kenyon, Andrew Baker, John Goodwin, Linda Hughes, Vidyamala Burch, Neil Grant, Ian Whadcock, Mary Taylor, Tom Bingham, Ian McCullough and Claire Thomas.

In addition to their virtual world presence, the original printed works will continue to travel the globe.

Original article by Laura Davis at:
http://blogs.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/ldpartsblog/2010/09/first-the-rlpo-hosted-a.html

News: The Windhorse Project in Second Life

In 2009 Charley Peters was asked to participate in The Windhorse Project, a site specific exhibition of work by 15 international artists in Manchester's premier cultural quarter, the 'Oxford Road Corridor'. Initially exhibited in Manchester as part of The Cornerhouse Gallery/MIRIAD State Legacy venture, this project has continued to evolve since its auspicious beginnings, and is now hosted by Leeds University’s Second Life presence in their innovative ‘Art at the EDGE’ virtual gallery. Each artist was asked to produce a piece of work expressing an issue of global ecological concern, to be hung face-to-face with nature in All Saints Park, Manchester.


Above: Charley Peters, Addition/Subtraction (2009)

In September 2010 Dr. Erica Wright has brought The Windhorse Project into Second Life, and says, “Bringing this project to the prestigious ‘Art at the EDGE’ gallery, is an important step forward for real world art... Second Life’s excellent free communication facilities allow for live conversation, note sharing and instant feedback about the art being viewed remotely. The potential benefits offered to artists and educators by this technology are simply breathtaking."

Above: The Windhorse Project, Art at the EDGE gallery, Second Life (2010). Charley Peters' work can be seen second artwork from the right.

In addition to The Windhorse Project’s virtual world presence, the original printed works will continue to travel the globe, as new destinations present themselves. Project organiser Vanessa Cuthbert says, “The Windhorse works are part of an exhibition chain that began in All Saints Park and Righton Gallery, on the ‘Oxford Road Corridor,’ Manchester, a route that has been used throughout history for marches and protests. I hope to continue this project by sending the works to other locations in the real world, so they themselves will be carried off into the universe, in a sense, and the message will spread. The next host will add more works and decide a wide range of cultural, social and political differences on their journey. The works will change and be weathered, maybe subject to graffiti, and this will reflect the impermanent and ever-changing conditions that we are all subject to.”

Studio News: Viral II

Top: Viral II (work in progress photograph)
Below: Viral II (detail)

Work on Viral II continued in the studio today. The finished work will be shown at Delineation: Contemporary Dialogues with Drawing at the Crypt Gallery, London in October 2010.

New website holding page

The new holding page at charleypeters.com is now online, with a direct link to Carbon Particles, which will remain, for now, the first port of call for up-to-the-minute news about projects I'm involved in. The full website is undergoing a redesign so stay tuned for relaunch news over the coming months.
charleypeters.com

Sketches: Xerox Drawings

'Drawings' generated on a photocopier. Sketches for future works exploring visual interference and drawing processes.

Research: Visual Interference

Found images of TV static, research for new work concerning examples of 'visual interference'.

Television is a gift of God, and God will hold those who utilize his divine instrument accountable to him -- Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor of the modern television.

Noise in analogue video and television is perceived as a random dot pattern which is superimposed on the picture as a result of electronic noise and radiated electromagnetic noise picked up by the receiver's antenna. Due to the algorithmic functioning of a digital television set's electronic circuitry and the inherent quantization of its screen, the 'snow' seen on digital TV is less random.

Anatomy of a Projection.

Left: Viral I (detail), graphite on paper
Right: Viral II (detail), graphite on paper

The Viral series of drawings, which will be previewed at the Delineation: Contemporary Dialogues with Drawing exhibition in October, explores the relationship between mechanically produced and hand rendered marks. The works reproduce the toner traces left on distorted photocopies of found images, projected and traced to generate a large-scale exact copy of the disrupted images. Viral I presents the pixellated visual interferences retained when images are processed through a digital projector attached to a laptop, Viral II the comparatively smooth contours of lines presented by projecting image data through an OHP - digital vs analogue information.

Delineation: Artists' Talk Confirmed 30/10/10

Exciting news...
TBC Artists' Collective can now confirm that there will be a free artists' talk as part of the supporting programme for Delineation: Contemporary Dialogues with Drawing. It will be led by artist and writer John Timberlake, who will discuss the key considerations of the exhibition in relation to current drawing practice in contemporary art. A number of the exhibiting artists will be present to take questions from the audience.

Timberlake is an artist whose practice embraces drawing, painting and photography, and whose work is in a number of public and private collections in Europe and the US. He is Programme Leader in BA Fine Art, Middlesex University.

Further details on the talk and how to reserve a place are available at: tbc-artistscollective.blogspot.com/

Viral II: Progress

After two days of drawing Viral II is progressing well. Still many more days of work ahead...