The Circle Of Confusion
http://www.thecircleofconfusion.com/blog/index.php
New Blog
http://www.thecircleofconfusion.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090922-120233
This blog is no longer updated. You may have come here from a search engine or an old link which is why I have kept it archived. Most internal links should still work so feel free to browse around. However all current content is in my new blog here.
Thanks!
]]>Gerhard Richter: Modern Times
http://www.thecircleofconfusion.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090921-120233
Every time I see Richter's work I like it more and I never fail to come away inspired. I'm particularly drawn to his overpainted abstracts constructed by repetitively painting, scraping off, and repainting the surface. There are more of these in the Richter Room at Tate Modern.
]]>Camera Jammer
http://www.thecircleofconfusion.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090920-120944
Rumour has it that Roman Abramovich's latest toy sports a rather cunning 'camera jammer'. It is believed to work by detecting a signature infra-red reflection from the CCD/CMOS sensor surface. It then blasts a beam back in the right direction to dazzle the camera. Not bad for £724m. He just has to hope the paparazzi don't switch back to film....
]]>And about time too!
http://www.thecircleofconfusion.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090911-032912
From the BBC website:
PM apology after Turing petition
Gordon Brown has said he is sorry for the "appalling" way World War II code breaker Alan Turing was treated for being gay.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8249792.stm
It's only about 50 years too late but welcome all the same. He has always been a well known and respected figure in the geek community (the server at my old university was called Turing) but he has never gained much recognition in the wider community, perhaps this apology will do a little to redress the balance.
]]>Education! Education! Education!
http://www.thecircleofconfusion.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090911-024053
remove funding for HE courses where the student already has a qualification at an equivalent level (ELQ). If you fall into this category then your course fees (for a degree) will rise from just over £3000 to around £6000. It's worth remembering that anyone who already has a degree is already denied access to student loans, grants, and bursaries.
Apparently this policy is "in line with new funding priorities". Billions for banks, OK. Billions for the 'war on terror', OK. A few quid to educate the nation, oooo bit pricey.
In the artist's own words: 'Unto the Self' explores the human body in relation to its environment. The centrepiece of the show is a life-sized steel sculpture of a male figure with a neon cube, here situated within the Dissenters' Chapel. Visitors walk through and around the sculpture experiencing a changing relationship with the figure and the environment. Repeat visits to the exhibition are rewarded as the figure has its position changed regularly both inside and outside the anchoring cube. The installation's fundamental criterion is that questions are asked about the human condition with regard to us all, whatever our age, race or belief.
One of the main aims is to allow the viewer to approach and question from their own unique, intuitive point of reference; prior knowledge of the subject, be it this sculpture, art, or philosophy, is not a pre-requisite for engaging with 'Unto the Self'
27 June - 26 July 2009 Wednesday - Sunday, 12:00 to 17:00 The Dissenters' Gallery Kensal Green Cemetery Ladbroke Grove London, W10 4RA
]]>The futility of stop and search
http://www.thecircleofconfusion.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090617-161309
BBC:
..in the strongest criticisms Lord Carlile has ever made of the use of the powers, the peer said that none of the stops in London or elsewhere had led to a conviction.
Page 39 of his report goes on to say:
It should be emphasised that photography of the police by the media or amateurs remains as legitimate as before, unless the photograph is likely to be of use to a terrorist. This is a high bar. It is inexcusable for police officers ever to use this provision to interfere with the rights of individuals to take photographs.
Attempts to use the Freedom of Information Act to determine how many of the 42000 stops made each month involve photographers have so far been unsuccessful. See this article in AP and the FOI request made via WhatDoTheyKnow here, here, and here.
There are also suggestions that many of the searches are made simply to "produce a racial balance in the statistics". So the harassment meted out under section 44 is pointless, ineffectual, and racial motivated. Delightful!
]]>University of Westminster Degree Show 2009
http://www.thecircleofconfusion.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090617-154322
I will be exhibiting my Remains series at the Art Works"Home Grown" Exhibition . The preview is on Thursday evening (download an invitation here) and the show runs throughout June.
The Art Works Galleries Stepney Bank, Ouseburn Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 2NP
Open: 23rd April 2009 – 6th May 2009, 10am – 4pm Private View: 23rd April 2009, 6pm – 9pm Location: Anglican Chapel, Kensal Green Cemetery, W10 4RA
The best exhibition in a cemetery you'll ever see...
]]>Remains (work in progress)
http://www.thecircleofconfusion.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090319-163835
Gallery 82]]>David LaChapelle
http://www.thecircleofconfusion.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090315-081655
David LaChapelle is holding a retrospective at La Monnaie de Paris until 31st May.
Madonna: Time Lapse Photograph Spiritual Value, 1998 ]]>Five-Four
http://www.thecircleofconfusion.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090313-123456
really big prints!
Original Image
100% crop of thumbwheel
100% crop of jaw surface
Fuji Provia 100F, 2040 dpi, 16 bit RGB scan on an Imacon scanner. No sharpening or other post-processing.
]]>Presence and Absence
http://www.thecircleofconfusion.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090304-094456
Presence and Absence ]]>I'm a Photographer ... not a Terrorist
http://www.thecircleofconfusion.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090205-103256
BJP:
The relationship between photographers and police could worsen next month when new laws are introduced that allow for the arrest - and imprisonment - of anyone who takes pictures of officers 'likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism'.
Set to become law on 16 February, the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 amends the Terrorism Act 2000 regarding offences relating to information about members of armed forces, a member of the intelligence services, or a police officer.
In response the National Union of Journalists has organised a “media event” outside New Scotland Yard on Monday 16 February 2009. The plan is simple, turn up with your camera and exercise your democratic right to take a photograph in a public place.
Gallery 79]]>Photographer/Terrorist
http://www.thecircleofconfusion.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090119-115802
Reuben Powell was detained for taking photographs in South-East London. A few days before that, press photographer Jess Hurd was questioned while shooting outside a hotel in Docklands. There have been numerous similar incidents over the last year or so.
Harassment of photographers by the police, CSOs, and private security staff is nothing new but it does seem to be reaching epidemic proportions.
In both these cases Section 44 of the Terrorism Act was used. It seems to be increasingly common for the police to circumvent "reasonable grounds" for a stop and search by invoking terror legislation. Such widespread abuse of power has worrying implications not just for photographers but also for the general public.
MP Austin Mitchell has raised an early day motion over the issue and is hoping to engage in talks with the Home Office. I'm not holding my breath.
]]>The Impossible Project
http://www.thecircleofconfusion.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry090119-113757
Impossible B.V.. They've just announced their acquisition of the old Polaroid plant in the Netherlands. Their intention is to restart production of instant film for vintage Polaroid cameras by 2010.
I hope they manage to make a go of it. Polaroid is a really special material and it would be a real pity for it to disappear forever.
I thought it would be interesting to see what sort of colour range (gamut) I was able to get. There's a free Colour PowerToy for Windows that allows you to manage and compare colour profiles. I've used it to generate the following CIE plots:
LCDs have a reputation for having a relatively narrow gamut. As these plots show my monitor (which is a nice Sony XBlack) does not get anywhere near the extremes of either sRGB (the standard PC colour space) or AdobeRGB (which I use with my digital camera). It would be interesting to compare these with a film scanner but I don't have any decent ICC profiles available the moment.
Gallery 78 ]]>Dolls House
http://www.thecircleofconfusion.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081108-025927
DA! have been squatting in a £6m Mayfair townhouse since the middle of October (see news reports here and here). They are using the 30 room Grade II listed building as freeform arts space. Last night they held an exhibition called "Dolls House Projections". I thought I'd pop along....
Gallery 77 ]]>One Nation Under CCTV
http://www.thecircleofconfusion.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081028-154652
Despite the fact that it has been there for quite a while the killjoys at Westminster City Council have decided that it has to go.
]]>My Little Corner of London
http://www.thecircleofconfusion.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081003-155929
My life as a penniless art student has begun. The next couple of years could be very interesting indeed....
]]>A short rant about student loans
http://www.thecircleofconfusion.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry080902-134633
evil overlords are trying to thwart my escape plans. Apparently, as I have the audacity to already have a degree, I'm not entitled to a student loan. That's a loan, not a grant. A loan, something you pay back, not a gift. Something I will repay (eventually) with interest.
It seems a little churlish of the government to restrict access to higher education in this way. Anyone remember 'Education, education, education'?
