DISAPPEARING LANDSCAPE?

Disappearance Gouache on paper 37.6 x 28 cm 1995

This is a post about landscape...so just wade through the car bits at the beginning...there is a context...I promise.

WINDOW SHOPPING
I have been 'window shopping' for a new car. Regular readers will know that this is something I do from time to time. For years, in fact...and as yet no new car!

In an earlier post about cars 'Looking Out The Windows' I wrote about the propensity for sloped backs, as a design feature, in new SUVs and station wagons. Damn annoying when you want to pack an exhibition of paintings.

My latest window shopping exercise has frustrated me for a different reason. This time it's the diminishing size of  rear and rear-side windows. Various bulk heads and side panels seem to have taken up more space than in the past. The result is reduced vision...of eye ball and pupil kind.

But!

All is not lost...apparently. When I mention my concern to car salespeople I'm told cameras, parking sensors and more, not only compensate for smaller sized windows, but provide the driver with much more 'visibility'.

Then, when I ask, 'But, what if systems fail?' the response is close to incredulity...how could I even think that this might happen? To confound the issue more, and to the embarrassment of my car-loving daughter who window shops with me, I ask, 'But, what if systems do fail and humanity has lost the ability to look out the windows and therefore has lost all the accompanying dexterities of spatial distance, understanding of speed, ratios of all kinds and general environment awareness?' In response to this, I am normally given a what-are-you-talking-about-mad-lady stare by the salesperson... and a death stare from my daughter.

LOSS
But, seriously...if we don't think to look out the windows [literally and metaphorically]...I'd suggest there's a plethora of things that would be lost. One of these is landscape. Yep, landscape, the very thing we drive in, on, about, into, over and under! As technology increases its infiltration into our everyday lives, to the point that we rely on it to remember for us, orientate us, entertain us, drive us and more, an insidious disappearance of environment occurs...because we are no longer conscious, or as conscious, of it.

Hidden Secrets Oil on linen 120 x 160 cm 2005

The disappearance of landscape is an interesting notion. But, possibly more so if one can sit outside the 'disappearance' as an observer. And, I'd suggest that the Universal perspectives revealed by contemporary cosmological research provide us with the opportunity to observe from a multitude of viewpoints.

UNTETHERING
I have previously written about my ideas of untethering notions of landscape from Earth-bound horizons. Maybe we need to do this to save landscape...like a kind of 'cloud storage'...so it can be retrieved in the future? If contemporary scifi and dystopian cinema is anything to go by, the future of Earth's landscape is far from promising. Think of the recent film 'Elysium'. In contemporary writing think of Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road'.

Yet, there is always hope! In 'Elysium' hope is represented by the distant perspective photograph of the Earth shown to our young hero. In 'The Road' it's represented by the beauty of the prose.

__________________________________________________________________________

To read my earlier post about 'Elysium' please click HERE and to read about 'The Road' please click HERE

 Hope Oil on linen 80 x 140 cm 2013

 

 

 

* I have written about landscape many times since I started my BLOG in August 2006.

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

THE VALUE OF LANDSCAPE

Halo Oil on linen 82 x 182 cm 2009

Around the world people are concerned about issues of climate change and global warming. All kinds of pollution compromise our environment, ultimately causing changes to the quality of life-sustaining elements such as land, air, water, soil and more. The big issue is how humanity's actions impact on not just life-sustaining elements, but climate in general. Halo [above] depicts the Earth created by a tree-of-life which is encircled by a 'halo' of white... representing our atmosphere.

I remember in the late 60s, when I was at primary school, learning about various kinds of pollution . That's a long time ago and we are still battling with, and arguing about, ways to mitigate pollution and its insidious effects. Obviously attempts have been made, but new technologies create new kinds of waste and pollution, and rising consumerism and industrial/technological 'progress' not only in the west, but also in developing countries, creates excess and demand. The recent movie Gravity starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney uses a real modern day pollution issue as the catalyst for an action packed storyline. The pollution is space debris...yep in just over 55 years since the first satellite went into space we have created what's called 'orbital space debris'! I recently wrote about this in my post Something About Space

Why did I call this post The Value Of Landscape? Yes, it is a 'loaded' title! As we draw financial value from the literal landscape [mining, agriculture, urban development etc] are we losing sight of its real value which goes way beyond the monetary? In my last post Knowing Landscape - Art and Science I wrote Landscape is an integral part of humanity's experience of life. It orientates us, feeds us, provides energy for us, induces awe, challenges us and gives us a place to call 'home'. It can embrace us and it can also annihilate us, and at both extremes, and in the spaces in between there are reminders that we are part of the body of landscape. We are never really separate from it. Indeed, when we die it enfolds us as we return to dust. At some time in the far distant future Earth will also return to star dust, as a result of our Sun's death throes. 

Earth For Sale Oil on linen 120 x 160 cm 2008

This ambiguous 'landscape' is painted with small $ signs.

 

 

DEPICTION OF LANDSCAPE
But, what about the depiction of landscape and its 'value' to humanity? Yep, The Value Of Landscape is definitely a loaded title! Since humankind could pick up drawing utensils, the depiction of landscape [and landscape elements] orientated people physically as well as emotionally and spiritually. Myths, stories and legends drew upon landscape, and landscape elements, as metaphors for various aspects of human existence. These stories were illustrated or illuminated through various artforms across time. Landscape depiction certainly has a long and fascinating history...one which has a deep underlying value to humanity's sense of self, space and place.

But, what of contemporary landscape depiction? There are still artists who faithfully reproduce real landscapes scenes with traditional techniques and those who use super-reality contemporary methods. There are artists who photograph landscape, artists who manipulate landscape and its elements in more abstract ways, environmentally concerned artists who depict the destruction of landscape reminding the viewer of loss, fantasy artists who create magical landscapes as if trying to recapture the untouched environment...and so on.

Galactic Horizons and Beyond Oil on linen 85 x 150 cm 2012

UNTETHERING LANDSCAPE
Regular readers have probably worked out where I am going next! Yep, let's untether concepts of landscape depiction from earth-bound horizons and explore the new perspectives [of close and far distance] that contemporary cosmological [the study of the Universe] research has revealed. Untethering does not mean we abandon Earth-bound landscape depiction! It just means we may see it differently and in doing so potentially assist in discovering new ways of 'seeing' our environmental issues. These new ways of 'seeing' may stimulate different questions...and subsequently reveal the answers our Earth environment needs.

But, even the concept of environment changes when 'seen' with the perspectives revealed by cosmology! As I have previously written, cosmic perspectives orientate us, and Earth, within a Universal environment...Earth maybe our home, but the Universe is our environment.

Cosmic Address Oil on linen 90 x 180cm 2013

 

 

Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

KNOWING LANDSCAPE - ART AND SCIENCE

The Beginning Of Everything Oil on linen 90 x 180c m 2010

 

During the week I read an interesting article Science and Art: How Astronomical Artists Look At Nature by well known American space artist William K Hartmann who also happens to have a B.Sc [physics], M.Sc [geology] and  [PhD [astronomy]. The an article is essentially about knowing landscape.

 

He starts the article, People often ask me — and I often ask myself — is there an interplay between my planetary science research and my painting? Does my interest in painting affect the way I do science? I’m pretty sure the answer is yes, but it’s hard to explain why, even to myself! He then goes on to try to explain that there are various ways of “knowing.” He continues, So there’s a kind of knowledge that I call “body knowledge” that comes from bodily and visual experience, as well as a “mind knowledge” that comes from traditional scientific activities such as quantitative data analysis, numerical modeling, classifying and breaking natural phenomena into constituent aspects.

Hartmann suggests that the knowledge he gains as an artist, observing and painting landscape, helps him as a scientist observing and scrutinising imagery sent back to Earth by satellites and probes. He writes that as a scientist working with the Mariner 9, Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Express imaging teams the body knowledge seemed to provide a different “starting point” for analysis than the theoretical considerations of my colleagues.

I am not a scientist, but I have scientists in my family. And as regular readers know, I have a keen interest in science. My two brothers both have science degrees, one in computing and the other in physics [lighting: M.Sc]. Yet, both are also artists. One is a photographer and the other a musician and lighting designer. I've seen how mind knowledge and body knowledge, across and between science and art, play and interact with each other.

I resonate with Hartmann's description of body knowledge as if in the process of repeated and consistent observation of landscape, it ultimately enters your body as a knowing... I would go further to suggest that it perhaps returns to, or re-enters the body, as a kind of remembering...of star dust.

Returning Oil on linen 50 x 94 cm 2012

This takes me to an experience I had only a few days ago. I participated in a Shaman's walk lead by an old friend Heather Price. A group of eight women shared four hours of reflection which included a walk along one of the paths at Mt Cootha here in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Without going into too much detail the walk was an activity of deep observation ie: observing nature and then observing our reactions to particular elements of it, followed by investigations of possible meaning and metaphor. This process takes you from being simply an observer to being a participant in, as well a partner with, nature. Observation at many levels induces a quiet kind of absorption into the cycles of life that nature represents so beautifully. My experience with Heather and the other women was that of a kind of returning to, and a remembering of, the beginning of all life...the Universal landscape. For me as an artist, it was pure inspiration. For me, as a person, it was a perfect reminder.

 

Observation, for an artist, can simply be about taking note of how things look, but it can be so much more than this. All kinds of observation, from how things look, to observing one's own emotional and intellectual reactions, to sensing vibrations, noticing sounds and movement and 'seeing' links between everything, all manifest into a kind of knowing that enters the body...or...perhaps re-enters the body. As Hartmann says, In any case, as I’ve come to know the history and community of landscape painters, I’ve been impressed that they have absorbed all sorts of knowledge from nature that physical scientists do no yet know, or do not even study.

 

 

I painted The Wind Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm 2001

 

Landscape is an integral part of humanity's experience of life. It orientates us, feeds us, provides energy for us, induces awe, challenges us and gives us a place to call 'home'. It can embrace us and it can also annihilate us, and at both extremes, and in the spaces in between there are reminders that we are part of the body of landscape. We are never really separate from it. Indeed, when we die it enfolds us as we return to dust. At some time in the far distant future Earth will also return to star dust, as a result of our Sun's death throes.  

 

This takes me to a point I have written about a lot...that concepts of landscape need to be untethered from Earth-bound horizons, because whilst Earth maybe our home, the Universe is our environment. Landscape reminds us that we come from the same star dust that created the planets and the Universe...we are landscape too!

 

 

Cosmic Dust Oil on linen 120 x 160 cm 2010

 

 

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

WATCHING THE UNIVERSE

Watching The Universe gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm 2013

 

It's one week since my solo exhibition COSMIC ADDRESS ended. And, it was a great exhibition! I really loved 'putting on a show' for everyone! I wrote a recent post called PUTTING ON A SHOW ... all about the behind-the-scenes activities of exhibiting...paintings!

 

I have not created any new work either during or after the exhibition. But, I have started to think about a body of new work for my next exhibition in 2014...about a year away.

 

Watching The Universe

The painting above Watching The Universe was painted in the few weeks leading up to COSMIC ADDRESS. Yes, I will be continuing the cosmology theme. The background gives an illusion of vast Space, yet it could also be the intimate interior of something only visible with the help of a microscope. Both have Universal dimensions! The line work is indicative of eyes watching, either watching you the viewer or watching the vortex-like Space visible in the middle of the painting.

 

There's a multiplicity of perspectives to be explored!

 

Watching The Universe was inspired by a few influences. 

• Prof Nick Bostrom's theory that we are living in a computer simulation devised by post humans who re-live their human existence via a simulation which they 'watch' and vicariously 'live'. Not only is it a re-living of the human existence but also a re-telling or re-evolution of all existence since the Big Bang. I wrote a recent post COUNT DOWN where I discuss this theory a little more. 

• Another influence is the discovery of various Earth-like planets in other star systems. Here's one article http://news.sciencemag.org/2011/09/super-earth-found-habitable-zone There are plenty of articles 'out there'... so you can discover for yourself. The search for other Earth-like planets opens up the possibility of aliens, or my more kindly term 'space mates', who may or may not be watching us, as we attempt to find and see them. The discovery of other Earth-like planets also poses the possibility that at some time in the far distant future we humans might have somewhere else to call 'home'. Please check out my previous post SUPER EARTHS

• A phrase in Physicist/Cosmologist Prof Joel Primack and Lawyer/Philosopher Nancy Ellen Abrams book The New Universe And The Human Future
  
  As much as people around the world hope to find aliens beings on other planets the possibility exists that only our eyes see this universe' P. 65This kind of phrase may seem anthropocentric, but it does not exclude the possibility of other life forms. It actually implies a kind of responsibility for us to continue in our quest to know as much as possible about our Universal environment.

• I was thinking about the increasing surveillance in our lives...drones, mobile phone tracking, street cameras, GPS systems, data collection and more. But, as we watch, and are watched, with all kinds of devices, are we essentially navel gazing? If so, are we [except a few] missing out on 'seeing' the vast perspectives and frontiers of Universal knowledge? Maybe...maybe not? A recent post called LOOKING OUT THE WINDOWS investigates learned myopia [metaphoric and literal].

• In 1995 I painted a work on paper called Dare To Be Yourself. It is one of the paintings in my book For Everyone It is a painting of a family of four being watched! In this case the eyes are 'alien' eyes casting their gazes across a family who did something that was not the norm.

 

Dare To Be Yourself Gouache on paper 28 x 37.6 cm 1997 

 And for those who missed it, here's a video of my exhibition COSMIC ADDRESS

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

RETURNING 'HOME'

Returning Oil on linen 50 x 94 cm 2012

 

COSMIC ADDRESS finished yesterday and now I am back home...but not yet back into the studio. That will take awhile. Lots of emailing, following up, plus lawns to be mowed and other domestic jobs to catch up on. AND, writing a post for my BLOG is a priority!

 

The exhibition was great...a terrific success...on many fronts. I sold some paintings, held 4 different but very enjoyable functions/events and chatted to an amazing number of people. I'd estimate that around 280 people saw the exhibition over the 12 day period. I am HAPPY!

 

This is one comment from a visitor to COSMIC ADDRESS: What a wonderful delight to meet you today and not only view your most amazing three dimensional transformational cosmic paintings but also connect in such a deep manner on cosmological/spiritual expanding concepts and precepts.

 

Please take a virtual tour of some of COSMIC ADDRESS by watching the video below. It's a kind of returning to the exhibition.

 

 

 

 

RETURNING 

Returning [image at top] was one of the paintings that attracted many people. The beautiful green lured them 'home'. The concept of an 'address' in the title of my exhibition COSMIC ADDRESS got people thinking. An 'address' can mean many things. Even a place within! And, that's where we went last Thursday night when my friend Gabriele Engstrom lead a COSMIC SOUNDS MEDITATION with her wonderful Tibetan bowls. About 20 people came along. After a short 'cosmic' talk by me and an introduction by Gabriele, we dimmed the lights and people lay down on their mats. Very quickly the beautiful sounds of the bowls washed over us, their vibrations seeking to explore our inner psyches...or so it seemed. It was like returning to yourself, a returning to the cosmos...a returning 'home'. At the end of the 25 minute meditation Gabriele gently 'returned' us to the here and now. 

 

Gabriele and I are conducting a workshop combining a Tibetan Bowl meditation with drawing...yes actual drawing! It will not be a 'how to' workshop, but a stimulation of creativity to seek out inner symbols. Details below.

 

 

Cosmic Ouroboros oil on linen 120 x 150 cm 2012

 

SCIENCE AND ART 

Cosmic Ouroboros was another painting that attracted a lot of comment at COSMIC ADDRESS. People were intrigued by the background...and then very interested in the symbol of the ouroboros and how it has been appropriated by modern cosmologists as a visual descriptor of the relationship between the quantum and cosmic worlds. Many people with science backgrounds loved this painting. And, I loved them, because when a scientist 'gets' a lot from a painting which is essentially an artistic and symbolic expression of scientific processes, I feel connected...I feel I've done my job...so-to-speak!

 

And, my BLOG post for Cosmic Ouroboros is by far the most popular post on my BLOG 

 

This is another comment from a visitor to COSMIC ADDRESS: Fantastic exhibition! Truly amazing colours, most difficult part. choosing a favourite. So interesting learning more about cosmology, your knowledge is incredible.

 

Landscape of Everything Oil on linen 80 x 140 cm 2013

 

Landscape of Everything was one of the paintings that sold. It will be stirring the imaginations of workers and clients at a Brisbane law practice...

 

 

_______________________________________________________________________________

 

COSMIC SOUND AND CREATIVE WORKSHOP

Tibetan Bowls Meditation and QiGong lead by Gabriele Engstrom

and

Drawing inspiration with artist Kathryn Brimblecombe-Fox

Saturday 9 November 2-4pm

Quaker Meeting House 10 Hampson St, Kelvin Grove, Brisbane

You will be taken beyond Earth-bound horizons channelling energy and inspiration from the Universe to awaken creative impulses to hear and feel new vibrations and to create drawings which reveal your core symbolism.

Yes, it’s a different kind of workshop!

Please wear comfortable clothes and a mat/rug to sit/lie on.

COST $50.00 per person.

Numbers are limited. Booking and payment requested by Tuesday 5 November

To book and pay click ‘Book Online’ at http://www.gabrieleengstrom.com then select COSMIC SOUND AND CREATIVE WORKSHOP to pay via PAYPAL.

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

3 D @ COSMIC ADDRESS

Landscape of Everything and Super Earths Discovered

 

COSMIC ADDRESS continues until this Sunday 27 October 6 pm.

29 Merthyr Rd, New Farm, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, Earth, Milky Way, The Universe

Open daily 10 am - 6 pm

 

COSMIC ADDRESS WEBPAGE

 

Visitors to the exhibition have had fun with the 3D glasses I keep at the gallery. Why do I keep 3D glasses on hand? Well... a few exhibitions ago it was pointed out to me that my paintings would 'go' 3D with 3D glasses. The fellow who suggested this, Michael, brought a pair of glasses to show me. And, WOW, I was very surprised and somewhat pleased considering I think a lot about other dimensions, new perspectives and more.

 

Since Michael alerted me to the 3 dimensionality of my work, I keep 3D Glasses at exhibitions.

 

I hasten to add though, I do not deliberately paint to create the 3D effect. It simply does not enter my mind. With the paintings in COSMIC ADDRESS I only looked at them with the glasses once the exhibition was hung...and what fun!!!!

 

One of the paintings with a big 3D WOW factor is Landscape of Everything [above left] The viewer actually feels like the red toned balls are about to hit them and that the blue toned balls are following, at speed, behind them. It's as if you are at the Big Bang! And, that's when EVERYTHING began, hence the title of the painting.

 

 

Cosmic Address and Storm

 

The two paintings above also 'go' 3D when viewed through 3D glasses. Storm is 'out there' with the red lines and shapes pouncing out of the painting and the white lightning receding back into the horizon. When the viewer moves the red lines move too! Cosmic Address seems to separate into different worlds!

 

So, if you want to have a 3D show come along to COSMIC ADDRESS...there are no computer simulations, just paint and Belgian linen...!

 

COSMIC ADDRESS WEBPAGE

 

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

 

 

COSMIC ADDRESS OPEN

Other Worlds Ahoy! and Landscape of Everything

 

 

My solo exhibition COSMIC ADDRESS is up and the doors opened yesterday 15 October.

 

Please click HERE for the COSMIC ADDRESS webpage.

 

I am really happy with how all the paintings 'speak' to each other!

 

I've had a busy couple of days already, with a steady stream of visitors. Lots of talking too!

 

 

 L to R: Cosmic Address, Other Worlds Ahoy! and Landscape of Everything

 L to R: Hope, Stormy Weather, Where? and Cosmic Ouroboros

 Towards The Past And Future and Eternity's Breath

 

 

 L to R: When It Rained On Mars, through the gap is Birth of Wisdom and Faith, Shadow's Secret and Other Worlds Ahoy!

 

 

 Landscape of Everything and Towards the Past and Future

 Are We There Yet? and Cosmic Address

 

 

L to R: Eternity's Breath, Hope, Stormy Weather, Where? and Cosmic Ouroboros

 

 

 

My post where I discuss Cosmic Ouroboros is the most visited post on my BLOG. You can read it by clicking HERE

 

Another popular post is my short story Stirring The Star Dust: A short story about digging. You can read it HERE

 

And, then there's my post stimulated by something motoring guru Jeremy Clarkson wrote. Intrigued? you can read Looking In The Rear Vision Mirror, Cosmically Speaking HERE

 

And then there's my recent post There's Something About Space where I launch into the new movie GRAVITY. You can check it out HERE

 

 

 

 

COSMIC ADDRESS

Earth Maybe Our Home, But The Universe Is Our Environment

 

15-27 October

 

Graydon Gallery

29 Merthyr Rd,

New Farm,

Brisbane,

Queensland,

Australia,

Earth,

Milky Way,

The Universe!

 

OPEN DAILY 10 am - 6 pm

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

SOMETHING ABOUT SPACE:

Where?  Oil on linen 50 x 50 cm 2013

Yesterday I saw the new movie GRAVITY starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock. I LOVED it. I was on the edge of my seat, totally gripped, for the entire film.

So why did I love it? Apart from the beauty of Earth seen from space, and the excitement of a catastrophic disaster in space, with people attempting to overcome unimaginable obstacles [one after the other], GRAVITY, at one level, is a story based on a real concern. And, it is a story that needs to be told in the 21st century because of this concern. Essentially the film is about manmade space debris causing mayhem as it hurtles, in this case, at great speed in repeated orbit around the Earth.

The space debris in GRAVITY is the result of two satellites colliding, causing large and small pieces of super engineered craft to become a repeating debris hailstorm. Catastrophically, some of these pieces of debris smash into other satellites and spacecraft, including the one our protagonists are working on. And, when I say working on... they are literally outside, attempting to make repairs.

Other Worlds Ahoy! Oil on linen 80 x 90 cm 2013

IT'S A STORY!
Now, at this point we need to remember that GRAVITY is a story, a fiction. Indeed, there have been a number of scientists who have clearly detailed how many of the actions, situations, pieces of equipment etc are not factually correct or possible [you can Google them].

And, as the film's director Alphonso Cuaron has said, It is not a documentary. It is a piece of fiction. 

But, many stories/fictions are sparked by reality where a fear, a desire, a suggestion, a possibility, especially proposed by science, stimulates creative juices.

REALITY!
So let's talk reality! In 2009 there was an actual collision between two satellites. The US Motorola owned Iridium communications satellite and an old deactivated Russian Cosmos 2251 satellite collided on February 10th 2009. This collision added to an already existing list of human-made debris in space.

Space debris has become a concern and NASA tracks every identified piece. Why? Because, debris, even one piece, may hit something important! And, the more debris there is, the likelihood of impacts is increased.  Orbital debris is considered the biggest threat to each shuttle mission, and every orbiter comes back with a number of small dings. [ABC News: An Unprecedented Space Collision, Feb 2009]

Here's some examples of space debris, as described on NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office: Derelict spacecraft and upper stages of launch vehicles, carriers for multiple payloads, debris intentionally released during spacecraft separation from its launch vehicle or during mission operations, debris created as a result of spacecraft or upper stage explosions or collisions, solid rocket motor effluents, and tiny flecks of paint released by thermal stress or small particle impacts.

Please read more at NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office...fascinating reading. Yes, they will shift the International Space Station [ISS] to avoid space debris! This happens!

LITTERING...FOR HOW LONG?
How long has it taken humankind to set up a situation where human-made space debris is a concern, so- much-so that it provides a stimulus for artistic license to incredibly extrapolate fears and dangers in a film like GRAVITY? Well, that would be since 1957 when the Russians launched the first satellite, Sputnik 1. It has taken us only around 55 years to litter space...or a part of space that's really important to us. The part where satellites, that keep us communicating, navigating, orientating, entertained, observing and more, orbit. Space debris is a 21st century problem.

GRAVITY is a reminder that our environment extends beyond our planet and its atmosphere!

 

BACK ON EARTH
So, this brings me to something I wondered about when I watched GRAVITY. In the film the hailstorm of debris wipes out numerous satellites, including the International Space Station [ISS]. I wondered if back-on-Earth, as a result of satellite reliant systems failure, airplanes fell out of the sky, the internet collapsed, ships went off course, financial systems went array...and more. The film gives few clues to what happened on Earth while feats of super-human endurance were enacted in space by Sandra Bullock's character, Dr. Stone...oh that's right it's just a story!

VISUAL METAPHORS
There are some visual metaphors that create subliminal connectors throughout the film. These relate to foetal positions, pods, first steps, umbilical cords, birth and birth canals, letting go, rebirth... Mother. I could write more on this, but maybe another time! Sandra Bullock, aka Dr. Stone's, emergence from the water where she crash lands, is a metaphor of birth or rebirth. This could be interpreted not just a new life for her, but also humanity.

EARTH MAYBE OUR HOME BUT THE UNIVERSE IS OUR ENVIRONMENT
GRAVITY, whilst it deals with only a miniscule section of space, clearly sends a message that 'environment' is something more than our planet Earth.


Southern Hemisphere Summer Space Program
In January2013 I attended the Southern Hemisphere Summer Space Program White Paper: Common Horizons delivery at the University of South Australia. The program is a five week intensive interdisciplinary program from the International Space University, hosted by the University of South Australia. My daughter attended the program...and did not want it to end because because it was so wonderful, stimulating and challenging. The White Paper focuses upon the management of space resources whilst providing recommendations on space sustainability through policy, awareness and technology. 

The White Paper discusses, among other issues, the topic of space debris, addressing it as a threat to space sustainability.

My daughter and I would highly recommend anyone with an interest in space and the various issues that are confronting us and will confront us as we move through the 21st century, to undertake the Southern Hemisphere Summer Space Program. 

In 2013 about 40 people completed the course. Some were undergrads, some graduates, some PhD students, and some who were already working in the industry or associated. Most were from a science or engineering background, but there was one from a law/humanities area...my daughter. Yes, the program is definitely cross and inter disciplinary! Apart from the science and engineering aspects, the program deals with legal and policy issues, cultural impacts, environmental horizons, international collaboration and more.

_______________________________________________________________

OSCAR AWARDS UPDATE 3-3-14
Gravity has won 7 Oscars, including best Director. 
Knew it was a great movie!

 

Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

TOOL KIT

In the sand dunes outside Abu Dhabi 2005 

My solo exhibition was held at the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation in December 2005

 

 

What do I mean by TOOL KIT? If you're a regular reader you will know I don't necessarily mean it as a literal tool kit, like the one a builder might have. My 'tool kit' still 'builds' though.

 

A SPEECH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND

I was reminded of my thoughts about a metaphoric 'tool kit' when I listened to the recording of the speech I made, as guest speaker, at the University Of Queensland's 2008 graduation ceremony for the Faculties of Arts, and Social and Behavioural Sciences. I chose the topic of 'Perspective' and alluded to the idea that an academic education is one tool, an important one, in the 'tool kit' for life.

 

I very firmly 'wore' my 'artist's hat' for the speech, suggesting that many of the attributes artists employ to create their work are important for everyone. I used various aspects of perspective as a way of illustrating this. Towards the end of the speech I suggest that an education is like a brush stroke on a canvas...that as time goes by a picture of a life emerges. But, like an artist we can move back and forth from the 'canvas' of life to gain new perspectives...and the possibility of new directions.

 

You can listen to my speech at this link:

http://omc.uq.edu.au/audio/graduation08/KBrimblecombeFox_160708.mp3

 

I recently wrote a post about PUTTING ON A SHOW It's an insight into the plethora of things an artist needs to think about when 'putting on a show' ie: an exhibition. It explains some of the more practical 'tools' in my 'kit'!

 

 

SELECTED PAST PERSPECTIVE POSTS:

 

ART, PERSPECTIVE AND POLITICS

A NOT SO IMPOSSIBLE DREAM: A SHORT STORY ABOUT EARTH AND THE UNIVERSE

AN ALTERNATIVE TO PERSPECTIVE

PERSPECTIVE DISTANCE

 

 

 

That's Life Oil on linen 55 x 80 cm 2006

 

UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND SENATE ELECTIONS

 

So, while I am on the topic of the University of Queensland...I have been nominated for one of the three graduate positions on the University of Queensland Senate.

 

The election period is Tuesday 8 October - 9 am Monday 21 October.

 

Voting will be via an online ballot only.
 

Click HERE to view all nominations, plus access links to the ballot page. If you are a graduate of UQ you are eligible to vote for graduate representation. However, you will need your student number...I know...not something you keep in the forefront of your memory. But, all is not lost, you can ring or email the Elections Officer and she will retrieve your student number. [Ms Tina Ferguson, Elections Officer on  61 (07) 3365 3360 or at uqelections@uq.edu.au] If you email her please provide your name [graduating name], birth date and preferred email address.

 

Needless to say, I'd be delighted if you would vote for me please. I am keen to be part of the University's ongoing quest for rigour and excellence, especially in the fast paced life of the 21st century. I'd definitely employ the powers of 'perspective' I've gained over many years... and learn new ones too.

 

BRIEF UQ HISTORY

1980 B.A. [Double major Art History]

2001 Successfully completed a bridging course to enable entry, by invitation, into a PhD [Art History]. I decided not undertake the PhD because I wanted to concentrate on my visual art practice.

A full CV can be viewed HERE

 

 

_____________________________________________________________________

 



 

COSMIC ADDRESS: Earth Maybe Our Home, But The Universe Is Our Environment

 

Tuesday 15 - Sunday 27 October

 

Cosmic Address Oil on linen 90 x 180 cm 2013

 

My next solo exhibition is just around the corner.

 

The gallery's 'cosmic address' is:

Graydon Gallery,

29 Merthyr Rd,

New Farm,

Brisbane,

Queensland,

Australia,

Earth,

Milky Way,

The Universe/Multiverse/21st Century.

 

EXHIBITION DATES: Tuesday 15 - Sunday 27 October.

Open daily 10 am - 6 pm or by appointment

 

All the details, artist's statement, events and images can be viewed on my

COSMIC ADDRESS PAGE

 

All the paintings, prices etc can be viewed HERE

 

 

My last BLOG post COUNT DOWN was a playful ramble about the 'count down' to COSMIC ADDRESS...

-Playing with ideas stimulated by the recent discovery by physicists of the amplituhedron.

-Plus Prof Nick Bostrom's theories on post-humans manipulating us via computer simulations.

-Plus a short reflection on Jean Baudrillard.

All this 'play' posing questions about whether a count down and a cosmic address are possible or not!

 

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

COUNT DOWN

Towards The Past and Future Gouache on paper 2013

 

 

Count Down has begun for my exhibition COSMIC ADDRESS! The doors are open from Tuesday 15 October... 3 weeks away. The exhibition will end on Sunday 27 October. 

 

I rather like the term 'Count Down' in reference to an exhibition called COSMIC ADDRESS.

 

Let me explain...as well as I can.

There are a few things that have lead me to wonder...and wonder.

 

One is this most fascinating article A Jewel At The heart Of Quantum Physics by Natalie Wolchova in Quanta Magazine . It is about the fact that Physicists have discovered a jewel-shaped geometric object that challenges the notion that space and time are fundamental constituents of nature.

 

The geometric object is an amplituhedron...yes an amplituhedron!

 

Here are a few quotes, but please read the whole article and the comments it has attracted.

 

.....the new geometric approach to particle interactions removes locality and unitarity from its starting assumptions. The amplituhedron is not built out of space-time and probabilities; these properties merely arise as consequences of the jewel’s geometry. The usual picture of space and time, and particles moving around in them, is a construct.

 

And: 

 

But the new amplituhedron research suggests space-time, and therefore dimensions, may be illusory anyway.

 

And:

 

Beyond making calculations easier or possibly leading the way to quantum gravity, the discovery of the amplituhedron could cause an even more profound shift, Arkani-Hamed said. That is, giving up space and time as fundamental constituents of nature and figuring out how the Big Bang and cosmological evolution of the universe arose out of pure geometry.

 

Ye gads! Holy mackerel! Hey what!

 

Where does all of that place a COSMIC ADDRESS?

 

 

Shadow's Secret Gouache on paper 2013

 

 

I did say there were a few things that have made me wonder...

 

SIMULATION

The next is  Prof Nick Bostrom's idea that we are living in a simulation, somehow determined by a post-human project/'life' of re-'living' humanity's history. But, there's more, the simulation includes the creation/re-creation of the Universe...even the multiverse. So, it's a pretty stupendous simulation! These poor post-humans essentially have no life of their own...they just recapture memory...certainly not a pathway to Utopia one would think?! Could be more Kafkaesque?

 

LIVING INSIDE A COMPUTER

So, we maybe living inside a computer? But, then again we may not? But if, indeed, we are living inside a computer it would have to be a really magnificent computer and probably not recognisable as a computer to us, otherwise we'd detect the subtext, the guile, the subterfuge...wouldn't we? But, as the Professor writes, if someone did detect something, the post-human simulators could eradicate the memory of detection, wipe the slate clean...and the simulation would continue.

 

But....maybe the Professor's postulation is a sign of the simulation itself...maybe an undetected leakage from the post-human future or maybe a deliberate play...a teasing loop?

 

And...maybe... the discovery of the amplituhedron, and it's indication that time and space are illusions, is evidence that the simulation postulation is indeed plausible?

 

So, if we are living in a computer simulation, it would be fair to say that we are, in French philosopher Jean Baudrillard's seductive terms, fatally mediated. Because, if we are living in a simulation based on 'memory', the world has already come to an end. Our fundamental destiny is not to exist and survive, as we think: it is to appear and disappear.**

 

 

Cosmic Ouroboros  Oil on linen 120 x 150 cm 2012

 

And,

 

When I was very young, laying awake at night or gazing out the school bus windows, I used to wonder if Life was orchestrated by someone or something that moved us and everything else around like pieces of a board game. I remember thinking that whoever/whatever was in control would have to think of a lot! But, I also thought it would be great fun...

 

But:

 

Back to COSMIC ADDRESS:

If time and space are illusions then a COUNT DOWN and an ADDRESS are actually illusions too! Why... because counting, in this way, is a 'measurement' of time and an address is normally a place in a geographic space. And a COSMIC ADDRESS is situated in time and space...seemingly so anyway.

 

The three paintings above will be in COSMIC ADDRESS.

 

 

** Baudrillard, J. Fatal Strategies, Semiotext[e], Columbia University, NY, 1990 P. 175

 

 

_____________________________________________________________________

 

 

COSMIC ADDRESS:

Earth Maybe Our Home But The Universe Is Our Environment

Solo Exhibition

 

BRISBANE

15-27 October

 

Graydon Gallery

29 Merthyr Rd, New Farm, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, Earth, The Universe

 

Please check out  my

 

COSMIC ADDRESS PAGE

 

for all the details!

 

______________________________________________________________________
 

 

 If you have not already done so, please read my last post Putting On A Show

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com