Tags
No tags :(
Circumferential
[ser-kuhm-fuh–ren-shuh l]
adjective
1. of, at, or near the circumference; surrounding; lying along the outskirts.
2. lying within the circumference.
3. circuitous; indirect: a circumferential manner of speech.
How it all started is gone from memory, perhaps the idiotic expression “thinking outside the box” led me to a circuitous thinking that once begun became unstoppable, always another object to be captured. As in the past it began with signs [http://rantanddawdle.ca/2013/11/21/signs-of-the-time-2/], then on to bicycles, wheels, tires, mushrooms, plant pots, bits and pieces of machinery; even holes.
I’ve been reminded of an oft repeated question: “Whatever happened to the Volkswagen Beetle?” – never seeing one passing in the street when in the past they were so common, and then, after thinking about them, they appeared everywhere. All colours and condition – pristine or rattletraps – trundling along the street, stopped at an intersection, disappearing around a corner. And so with circular objects. Suddenly they were everywhere.
I have been a photographer for more than half century, mostly documenting the music I loved, almost always as monochromatic images. This all changed with the purchase of a Cannon S100 digital camera, a machine far beyond the idea of photography, able to take pictures of brilliant quality under the most difficult of situations, its computerized memory system able to adjust to a wide variety of conditions. The ability to make video film with a soundtrack an added attraction [http://rantanddawdle.ca/2015/04/07/beholding-•-film/].
I am a tad reticent to describe this current way of capturing images as photography, so many elements of that artform missing. The knowledge of speeds and exposures, that in my case was always in limited light situations; darkroom techniques – processing the film and finally producing the prints. All of which can now be achieved with a computer and ink jet printer. Or a town trip to London Drugs where a good quality 11” x 14” print can be obtained for the price of a pair of nylon socks. Perhaps an alternative description to photography could be Digital Image Retrieval System.
The sixty-one images displayed in Circumferential were not chosen in advance, represent nothing more than objects with vaguely circular shapes that have caught my attention. Many of them are about on my walks, some on travels to nearby towns, others around our house. Mostly just subjects tickling my fancy.
The soundtrack titled “Hats Off – For Maury”, a tribute to fellow saxophonist and friend Maury Coles who passed into the spirit world in 2001, is performed by Stuart Broomer (piano) and yours truly (soprano saxophone). I came upon this recording whilst rummaging through boxes of cassette tapes, searching for interesting material connected to my life as a musician. This is from a session in the second half of the seventies. There is no information as to where it was recorded.
When I first began to perform in Toronto my constant companion was Stuart Broomer. He introduced me to the intimate coterie of players who were outside of the normal jazz circles. [http://rantanddawdle.ca/2013/09/29/conversation-pieces-toronto-1976/] His musical and literary tastes helped me along the way, most importantly entering the musical world of Albert Ayler, the art of Francis Bacon and Aubrey Beardsley, the writings and philosophies of Aleister Crowley. A disparate bunch.