Proposal

One human being is an original, unique and sole individual. As a whole, human beings can build and fill colossal buildings and thus, continents and our planet. From our planet we can look up at the sky and see millions of stars that together create galaxies. We are forced to understand how minute we are compared to our universe. Yet we ourselves are made up of atoms, to whom we are the universe. As we live our lives, whether or not we recognize how small or big we are, we tend to over look the tiny, single objects that make up our world. The tiny, single objects make up oceans, forests, and seemingly infinite beaches. I am interested in exploring the individual, the small part, the insignificant along with introducing the bigger environment they create. I have zoomed into the details that make up objects that we consider infinitesimal because we are all one part of a bigger whole.

I have three main ideas for a final project. I find myself interested in digital photography as my main media for my final project. The photos would range from macro, up-close shots of sand, wood, shells, flowers, trees, leaves, bricks, moss, fabric, etc. The photos will gradually progress towards their larger counter parts such as a leaf juxtaposed with a forest. Other 'big' idea pictures would include crowds of people, ocean, buildings, fields, and other vast open spaces. To display the photos I would rent a projector and project the photos onto a brick wall outside in order to tie in the idea of how small objects, such as bricks are placed together to form monumental buildings, integrating the idea of “part of a whole”.  The photos would in turn become as huge as possible, which would greatly help provide meaning for my source. They would be shown in order from smallest possible to largest within an allotted time, showing the progression of parts creating something bigger. The issue is that it would have to be dark, which is not when our class takes place. A variation on the installation is projecting it onto a white wall within the building where all light can removed. I have not made an installation piece yet, and am very intoxicated with the idea. The project would mainly focus on close macro shots that would lead into a bigger picture of a landscape and our world. This final project may transform into a very abstract representation of my source, “Part of a whole”. Another issue that may arise is that the photos, once projected may become pixilated and blurry. This would hinder the photos from being as large as necessary to express my source. My last variation is to present my photos in a book that would be very small, to show how small things can be. The book would come with a Lego cover to echo the idea of bricks, and how something grand, such as a building, is made up of small parts.

I am inspired by Ansel Adams to take grand landscape photos, that will show viewers how something small, such as a leaf, can make up a forest. Fig 2 is a gelatin silver print done by Adams which shows the vastness of a forest. I also really enjoy Minor White's use of a frosted window abstraction to introduce the idea of the sky, or landscape such as in Fig 3. I really want to play with more abstractions of objects we see everyday in order to really play with our perception of the world and what is infinitesimal.

The idea of “part of a whole” has been prevalent greatly in philosophy, theory, logic calculus, and metamathematics. There is a science that is actually based solely from this thought called Mereology. Mereology is defined as the formal theory and study of part-whole relationships. This really interested me and though I would like to introduce a mathematical theory into my presentation, I am not planning on it. Through my research I found a poem by Robert Francis called “Part for the whole”, Fig 1. The poem is related to my source. The speaker talks about fragments and building something, which is relevant to my ideas as well. I found it interesting that a poem was written about this idea. It is a different approach that I did not think of, but also am not planning to pursue. 

Fig 1.

“Part for the Whole”

By: Robert Francis

When others run to windows or out of doors 

To catch the sunset whole, he is content 

With any segment anywhere he sits. 

From segment, fragment, he can reconstruct 

The whole, prefers to reconstruct the whole, 

As if to say, I see more seeing less. 

A window to the east will serve as well 

As window to the west, for eastern sky 

Echoes the western sky. And even less— 

A patch of light that picture-glass happens 

To catch from window-glass, fragment of fragment, 

Flawed, distorted, dulled, nevertheless 

Gives something unglassed nature cannot give: 

The old obliquity of art, and proves 

Part may be more than whole, least may be best.