> rwhyte: can you elaborate on the following?
>
> >bringing data into line with the medium
You might think of this in Greenburgian terms, wherein the artwork
conforms with or presents the characteristic traits of its medium.
Caravaggio's chiaroscuro (very different from, say, that of Leonardo)
creates a very flat, shallow space marked only by certain elements which
appear to protrude through the surface of the painting. Thus the painting
as _surface_ is foregrounded. As well his use of a high contrast between
light and shade underscores the tonal range of the medium (compared to
that of fresco). You can take this further - look at the
self-referentiality of his costumes, wry expressions, etc.
> [...]
> > a kind of "data compression" in the interest of drama, influenced in turn by
> >stage-space....
>
Data compression: receding spaces become suggested, blocked off - instead
of fully drawn out in perspective. Caravaggio was probably influenced by
the shallow space of the stage.
I'm not interested, of course, in Greenburgian ideas of good-better-best,
what a painting _should do_ as a painting, etc. Still the notion of
self-referentiality might have some merit if it is used to question the
spatial possibilities of a given medium. In this light I find Alan
Sondheim's writings and web pages on the internet a strong example of the
artwork understanding (tricky word here) the possibilities of its medium -
its psychic, textual, and graphical spaces. What Robbin Murphy said about
PORT might be explored too - that _blurring_ of space....
Regards,
Ryan Whyte
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------
> a forum on spatial articulations, perspectives, and procedures
> texts are the property of individual authors
> for information, email majordomo@forum.documenta.de with
> the following line in the message body: info blast
> archive at http://www.documenta.de/english/blasta.htm
> or http://www.documenta.de/deutsch/blasta.htm
> documenta X Kassel and http://www.documenta.de 1997
> -------------------------------------------------------------
>