#scansmear

Continuing to pursue analogies between sound and visual, finding certain processes are more adaptable across disciplines. Half speed playback allows us to hear between the grains in a much more detailed soundscape than a half light sheds on an imagescape; not underestimating the subtleties of shadow and light, honest.

Or, there’s a start point and you plunder forth, and see what’s round any particular perspective. Maybe in the visual process there are more satisfying artefacts (in an antifact era) generated through the stages of manipulation during the realisation of a final object?

With the last major project, the box set ‘From the Penman Press’ trawling the residue, all packaging having been recycled, there was a good supply of tricolour tissue paper which proved a remarkable sound source rustled or tapped creating acceptable snares and panning white noise to mock the barrier between visual and audio.

The economic decision was made to dispatch via bubble wrap and a plastic envelope. Packaging has become a particular fascination for me in this on-line purchasing era.

See here the plastic Mailer:

From this utilitarian object remained the clear plastic strip which protected the envelope’s adhesive strip until addressed and sealed.

See here (just visible) the detached plastic strip from the envelope:

Rather than throw these away they were put to one side, lurking feeling they could have some future use. Collected in. See here a plastic bag:

One idea was to fill a vessel with these plastic strips to create a light deflecting sculpture of some description (static lava lamp) but the vessel creation proved problematic. And the hairdryer was occupied.

The idea of using them as part of a stencil came to mind.

From a record Mailer stiffener, keeping in the Norman theme, a frame was made to mount the plastic strips which were then sellotaped making a spray ready straight line stencil.

Before and After Spraycan and other relevant images now follow:

Geometric parallel lines were a basic way to see if the principle of making a stencil from the strips would work.

(Is it more mask than stencil? Here beginneth the learner’s block of phohostop… all is mask, stencil, smear)

The canvas chosen was a record Norman mailer (if you didn’t, now you do) destined as a present for my friend Daniel’s birthday.

Big birthday card here:

So the first level and original raison d’être was complete. The remaining stain on the mask/ stencil from the 2 coloured sprays were most surprising and interesting so now was the time to shine some light, comme ça:

Through which was generated this object:

As an aside the SprayCans drips did this unrequested dance:

The stained stencil stared at me for a couple of weeks, surely not the end of its use? When once again the illumination light was switched.

The simple yet effective process of moving the object whilst the scan is doing its scanning, resulting in pleasant smears of which the world can’t have enough. Although reflection and taste should perhaps direct us to use smudge in preference to smear.

The potentially last offshoot from the humble plastic strip,

SmearScanStencil in Red and Black: