Book of Jam 5: Quanta

[TheBang]

Book of Jam 5: Quanta, now available in Member's section.

Downloading as soon as they get it posted.

[pafufta816]

only a band like underworld would offer such an extensive experience for the listener/fan. :`))))))))

[dubman]

reminds me of the spikee video
another reminder that no one image is really insignificant, in fact it's probably the pursuit of "significant" images that misses the broad picture that so many small ones can put together

really enjoyed this one, even if the halftone is a little heavy on the eyes

[holden]

Originally Posted by dubman

reminds me of the spikee video
another reminder that no one image is really insignificant, in fact it's probably the pursuit of "significant" images that misses the broad picture that so many small ones can put together

really enjoyed this one, even if the halftone is a little heavy on the eyes

Yeah, i can see the similarity to Spikee's quick, repeated pix of birds, crowns, babies, random shots.

i dunno about the insignificant adding up to a whole in this case. While i haven't poured over what the high concept is, at first glance, this appears to be disparate snapshots joined only by the halftone pixelation. i say this as having done the graphic design courses on way to art major (for what that's worth - not much since i'm employed in science not art these days )... the common treatment suggests collectivity. As the prelude says these are but a selection from hundreds of images, i have no doubt that they've been carefully collated. But this is a common graphic trick: repetition, even of unrelated things, when treated in similar manner, creates a sum suggestively much more than the parts. But individually and as a whole, this is less impressive to me than the previous Books of Jam. Take anyone's digital photo album and apply the same effect (mesotint, pointilist, halftone, swirl, whatever photoshop allows), and in succession, it'll look dang impressive at first blush, and with minimal narration or collation, there can be a neat, artful story to tell (sidenote: if i learned anything in art courses, it's the art of BS'ing!).

[dubman]

Originally Posted by holden

Yeah, i can see the similarity to Spikee's quick, repeated pix of birds, crowns, babies, random shots.

i dunno about the insignificant adding up to a whole in this case. While i haven't poured over what the high concept is, at first glance, this appears to be disparate snapshots joined only by the halftone pixelation. i say this as having done the graphic design courses on way to art major (for what that's worth - not much since i'm employed in science not art these days )... the common treatment suggests collectivity. As the prelude says these are but a selection from hundreds of images, i have no doubt that they've been carefully collated. But this is a common graphic trick: repetition, even of unrelated things, when treated in similar manner, creates a sum suggestively much more than the parts. But individually and as a whole, this is less impressive to me than the previous Books of Jam. Take anyone's digital photo album and apply the same effect (mesotint, pointilist, halftone, swirl, whatever photoshop allows), and in succession, it'll look dang impressive at first blush, and with minimal narration or collation, there can be a neat, artful story to tell (sidenote: if i learned anything in art courses, it's the art of BS'ing!).

haha, i think i can one-up you there, i come from an art history background before getting a graphic design degree. i'm a bit rusty, but with a little warm up i can BS with ribbons and a top hat three times around this book and say different things each time.
but i count on them to be honest, so i respond in kind. i'm not above calling out fakery, and i'm more cynical than i like, but i dont see it here. if anything i dont see the half-tone as anything more than a matter of aesthetics; if it's meant to unify it it'd be awfully cheap and i wouldnt think it's really.. relevant considering there's a stronger thread of nature, science, culture and history running through it (and into each other), which feels very much like warwicker. i think it's interesting because i'm a stranger coming into something meaningful to someone, and the ambiguity of the sum allows me to make what i will of it. for lots of people that sort of flexibility is disingenuous, and many others try it but it's too hamfisted to be much more than cliche. but here it feels like some recreational mental acrobatics. interpretation pulls in different directions and the misunderstandings become as interesting as whatever the real reason is for this.
aside from that i just like the images. again the fundamental images could just be some sentimental cheese factory or an over-random "observe the profundity" posturing that's just as transparent. instead they're just fun to look at while it's there and could be more if you wanted to bother. it'd be more fun if the halftone werent so pronounced, but if ambiguity is the game (which, if i understand it right, is what riverrun really likes) then it fits and it's just being visually difficult.