Xerograph (2014)

XEROGRAPHY THE SUBLIME AND THE VISUALLY INDETERMINATE

The xerographic process is a dry printing technique utilizing electromagnetic charge to dictate the consistency and structure of charged pigments. The particular process used to create ‘Xerograph’ (see fig 1, 2 and 3), involved shocking an insulating thermoelectric polymer with electrical current and using the residing electromagnetic charge to dictate the placement of toner over the surface (Evans, 2014). Creating completely random patterns derived from nature.

The act of perceiving is a conscious reception of sensorial information in combination with subconscious interpretation based on preconceived ideas regarding the subject. Perception is a language and must be learned, in the same way that the mind can be trained to recognise symbols on a page it can be trained to understand the various sensory systems of the human body: visual, aural, somatic, gustatory, olfactory and vestibular (Rinder, 1999). The senses are paradoxical as they offer truest means of interpreting reality whilst not actually being real, they give only an illusion of reality, limited by the spectrums and distances at which they can function (Pepperell, 2006). Perception of sense is distorted by preconceptions and assumptions, and can be deceived by an aberration in either. ‘Xerograph’ plays on this anomaly in perception to create images that both intrigue and perplex their viewer. Influenced by the visually indeterminate work of Robert Pepperell, the psychological approach of Hermann Rorschach and the intangible sublime.

A visual indeterminate image is one that isn’t immediately perceivable; it challenges cognitive process of recognition and inhibits rationalization through the distortion of distinguishable subject matter, form, colour and tone (Pepperell, 2006). Robert Pepperell compares visual indeterminacy to a “momentary perceptual aberration” (2006), whereby an image is indistinguishable before a prolonged period concentration is applied. Pepperell’s ‘05’ (see fig. 4) is successful as an indeterminate image, because it is devoid of any logical form. The painterly tonal and textural nature of the ‘05’ appears familiar, but composition as whole resembles nothing in particular (Pepperell, 2006). ‘Xerograph’ is much the same due to the natural generation of tones over an electromagnetic field, the texture of the toner appears like charcoal, while the patterns created are far too fine and organic to be made by hand. Only texture and tonality are perceivable until the mind creates forms from patterns and preconceived imagination (Rinder, 1999).

Perception in visual imagery is in no way confined to the art world, the psychologist Hermann Rorschach incorporated visually indeterminate imagery into a test judging the emotional outlook of patients (Schott, 2013). Dubbed the ‘Rorschach Ink Blot’ test, the concept was for a viewer to discern forms from a series of symmetrical ink splatter images and according to the nature of forms they perceived, a psychoanalytical conclusion could be found (Schott, 2013). Rorschach hypothesised that “symmetry abolishes any suggestion of accident” and “invites us to search for a meaningful description” (Schott, 2013) meaning that indeterminate images that have the illusion of form encourage a more thorough examination. ‘Xerograph’ integrates the same concept, using symmetry to imply the illusion of form and something distinguishable, imploring the viewer to pay closer attention to the patterns and textures in the visually indeterminate images. Further accentuating the perceptual differences in the “relationship between the conscious mind and reality” (Pepperell, 2006).

The sublime, a term derivative of the awe-inspiring qualities of natural phenomena, is used to describe the extremities of emotion caused by the perceiving of something we cannot comprehend (Eco, 2004). Frederic Schiller hypothesises that in the sublime “reason and sensuousness do not harmonize”(2014), meaning we are forced to either, imagine more than our senses experience or accept that the experience is beyond the limits of understanding (Eco, 2004). ‘Xerograph’ is an example of an artwork that evokes the sublime, because it is a direct visual representation of nature’s power (Stewart, 2005). Electromagnetism is not sensorially tangible so we have no preconception about its visual appearance and the patterns generated in the xerographic process are sublime, literally recording electricity. The aesthetic of these xerographic prints also resembles the fractal based constructs of solar systems and galaxies, evoking a sense of the divine (Eco, 2004).

‘Xerograph’ is a work devised to challenge viewer perception. As a visually indeterminate image it is devoid of logical form and is not perceivable as a composition. It implies the illusion of deliberate form and accentuates the differences between the viewer’s perception and reality. ‘Xerograph’ is a record of nature’s power depicting the sublime and alluding to the divine. Perception is individual; it is both the reality of the perceiver and an illusion of the real, perception is in flux (Pepperell, 2006).

Reference List:


Eco, U. (2004). History of beauty / edited by Umberto Eco ; translated by Alastair McEwen. New York : Rizzoli, 2004.

Pepperell, R. (2006). Seeing without Objects: Visual Indeterminacy and Art. Leonardo, (5). 394. doi:10.1162/leon.2006.39.5.394.

Rinder, L. (1999). Searchlight : consciousness at the millennium / edited by Lawrence Rinder. New York, N.Y. : Thames & Hudson, 1999.

Schott, G. (2014). Revisiting the Rorschach ink-blots: from iconography and psychology to neuroscience. Journal Of Neurology, Neurosurgery, And Psychiatry, 85(6), 699-706. doi:10.1136/jnnp-2013-305672

Stewart, S. (2005). The open studio : essays on art and aesthetics / Susan Stewart. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2005.

Luke Evans,. (2014). PORTFOLIO. Retrieved 25 August 2014, from http://luk-e.com/portfolio/

Robertpepperell.com,. (2014). Monochrome Series 2005 / 05.jpg. Retrieved 25 August 2014, from http://www.robertpepperell.com/Artpages/showpics/pages/05_jpg.htm

Schillerinstitute.org,. (2014). Translations of works by Schiller -Of the sublime. Retrieved 24 August 2014, from http://www.schillerinstitute.org/transl/trans_on_sublime.html

Image List:

Figure 1 I (2014). van Dijk, Jay [Monochrome photograph].

Figure 2 III (2014). van Dijk, Jay [Monochrome photograph].

Figure 3 III (2014). van Dijk, Jay [Monochrome photograph].

Figure 4 . 05 (2005). Pepperell, Robert [Oil on Canvas]. Retrieved from http://www.robertpepperell.com/Artpages/showpics/index.htm

Bibliography:

http://www.robertpepperell.com/Artpages/showpics/index.htm
http://theenergyissue.com/post/91254556745/luke-evans-xero-xerographic-print-series-by
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_test#mediaviewer/File:Rorschach_blot_05.jpg