25.11.04 | Staircase Analogies (+The Saturnyne Get All Angular)
Nietzche said:
"If you gaze into The Abyss, then the Abyss will gaze also into you".
These photographs, are part of a much larger project that i have been working casually on for many years.
The idea for the project came about upon the discovery of a French Parisian phrase i discovered:
L'esprit D'escalier.
I'm not sure if that's the correcr spelling. But at this time of night, i can't be arsed to go and check. Anyway, it means The Spirit of the Staircase and defines that precise moment when you've lost the argument, and stormed out of some (Parisian) apartment, and are standing on that(Parisian) staircase, suddenly thinking of all the things, those witty, cutting, scathing things that you would have liked to have remembered to have said during the aforementioned argument.
And now it's too late. You lost. Deal with it. Or don't.
AS i took the pictures, over several years, i began also to see a Yin and Yang within them, and started to imagine the stairs as a connection between Heaven and Hell:
You stand at the summit... and you stare down into The Abyss, into the terror below... you may be in your Heaven, but feel a chill emanating from those depths. You know a moment of fear...
You crouch in the depths, wretched, and gaze up into the beautiful light. The light offers redemption. You know you can never reach it. And your agony is increased manifold by that hopeless hope...
I The Saturnyne, traverse the path between these points. Without ever reaching or touching either of them. That is my blessing. That is my curse.
L'esprit d'Escalier1
L'esprit d'Escalier1 (At last i find a use for the "Glowing Edges" filter in Photoshop)
L'esprit d'Escalier2 Oh, the lines! HElp!- I'm falliiiiii-
L'esprit d'Escalier3(More angles than you can shake a pointy stick at!)
These pics are for Darkchild And Princess Potty Mouth who requested "Nothing". I hope my interpretation fulfills that request... more pictures of other requests will follow as i pull the scrumpled bits of paper out of the rat... (i couldn't find a hat, so i got a "volunteer").
PS: i also suffer from vertigo...
16 comments :.
Escher in photgraph.
You asked me a little while ago what I would like to see you photograph. I would like to see your hands.
hands it is, then... or hand...
swish
do more escher stuff
like a photo of an impossible shape :P
wow...how strange. Looking at those images, I don’t sense heaven or hell, or an abyss, but I get a sense of time, like I am looking down into centuries past, and if I descended the stairs perhaps I will find the renaissance or medieval times, or if I went far enough, maybe even times before recorded history. Perhaps the further down you go the more ancient and dilapidated the stair is, but I can only see a small part of it, those parts closest to me. And what would I find if I was to ascend?…both possibilties seem frightening and wonderful at the same time.
Wow! A plethora of great comments!
Real cool comm. Zen! I always take great delight in seeing other peoples visions in my constructs. I have thought about your words at great length today. =]
Escher, eh? Not thought of that... but now i do, i think i may have some other one's lying around which you may find even more Escher like... won't be posting them until the new year though... it's a matter of finding the time to scan and remove any imperfections, y'see...
Grand - I love Escher (and Dali & Geiger but they may be a little more tricky!)
Meant to ask - did you nick the link to the film on your previous post from Sat's Guardian??! And I took my house of me blog - you are right and sensible as ever!
Bet ya still had a look though!
stairway to heaven or dante's inferno?
i love it!! the choice is ours and the idea is yours...
thanks for lovely imaginings that come from 'nowhere'
-stellabella
;)
Very cool pictures! Thanks... looking into the distance in the midst of the stairwells I was confronted with the future, the unknown and myself. I like.
Cheers! Am curious to know though, if anyone likes the second pic more or less than the others?
Am quite fond of it meself, but mebbe i'm just infatuated with it looking different?
S.
If anyone reads this. Apologies for not dropping by anyones blog. Am feeling empty. Will return in a little while...
I love the pics. :-)
But that last one... I don't know. It makes me uncomfortable. Reminds me of a place I don't want to be. It looks just like a hospital I was in as a child; brought there after an accident I had, and was seeing views like that from the gurney I was laying on. The black & white makes it feel that much more cold.
the empties hmmm?
not a problem! i'll just send you beams and beams of light bubbles and in no time (or about 30 seconds) you'll start floating and giggling uncontrollably and anyone who is near you will be caught by your contagious joy, then next thing you know, all of england will be rolling around laughing with tears streaming from their eyes and people can't tell if they're laughing or crying but it doesn't matter because everyone's got a goofy smile on their faces and can't stop.
just because you're a friend and you've done the same for me many times.
cheers and bubble lights!
How come when I requested hands, I got nuthin? Okay. BRING ON THE KIMONO!
Thanks, Stella. Your medicine worked a treat. =} I really should keep some of my positive vibes in reserve for meself at times...
Hey, dear Cece, i hadn't forgotten your request! Assuredly, at least one of your requests will appear as soon as it gets pulled outta the rat. The fact that both you and Janey want hands makes it more easy for meee. (Although, i'm not sure how i'm gonna both hold this digital camera AND shoot me hands, too!
S.x
Sorry CeCe, didn't recall you asking for hands! I'll have to think of something original now....
However, husband just been in a car crash (he's ok thank god), but brain is pixilated so inspiration will have to wait.
S, will try and blog proper tomorrow - glad you are feeling a bit brighter - J/xx
No no no! Janey! Hands is gooood! Cece also asked for other stuff, too, and i intend to fulfil ALL requests one way or another...
*grins mischievously*
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