Utopia

[habakuk]

(click>zoom)

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[aprilS]

It is difficult to put into words a visceral reaction to a vision!

I'll go with my first thoughts here as an interpretation of the title...

So clean, so pure, so organized. Beautifully elegant. Cool and calm.

Evoking the feeling of a scenario that is essentially lifeless, and remote.

There's a suggestion of water and sky, and a machine that sucks organisms out of the water of life to "purify" them for its own ideal.

Purification. Getting rid of all the "nasty bits" of life.

[eob]

I tried a couple of times to address this image and I just couldn't find the right comment. I think this is the toughest of Roland's images to comment on.

It is ingenious (or, plain genius) in its simplicity and complexity all at the same time. Both real and abstract, completely taking by surprise, and yet, displaying obvious characteristics of modern art. Dadaistic graphics of Max Ernst come to my mind right away. The difference is Ernst has found his images in his mind. Roland finds his in his mind AND in real world. That is truly amazing...

P.S. Sorry for the incoherent digressions.

[aprilS]

There is a kind of a primary action of visual stimuli that reaches our brain without going through the formal dissection in recognizable elements. And whenever this kind of direct impact happens, we feel connected to what we see. This "feeling connected" is not based on conscious logic, judging, liking. It has a much more direct link to our emotions and subconscious levels.

Re-reading Roland's comment above on another thread, I feel like that might be exactly what is happening here...

[eob]

You're probably right, April...

[habakuk]

Oh. What a surprise to come back and read all those kind comments. <blush> I'd have a hard time to explain what makes this shot work for me, but after looking at it again and again, I think one of the key elements is the tiny bright line that runs down to the right corner. This alone isn't working, but without it, the rest feels so much more flat.

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