Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Visual Log

I haven't posted in a long, long time. Unfortunately, my digital camera met a watery death at the chelsea flower show. I also lost several negatives in my Nikon FE which I left on a bus in Glasgow along with my 80-200 mm and 28-55 mm lenses. blog will now function as a visual log required as part of my courses in England. I have become interested in entrances, or entrance being denied, and the hidden spaces behind doors. I am documenting locks, hinges and the marks doors and gates make on the ground and walls (canyon faces) around them, as a way do deal with the movement of doors, a routine motion with specific machinery and hardware to protect/manipulate a space. There is quite a variety among locks, in colour, size and shape. Why are there so many different designs for items with the same function? People need every item to have interesting designs or colours, that let their items stand apart from the rest. I think this is an important aspect of visual culture, and applies to many different items, not just locks. Locks draw attention to the fact you can't access a space.
The methods people use to fasten and hold things together are myriad, given the limitations on space and lack of sturdy anchors in many places. Wonderful pieces of engineering which are often pocket size. Sometimes ingeniously simple, sometimes deviously complicated, the lock is worth a look. it can keep you out, or in. It can protect your belongings, or frustrate your efforts to use the things you need. Hinges are often complicit in the locking act.