InKan

The speed of the applet depends on the speed of your computer ls as the transformations are generated on the spot, it is not a looped movie. The "movie" could go forever. The higher resolution movie is in the (by me) intended speed. By comparing the applet and the video it is perceived how the different relations between mathematical transformations and time alter the work.

About the InSeries:

The works In2, InU2 and InKan belong to a series of moving stills, which I call InSeries. The works are referred to as moving stills because they are a combination of an image and a family of mathematical transformations acting on the image in a manner which can be realized as a deformation in time (this includes stroboscopic-like (discrete) deformations). The choice of the corresponding transformations as well as the image are chosen in a mutual process. For details on this construction please see In2 page.

The underlying images of the InSeries, which are sofar all figurative, are intended to have a strong iconographic character. I.e. the meta-information, the abstract meaning of the images is important. In particular this also means that it is less important that the respective image functions as an image (a "copy") of an "imageable" reality. This is why I would like to call the images of the InSeries "complex icons".

The iconographic aspect of an image can be intensified in many ways. Like for example by using abstraction, by presentation of an rather "animaginable" reality, by creating an image, which looks as if less care had been given to the representative character and the dialog between image and reality or by using "icons" of world art history etc. I like to experiment with this.

The reason for choosing to use "complex icons" as underlying images for the InSeries lies in the fact that I wanted to study how the deformations of the respective images alter the iconographic information. A very simple example of such a "deformation of an icon" would be if you zoom onto the front part of the cigarette of a non-smoking sign in such a way that the crossing bar vanishes. If you do this the non-smoking sign becomes a smoking sign. The InSeries work similar - just that the iconographic content is less obvious and more complex. Correspondingly the deformations induce nontrivial alterations and additions. It is a bit like telling a story with a mathematical transformation

About InKan:

InKan is a variation of Hokusais "Great Wave at the coast of Kanagawa" (Kanagawa-oki namiura). It is not clear, wether Hokusai deliberately wanted to induce the Yin-Yang association in this work. However it is not too far fetched to suppose so. Hokusai is known for his play with abstractions and symbols. I accentuated the Yin-Yang association by redrawing his work into rondo shape. To my point of view the picture makes a statement that he thought it to be impossible (in the various senses of this word) to produce a realistic image of the violent waves. And hence the iconographic aspect of the "Great Wave" is rather important for the work.

The mathematical transformations (Moebius transformations) which act on the image, play a role in soliton theory, the theory of certain nonlinear waves, such as Tsunamis. Their application here is however artistically motivated.

InKan is dedicated to the victims of the Tsunami in December 2004.

InKan had been shown at the Thailand 3rd New Media Arts Festival 2005 (MAF05_FEB) (Bangkok, Feb. 25-28).