by Rachel Clarke and Claudia Hart
While the notion of impossible objects would seem to refer only to the
sculptural aspect of an XYZ representation, this term also connotes
their post-photographic quality. Impossible objects in the XYZ realm are
manipulated in the real-time of the software program in which they are
produced for the purpose of creating computer-generated images. In this
way, a virtual XYZ world can only be perceived by a computer's
two-dimensional documentation of it. They are therefore a hybrid of
sculpture with the trajectory of drawing and painting, while at the same
time are a hybrid of sculpture with photography. Post-photographic
simulation is therefore "impossible" and inauthentic by its very
definition.
This sort of impossibility bring virtual worlds into the realm of the
non-site in Robert Smithson's sense
3 and as such evokes a
particular physiological response on the part of makers and viewers.
Impossible objects are paradoxical on many levels and could NEVER be
constructed, but can nevertheless be output as trompe l'oeil realistic
pictures, moving or otherwise. They are meant to be seen as virtual
images that have visually schematic qualities related to illustrations
or paintings. They have a seamless perfection inherently different from
a photographic capturing of the real. Yet they portray objects that cast
photo-realistic shadows and use photo-realistic ambient lighting with
accurate reflections and highlights. Virtual photos and films create
sensory impressions that force a viewer to assume that the objects and
worlds depicted must have some sort of tangible existence - although
they could not and do not.
What emerges are pictures of sculptures in the tradition of René
Magritte. Post-photographic simulations are Surrealist mind models with
an uncanny relation to the real that on close inspection actually
transgress the rules of perception, gravity, time and space. This makes
impossible objects the ultimately "true" embodiment of the recursive
systems that are the basis of computer science. They are systems that
self-reference and build off of themselves but can originate from ANY
assumption, no matter how improbable.
3. Robert Smithson, "A Provisional Theory of Non-Sites", in Unpublished
Writings in Robert Smithson: The Collected Writings, edited by Jack Flam
(University of California Press, Berkeley, California, 2nd Edition,
1996)
Kari Altmann
How to Hide Your Plasma (Handheld Icon Shapeshift for Liquid
Chrystal Display), 2011
4D Animation, Virtual Sculpture
Free and ubiquitous 3d models of handheld materials (tactile icons) are
set to an illusion of monumental size inside a rendered gallery room
experienced only through documentation. A single blob of clear plasma
moves through this selected sequence of forms, and the walls of this
alleged room are skinned with synthetic abstract imagery chosen in an
attempt to resemble the form's usual apparition, much like 3D modeling
software in which an image skin is applied to give the naked form a
recognizable appearance. Like an alien interpretation of essential
devices, this presentation takes on the workings of an impossible trap.
It suggests that there is a relatable and profound tactile or visual
experience to be had, if only one could access the dimension in which to
have it.
http://karialtmann.com/
Carolyn Frischling
Simoom, 2016
Original video and music by Carolyn Frischling, "Simoom (Arabic: ?????
sam?m; from the root ?? s-m-m, "to poison" is a strong, dry, dust-laden
local wind that blows in the Sahara, Israel, Jordan, Syria, and the
deserts of Arabian Peninsula." – Wikipedia
Spencer Hutchinson
Temple Kingdoms on the Other Side, October 2010
The video is a representation of unseen forces acting on geometric
objects being arranged in architectural formations. The title of the
series from which this animation is drawn, BAS Arquitectos, stands for
Bifurcated Acoustic Space, in which the architectural objects
illustrated in the video represent the spatial as well as concrete
elements that define the medium.
http://basarquitectos.tumblr.com/
Lenox Lenox
TMRRW
TMRRW combines predictable and unpredictable change in order to
form a cubic time capsule of future artifacts, through mapping the
course of natural disasters, desiccated resources, science fiction, and
myth. The resulting guided tour of The Last Gallery simulates potential
documentation of the past, while simultaneously proposing precursory
relics.
http://lenox-lenox.us/
http://twincraft.tumblr.com/
A. Bill Miller
Untitled, 2014
untitled (fursuit05) animation by a. bill miller
Penumbra For June music by Bell Monks (music.bellmonks.com/)
This track is available on the Bell Monks 2011 B-Sides album
Tiumur Si-Qin
Real Flow, 2011
Video
The real (as opposed to the possible) gray Phong shader flowing over
default face geometry. Primal-object-money-shot at the intersection of
signified wealth, power and technology; simulated at a 55 degree angle.
http://timursiqin.com/
Katie Torn
Breathe Deep, 2014
Commissioned by the Denver Theater District | Denver
Digerati 2014
Matthew Weinstein
E Lobro, 2014
Zeitguised
Peripetics or The installation of an irreversible axis on a
dynamic timeline, 2008
HD video, stereo sound
Sound Design: Zeitguised with Michael Fakesch
Simulating a gallery within the artwork,
Peripetics examines
contemporary art-practice by use of ubiquitous 3D computer graphics
(CG). The title and description are part of that mimicry:
Peripetics
is a piece in six acts that each entail an imagination of disoriented
systems that take a catastrophic turn, including the evolution of
educational plant-body-machine models and liquid building materials.
http://www.zeitguised.com/