The art of deception
A designer, a guitarist, a painter and a photographer walked into a bar.
No joke.
Well… except for where I refer to myself as a photographer but apart for that small deception this is just what happened recently. Four people walked into a bar for a beer and a chat. The thing about getting together with creative types is that the conversations are never boring and one thing about the conversations with this particular trio is that they invariably turn to art. Or the creation of art. Or the pursuit of art. Or whatever related to art. This particular time the designer brought up a video he saw about a magician who created an illusion using technology — three smart phones I think it was — and talked about the art of deception. That got us going about the connection between art and deception but I won’t bore you with a long wordy post. Instead I will leave you with the words from this particular magician which the designer copied down and which says everything I would have said. He just says it much more succinctly.
“Art is the greatest deception of all. Art is the deception that creates real emotion, a lie that creates a truth and when you give yourself over to that deception it becomes magic.” – Marco Tempest
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UPDATE 18/1/12: Thanks to Nathan Katica for giving me the name of the magician so that I can finally attribute it correctly.
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About this useless blog
This blog is, for want of a better word, a journal. It’s a place to dump thoughts that pop-up uninvited. It’s a map of a journey to nowhere. A diary about nothing… or everything… same thing. It’s about life but nothing specific. It’s about photography but for no particular reason. It’s about answering a question that keeps nagging. It’s about seeing rather than looking.
It’s quite a useless site really and you don’t need to be here but if you decide to stick around then welcome.
~∞~
All images by Cedric Canard
(unless credit otherwise given)
You didn’t mention how many beers you guys had before the subject turned to art. When my wife’s musician friends get together, the subject usually is music. When photographers get together they inevitably talk photography.I would guess that dancers, sculptors, film makers, writers and poets do the same. “Art” is just the glue that binds these disciplines together, the common ground. And as you suggest, it goes beyond these – architecture, engineering and design – almost anything can be appreciated artistically. The tangible things that move us.
Well said. There’s a lot going on around the place that shows a seemingly new-found appreciation for the everyday and the ordinary in an artistic manner. I like that a lot.
Oh and for the record, with life being as hectic it is for me at the moment I only had time for one beer but I appreciated it immensely and not just artistically シ
So what’s the difference between fiction and anecdote? Hmmm… of course if I sweep enough anecdotes into a pile (which most journalists do) – will I create a truth or reinforce a fiction? And… and… is the craft of creating anecdotal fiction… visual, audio, or journalistically… art? Hmmmmm……
Ted, you sure ask tough questions. The thing is I have real doubts about truth being absolute so I tend to go with the possibility that it’s all fiction anyway. It just depends on where you’re standing. Or maybe it just depends. Period.
Art may be the “greatest deception of all”, but if that’s the case, then I suppose it fits right in with just about everything else. Nothing much more than flim – flam, right? I don’t know if I actually believe that, but you could probably make a strong case.
More to the point, I love the image. The simplicity of form just kind of grabs you. Nothing too complex in the image itself, but I find myself just looking at it. A “large” version would be even better!
I think there is a definite possibility that art is nothing more than flim-flam but being an eternal optimist I think that the deception in art, if this is indeed the case, lies in part with art’s ability to trick its viewer into seeing something that went unnoticed before; either something physical or more likely, something emotional. Conjuring up emotions where there was none may be where the magic lies. As always, I really have no idea.
Thanks for mentioning the image Paul. I like it too but now that you’ve brought it up I feel obliged to point out that this photo is in fact of a sunset rather than a moon rise. The moon was taken at another time in another place. I mostly dislike sunset shots but I took this particular one for two reasons. One, because the sun was setting during a massive dust storm that hit our city last year and two, to create this montage.
I thought it was an appropriate photo for this particular topic :)
Yes, I kind of thought that the image was a montage, although I figured that the moon and reflection were simply photographs of the same scene taken at different times. I don’t know of any way to get that kind of detail in the moon with the rest of the scene holding the appropriate tonal values using just one exposure. But using the sunset works, too!
I’m sure you already know, but did you see that Andy Ilachinski has been published in “Lenswork”? I’ll have to order that issue just to see his images and see what he has to say.
No, I wasn’t aware that Andy’s work was in Lenswork. Too much going on at the moment to keep up with everything. Good for him, well deserved. His work speaks volumes to me. Thanks for the heads up Paul.
Now, that wisdom, I will keep with me for a while. “Art is a deception that creates real emotion”. I love that. Thank you and thanks to the unknown magician.
cheers
®
The magician’s name is Marco Tempest!
Thanks for taking the time to let me know Nathan, I’ve updated the post. Much appreciated.
http://youtu.be/fumsXEuiLyk
“Art is the greatest deception of all” is said by Claude Debussy, the composer. Marco Tempest just quoted him on his talk.
Thanks for that. I knew when I heard the first part of that quote that it rang a bell but I couldn’t place it. Debussy’s “La Mer” is one of my favourites.