Page 22 - NyghtVision Magazine Volume 3 #3

he Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences gives awards annually Sergey Brin, a founder of Google, promoted
T (The Oscars). We go to the movies. his controversial Google Glass: “It was fasci-
We talk of moving pictures. Even though we nating to see that I could just reply to a text
know we are watching a series of still images message with a photo.” And a related com-
alternating with black projected in rapid suc- mentary from a Harvard professor: “This is
cession, we surrender to this illusion of motion. a watershed time where we are moving away
Persistence of vision it’s been called. Early the- from photography as a way of recording and
ories placed the persistence within the visual storing a past moment … turning photography
receptors in the retina, but more recent work into a communication medium.” From these
shows that the persistence of the sense of mo- two influential people, we can see restriction
tion is a function of the iconic sensory memo- as to how and what an image can communi-
ry area of the brain. The sparkler’s trail effect cate and the resulting under-appreciation of
(seeming to make letters and shapes of light in its power. Brin’s photo response was to the
the night air with a lit sparkler) illustrates this text question, “What are you doing?” Instead
illusion, as does a photograph showing moving of replying with text he captured the view
car lights as streaks of light. When they are through his Google Glass and sent it along (an
lit, the sparkler and car lights are crisp, precise image of his meal). The flawed assumption in
and leave no particles delayed; yet the trail is this case is that images communicate unam-
there in our memories and images. We own biguously. The professor’s flawed assumption
without purchase or cost this elegant system of is that photography has only recently been a
perception, this esteemed gift of infinite value, communication medium, an assumption that
which is exquisitely linked with our humanity. ignores a rich history.
Image stems from the early French, imagee, Cinema reflects the contemporary world-
to copy. We have taken this root word and de- view while at the same time informing it. The
rived a term for one of the highest functions iconography of style can weave a complex tap-
of our humanity: imagination. And we have estry of attitude, yearnings, and disillusion-
found the technology to produce images from ment. Style is embedded in the choices of ac-
both interior and external worlds. The cinema tors, directors, producers, cinematographers,
has contributed compelling images in the last art directors, costume designers, scriptwriters,
century, photography for more than a century lighting technicians and more. Like the musi-
and a half, and art, architecture and sculpture cal scale there are cinematic notes that may be
for thousands of years. recombined endlessly into fresh and startling

The force of image creation is powerful, yet imagery. ■
we can look around to find it restricted and un-
der-appreciated.

22 | the art of convergence