UN HUECO EN EL SOL |
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Perceval Press, May 2003 |
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FACTS AND TIDBITS
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CONTENT:
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Published along with the exhibition at Fotoeca de Cuba, Havana, Cuba.
COMMENTS:
EXCERPTS FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD AT THE FARTHEST OUTPOST MESSAGE BOARD
Hellcat, posted: May 13, 2003
First impressions... I love Hindsight 53 It's just one of those beautiful cold mornings (you can almost feel the cold in the air the way it's so clear) where you're up before anyone else has woken and the world belongs to you alone.
New Year 4 is very cool too, feels very mystical to me, watching a fire? Burning away the dead old year to bring in the new?
Not really sure if I like Hoka Hei or not, the colours are a bit too muddied together for me. I prefer the vivid strong colour.
Looks like Viggo's camera which does the yellow bits finally broke and he's swapped it for doing weird things with the exposure (Spot the fact that Hellcat has no clue what "weird things" he's doing) I like the very blurred retreat photos it's interesting to look at something without a clue what it is!
Sunflowerwoman, posted: May 13, 2003
My first impressions on looking through this book is that the world is lonely barren and bleak for Viggo right now. The ground is so parched that it doesn't look as if it has rained in his lifetime. Many of the pictures are devoid of life.
I have found it interesting that the rise of non-representational painting happened at about the same time that photography became practical. It seems to me that, with images of reality available through photographs, painters felt free to explore other aspects of images. Now, it appears that Viggo is leaving representational work entirely behind and using his camera to obtain impressions.
I wonder if he has discovered digital photography and Photoshop or other digital photo editing software.
(..) P.S. The Santa Maria pictures were taken, I believe, in my neighbourhood. Hidalgo did shoot here for a couple of days. At the time, I didn't know whether Viggo was up here as well. Santa Maria 2003 is probably a photo of a con trail left by a missile shot from Vandenberg AFB.
Ingjerd, posted: May 14, 2003
I think that Viggo is exploring the limits of photography with his abstract images. I would think that with all of the travelling that he has done the last few years, it has been difficult for him to paint. Toting around canvases cannot be easy. However, his cameras are very portable. If I read his biography correctly, he has been making photographs for years, and he may want to stretch in that direction. I find his abstracts very beautiful and haunting, as well. The cover of Un Hueco En El Sol reminds me of a waterfall, without the water. Maybe it is a memory of water.
I'm carrying around Un Hueco En El Sol and Recent Forgeries right now. When I have a few moments, I like to look at the books and see what I can find in them. Several of the poems and pictures have sprouted my own poemlings and thought.
EveDallas4Aragorn, posted: Thu 15, 2003
I finally got my booklet this week but really haven't had a chance to look at it properly, as I've been swamped at work! My first impressions though were just of abstract beauty -- Vig seems to be moving more toward impressionism and away from identifiable subjects -- he's exploring colors and shapes. Gorgeous!!!
Hellcat, posted: Fri May 16, 2003
Sunflowerwoman wrote: (..)Many of the pictures are devoid of life.
I actually get the reverse from some of the photos, in particular the retreat series. Because they have no object and very vivid colouring I don't get much emotional context from them. Or if I do its more like a colourful (and therefore happy) dream.
The parched photo on the cover just make me think of heat not bareness. If anything the way the mud has cracked make me think of a dry river bed that will become full again in the flood and bringing back life.
Orpheus, posted: Sat May 17, 2003
(..) Hellcat, [that's] really interesting!!! Not to go all freudian here, but it is very intriguing to look at what a picture like that becomes reminiscent of. Looking at that cover pic I actually thought of a land of violence and bloodshed -- as though the gritty redness was deeply soaked blood and memories. Which is possibly me with my love for socio-historical geekiness making its presence felt in its usual unnecessary way.
Sunflowerwoman, posted: Sat May 17, 2003
As images become more impressions and less realistic, the viewer is freer to bring her own interpretation to the party. Very interesting, I think.
Betty, posted: Mon May 19, 2003
(..) Firstly, I have to say how I love the direction his photography seems to be going. Don't get me wrong, I love the older stuff but these new ones seem to be heading more towards the abstract, which is more my kinda thing.
I adore the front cover, Erfoud 16. It got me so excited when I saw it on PP. It's a beautiful, warm photo, yet on the other hand it's really barren and bleak.
The Retreat ones -- the colours on these are amazing. The pinks on Retreat 9 are just wonderful and I find myself drawn to the blue splodge in the top left corner of Retreat 11. Retreat 4 reminds me of the photoshoot Viggo did for Flaunt. The person way off in the background seems to be in the same white shirt/brown trouser combo that he wore.
Santa Maria & Santa Maria 2. Being a fan of HiTS, I'm really glad the blue theme is continuing. No.2 reminds me of portholes in the side of a ship.
Hoka-Hei -- It's taken me 3 days to work out where the horses head is. Now I've found it, it's all become very clear. Well, as clear as a blurry photo can be.
Hindsight 53 -- This reminds me of one of those cold winter mornings when you look out the window, the sun is shining and there's no-one else around.
Hellcat, posted: May 19, 2003
(..) I think I figured out why I don't get a bleak impression from Efroud #16 (the cover photo). I think it's because of visiting the Atacama desert. It's the driest place in the world and it just IS, mankind makes no impression on the desert, it has no feelings about us. The sterile nature of that environment bleaches out any emotion apart from acceptance of the way the Atacama Desert is, and will always be immune to man. It goes beyond bleak and out the other side.
carmen, posted: May 24, 2003
I finally got my copy today, and I was startled by the small size but when I looked at the pix I was blown away! The cover photo alone is worth the price to me. I don't find it bleak at all but rich and wonderful, I love brown anyway and this has such great shades and depth and textures. If I could afford it this would be the no. 1 Viggo photo I would want! Hindsight 53 is a gem too. The light/sun in the center is like magic! (..)
I don't get a sense of gloom at all from these. I find the color ones particularly joyful. I guess whatever he is doing, it is definitely leaving room for endless interpretations by the viewers!
miriel, posted: Jun 11, 2003
(..)I've been especially looking at the pictures with the round framing. Here's kind of an odd thought. I wonder if this is due to "Hobbit influence" -- all those round doors and windows. I feel like I'm looking out of a Bag End window or through a ship's porthole when I look at them.
I get very positive feelings from this book. As though Viggo had a lot of fun taking these pictures. Like he has finally found time to "play" again and try different things. I keep thinking what a good thing it is that he stopped us from sending postcards. It's so much better for him to be creating than wearing his hand out trying to be polite and appreciative of his fans.
carmen, posted: Jun 12, 2003
(..)About Hindsight 34... I don't have any deep thoughts (I have kind of just concentrated on the color ones so far) but after you asking , I had a good look. I see so many things in here. It's like a Rorschach test! I see a Panthers head and many face like images, the stuff in the foreground bottom reminds me of oinecones or a pile of puppies! Logically I think it might be an unearthed tree root seen reflected in water (sort of). Like so much of his photos it's endlessly interesting. I also really like the circular framing he's done in the pix in this book. Until I saw it close up I thought the cover picture was a shot of the Moon!
Morganna, posted: Jun 12, 2003
I don't think I've ever ordered a book as fast as I ordered this one, because of the cover picture. I love the color of it, and how unreal it looks. I like anything that makes the real seem fantastic, like a fantasy. It looks like an old sepia photograph too, I'm probably getting into the Old West feeling a little early. When I first saw it, I thought of Mars, alien and red, so I know what Carmen means about the moon. I love the round thing too, probably because I took a photography class in high school and loved doing that myself. (..)I'm not very good at abstracts (so will be teaching me something new again. Wish he could do it in person) so the Retreat pictures make me wonder where he was and what he was retreating from and why.
carmen, posted: Jun 12, 2003
You're right, Morganna, "Retreat" can mean to run away (in an orderly fashion!). I read it as the kind of retreat you go on for spiritual renewal. It's a common thing and phrase in some religions, including Catholic, people are always "going on retreat". Even if you're not religiously inclined it's very pleasant to walk around the local Abbey grounds and enjoy the silence for a few days. It can also be a physical place you go like Camp David(!). (..)
Maybe he shot the Retreat ones out of the back of moving vehicle. Even while driving! I can kind of see him doing that. And occasionally veering to avoid (or not) rabbits in the road.
PHOTOS:
Erfoud 16 (cover) 2002 Blue 26 2002 Blue 27 2002 Blue 6 2002 Red 22 2002 Retreat 18 2003 Blue 17 2002 Retreat 11 2003 Retreat 9 2003 Tamdacht 20 2002 Hoka-Hei 2003 Down 6 2002
Where We Met 2000 Hindsight 53 2002 Noon 2000 Retreat 4 2002 Nearly 4 2002 Erfoud 20 2002 Hindsight 34 2002 Santa Maria 2003 Gouverneur 2 2003 Santa Maria 2 2003 Down 2002
