The
presentation by Robert Campbell explored important topics, topics that appeared
highly influential in his work. One of the biggest themes was that of nature
and conservation. We watched a trailer for Midway,
a film focusing on plastic's destruction of a particular natural environment. Campbell noted that the waste and ugliness in
the world led him to having a difficult time finding the beauty. I think he's
still struggling with it, and a lot of
his work seemed to reflect a desire for a time when everything was a bit more
beautiful. Pulchiror in Luce, a film
Campbell completed in 2012, exemplifies this desire. Actors are recorded on a
green screen, then transported into photographs of old buildings and pastoral
scenes taken in the UK and elsewhere. The technology is sophisticated, but the
general feel of the images is rustic. The beauty and serenity in the images
appears to be an attempt to push against the fast paced, unfeeling reality of
today. In another project, a stain from piled up dishes inspired his sculptures,
videos and photographs for Yellow.
The stain resembled a hunched over figure in motion. Campbell took the
silhouette of the stain, and created multiple glass replicas. These replicas
were placed in various situations and contexts, representing the plastic and
waste we pollute our environment with. Campbell's work is thoughtful and
complex, exploring ideas of beauty, nature, and the effect technology and
expansion have on the world we live in.
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