Monday, April 28, 2008

ceiling in black and white


Does this photo engender more unease or tranquility?

9 comments:

India said...

i think both... and funnily enough, i think crystal ship would be a good track for this one, very fantastical, slipping into unconsciousness... should unconsciousness make you tranquil or uneasy, i think both...
this one reminds me of when you lean your head way back over a couch and reorient yourself by staring at the ceiling as if it were the floor and you can catch a glimpse of what it would be like if the pull of gravity were reversed- the ceiling is the floor and vice versa and the hanging lamps are standing up from the middle of the floor... the only point of reference that suggests this isn't the case is the candle-shaped bulbs in the wall sconce in the background...
...it seems like some scene in a bizarre dream

Mike Bailey said...

this is interesting, india! i really enjoyed this comment. there have been many times that i reversed the perspectives of ceiling to floor (of course only as a kid....not as an adult...nooooo, not me.) it did occur to me that others did this as well. the one thing that i can't do, however (i mean "couldn't" do), is create the same sense of distance between floor and ceiling.

how should i express this? if somehow you were at ceiling height looking down, it would seem very high; the distance between ceiling and floor would seem considerable. but when you are on the floor or bed or couch looking up, the ceiling doesn't seem as far away from the floor even once you reorient it in your mind as the floor. perhaps there is something about the pull of gravity on your body that affects our visual perspective.

and as for bizarre dreams, this image doesn't quite make the cut for what counts as bizarre in my dreams.

Technoprairie said...

I did the ceiling/floor reversal when I was a child also! And I also did it at church when the sermon seemed a bit dull.

Anyway, I think that the picture is uneasy, like you were waiting in a room for something to happen.

However, I think if you had this picture in color, it would be tranquil. Something about the yellow light vs white light makes me at least seem more warm and secure.

Elisheba said...

Not quite either, I think. I am left with more fascinated curiosity, and I want to explore this place. Particularly given the hint of chandelier on the right. It's a little creepy, but not the "I need to run away" sort, more like the "I am nervous before an exam" sort.

Mike Bailey said...

i never associated tests with creepy. the teachers sometimes, yes, but not the tests. i need to think more about what creepy is.

Anonymous said...

So did you send spiderman up to the ceiling with a camera?


Also, sometimes when I am typing my name I accidently leave off the Y - if I did that on a comment would you get all freaked out thinking that Jesus was reading your blog or would you just think I was being a dumbass?

Mike Bailey said...

why would i need to send spiderman, eh? you're right, actually, i did have to. i do have a spidey sense, but it's not climbing up walls. and i'm not gonna share with you what it is.

i tell you what. if jesus has been reading my blog, then my response would probably be like this. so jesus, you know all that stuff i wrote about not knowing with certainty about your existence and all, well, that was a good one, eh? pretty pretty funny! oh my, those were some good knee-slappers. oh, and while i have you here, tell me: which is your favorite photo?

Anonymous said...

Okay this made me lol:

oh, and while i have you here, tell me: which is your favorite photo?

mike said...

I think this question can be doing three things:

1. Implying that I'm Jesus.
2. Echoing back what i said for humor.
3. Asking a sincere question.

Now they are not contradictory, but I'm going to go for 3. Now you surely know that this about shattered my spirit trying to answer this. For one thing, I literally scrolled through all my pictures--some 400+ of them!!!--and that took over ten minutes. and the first thing I noticed was this: hmm....many of these are far more "ordinary" than I had remembered them. but the other thing i was struck by was how i clearly have my favorites but no single photo stands out in my mind. i was tempted to give all sorts of categories to make it easier for me, such as "favorite eyeball" or "favorite hand" or "favorite picture of lydia looking like a war victim." but then i thought, no, i can do this. i can choose one. so here goes.....drum roll........:

"Steel Shadows" in May 2007.

whewww!!! i did it! i cannot even share with you how tempted i am to add JUST ONE more (Or nineteen) other photos in the mix. but no, i'll be strong. I'll keep my integrity. Right, Jesus?