Developing a scene

Every print in the Polygonal Cities series has its origins in a photograph. Most of these photos were taken in search of subject matter that had potential to form the basis of an artwork, but occasionally a holiday snapshot of an interesting site has proved more suitable.

A very small percentage of photos taken are ever used and artworks are rarely commenced until a decision is made after fair bit of thought. Even though a photo initially holds promise often it can be the image that was first dismissed that gets used. The photo that is ultimately chosen might have deficiencies as an arresting image, however it is its latent potential that is more important. That moment of insight spotting that potential is critical but waiting for it can be paralysing, so sometimes it has been necessary to proceed on faith and the hope that commencement of work will dispel any doubt.

The transcription of photo into print is always constrained by technical issues such as the capability of the software and the demands it makes on the hardware. This finding of alternatives to complexity is desirable technically and not a bad thing aesthetically. This can be achieved by excising anything that is strictly unnecessary and by adopting a rigorous approach to the amount of data required to make the models. An example is the truck in Polygonal City 16 (top) which was downloaded off the internet and required an extensive stripping of detail not only lighten the load on the computers processor but to harmoniously incorporate it into the scene.

A quick comparison of the finished print to the source photo (centre) indicates the amount of pruning of detail that can take place. The photo is a fairly insipid documentation of the site and the key elements that have been retained include the rock wall, the administrative building and the second mine head. Although the industrial buildings are quite interesting they would have been difficult to accommodate compositionally and regrettably the road sign was omitted for the same reason.

More significant are the additions of a figure and a truck. The figure has been inserted to satisfy compositional requirements, and equally important, the human presence infuses the work with a psychological dimension. Although the Holden Commodore seen in the source photo is the type of blue collar vehicle that one would expect to find in a mining city such as Broken Hill the reasons for its replacement with a truck were more compelling.

Much like the figure, the truck with its boxy red form silhouetted against a passive blue sky presented a convincing compositional case. However, in my mind its presence also has possible subtle popular cultural references such as the sinister predatory truck in the Steven Speilberg film, Duel, or the opening sequence of another fine 1970's film, The Deer Hunter. The scene setter was a large truck belching diesel smoke as it hurtles into a still sleeping dreary early morning steel town.

I also found it necessary to embellish the desultory bits of graffiti seen in the photo with a more exuberantly urban style. Once again it serves compositional needs by ameliorating the hard geometric greyness of the wall with some curves and colour nuances as well as bringing an unseen social presence into the consciousness of the viewer.

Finally, once the scene has been satisfactorily set up the choice of camera angle and lighting need to be resolved. In this print the lighting cues are derived from the sky, a process known as image based lighting (IBL). A citizen of Broken Hill may quibble with its accuracy, it is after all sourced from another part of the world. Such protests about accuracy or realism miss the point, which is whether the somewhat dull frozen light seen here is appropriate to the mood.

Finding the final point-of-view was not as straightforward. The camera was moved incrementally from a quarter which lacked punch until a eye level was found that optimised the dramatic perspective. The screenshot (bottom) shows the unnecessary work expended on modelling a roof which would never be seen and the need to raise the ventilators so that they quietly appear in view.