~e; EM aesthetics worldwide (photos)

[bc <human@electronetwork.org>]

  [please pardon the naive 'worldwide' aspect, but it
  has been noticed through newspapers and tv news
  that all countries have EM aesthetics in one way or
  another. thus, while the following is westernized, it
  is not limited to this, and used only for demonstration
  of the idea of EM as mediated similarly but uniquely
  by different cultures and ways of being/seeing/doing.]

  [a year behind schedule, it is good to know that one
  can electronically scan photo-negatives they never
  developed, but were used for archival purposes, in
  hopes that someday they could be developed, so...]

  Sutro .jpg		~68k

the broadcast tower in fog in San Francisco, mentioned
prior in the post on Alex Gray's work, which was found
nearby. it has been compared (by myself) to a 21st c.
Eiffel Tower, in terms of its architectural/cultural aesthetics.

http://home.earthlink.net/~aetherica/em_photos3/sutro.jpg



speeding e-pole truck  .jpg	~52k

on an across-country trip via car, early 1990s, spotted
this e-pole rig, amazed, as i had never imaged seeing it,
and have not seen one since. must have been forests
nearby (appalacians maybe). so, in effect, this is similar
to seeing a link in the chain of events which go into the
production (and the rest) of the e-pole infrastructure.

http://home.earthlink.net/~aetherica/em_photos3/etruck.jpg



e-wiring of venetian dwellings .jpg	~52k

this photonegative had to be manipulated as they come
out dull when scanned, and being old and scratched does
not help this. so photoscan was manipulated so as to try to
showcase the externalization fo the e-infrastructure in venice.
that is, everything is on the outside, tv antennae, e-wires, etc.

http://home.earthlink.net/~aetherica/em_photos3/venetian_wiring.jpg



cobra-light amsterdam .jpg		~64k

do not know much about much, but love dutch design in the
everydayness of it. such as with this light, which is of an american-
style (american electric, modern fixture), but put into place in a
novel yet utilitarian way. there were more lights like this, nearby,
i think, so it was not a one-off or an accident. i think it was a fire-
house, on one of the rings of the city, at a big intersection. maybe
not though. but i have negatives of the firestation next to this one.

http://home.earthlink.net/~aetherica/em_photos3/cobradam.jpg




virgin recordstore lightfacade .jpg		~48k

again, in amsterdam, the role of light as a type of aesthetic
language was made evident in several ways, literal and also
sublime, given the greater storied pasts in such places, than
in the newborn USA, with regard to the built environment. in
many ways it might be considered 'wrong' in the USA at that
time to do what this 'store' did, with an older building, to light
it up with what seemed like basic floodlights. it was outrageous
to even consider, yet to name, such a thing in the States (USA).
trying to describe this approach can get very complex, but also
could be seen as another aesthetic treatment using e-lighting,
of which there is a great storied past with the very first engineers
who were lighting designers (Electrifying America, D.E.Nye).

http://home.earthlink.net/~aetherica/em_photos3/virginlight.jpg





france, e-pole sculpture .jpg 	~92k

in the Parc de la Villette in Paris, a place created by theory, and
in my experience, very enchanting in its alice-in-wonderland-
effect/affect, less so the architecture as functional device than
as object of order for the rest of the fantasy to r/evolve around.
in any case, this is what could be considered a sculpture of the
e-poles we find around us everyday, everywhere. did not get the
info of the person, or do not have it now, the sculptor nor name of
the sculpture. but in basic it is a two pole (cross) system related
via wires held in tension with a counterbalance of a concrete
weight to show these skewed poles in a harmonic imbalance.

http://home.earthlink.net/~aetherica/em_photos3/paris_epole1.jpg



paris, e-pole sculpture2 .jpg	~44k

another photonegative scan, i think this one had so much noise
from the background scanner that i had to put fake clouds and
lens flare in just to make it look as if the e-poles were the focus,
the content, not the patterned background. notice the pulley on
the crossarm pole, and other aspects of wire and balance and
other issues that are common with poles of the e-infrastructure.
there are other sculptors, watercolorists, and others who are and
have done work referring to the e-grid and whatnot. yet because
it is mostly a silent endeavor, much of this remains to be shown
in one place, online or off, for the consistencies in the aesthetics.
the meaning of this sculpture grows when compared to e-poles,
and their aesthetics (related to ships masts), and to symbols. and
then to have an artist reinterpret these 'standards' of the e-infra-
structure can help dialogs begin about what this whole thing is.
what we think about it. what we know about it. what we do with it.
and what kind of future we would like to design with it in mind.

http://home.earthlink.net/~aetherica/em_photos3/paris_epoles2.jpg





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