Torsten Posselt, Benjamin Maus, Frederic Gmeiner, DE
Extracts of Local Distance
In looking at hundreds of architecture photographs we began to notice a strong bias towards how images were composed, with perspective foreshortening and vanishing lines dominating the overall impression of a given image. This lead to the creation of ‘Extracts of Local Distance’ a project, which plays with the auto extraction of these elements and image data, to create new impressions of our environments and landscapes.
The resulting large-scale printed collages are created by making digital scans of analogue architectural photography, which analyzed in relation to their vanishing-points and shape. Based on this analysis, slices are extracted from the source images. Each slice retains the information of their position corresponding to their original vanishing-point and thus form a large pool of pieces, from which new perspectives emerge. These fragments are combined to form collage images, which are created by using a perspective-grid, where image segments are aligned. The segments are not altered to match the frame but instead extracts are chosen from a mass of possible pieces. By defining additional keywords which describe the content of the original photographs, the selection of segments used for the final composition can be influenced. Thus a contextual layer is added through the semantic linking with the source material.
The final images are merged into multilayered shapes, which introduce a third abstract, or point of view, next to the original architect and photographers perspective. The resulting fine-art prints are entirely unique each time. This method is currently been explored and the resulting images, only one of a number of possibilities of this technique.
About the artists:
Artists Benjamin Maus, Torsten Posselt and Frederic Gmeiner met while studying at the University of Arts Berlin. Drawing on their respective individual backgrounds (graphic design, street art, photography, film and music) their experimental and practice-based research approach combines these forms with skills in algorithm-based graphics, interactive environments and hacking techniques. To date their in individual and collective works has been shown at several festivals or exhibitions including Ars Electronica, Kiasma – Museum of Modern Art Helsinki, Seeder Festival Rotterdam and DesignMai Berlin.
Torsten Posselt, Benjamin Maus & Frederic Gmeiner, Extracts of Local Distance, DE; UM Exhibition, Opening, Thur 12 Nov, 22hrs, ECV Fiat Garage (new space), Av. 24 de Julho, 60 [Santos], 1200-869. Exhibition runs to 27 Nov (Mon-Fri, 12-19hrs).
