Keywords
art, photography, architecture, architectural photography, Zen, meditation
Abstract
Inspired by Buddhist philosophy, the photographic series Architectural Zen attempts to beautify banal and pragmatic architecture through limiting and preexisting artificial light conditions. The selective illumination of artificial light eliminates the non-essential details and enhances the pure forms and saturated color presented by the camera lens. This encourages the photographer and the viewer to enter a state of meditation. The resulting process is similar to a Zen approach to image making. The ancient Zen artist's compositions are strengthened by a meditation on form and subsequent elimination of the non-essential elements of the subject. Through embracing this Zen mentality and mindfulness,aspects of Eastern aesthetic and balance also appear through the work. The warm glow of artificial lights, long recessed shadows, and surreal colors contribute to the feeling of rest, contemplation, isolation, and solitude. Although the work in Architectural Zen is not directly about Buddhist doctrines, the process of creating the art parallels the ideas and practices of Zen Buddhism and meditation, finding the Buddha nature of typically unappealing architectural forms during a different time of day.
Notes
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Graduation Date
2010
Advisor
Robinson, E. Brady
Degree
Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)
College
College of Arts and Humanities
Department
Art
Degree Program
Studio Art and the Computer
Format
application/pdf
Identifier
CFE0003092
URL
http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0003092
Language
English
Release Date
May 2010
Length of Campus-only Access
None
Access Status
Masters Thesis (Open Access)
STARS Citation
Stead, Sarah, "Place, Space, And Form Captured Through Photographic Meditation" (2010). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4367.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/4367