The Human White Balace Theory. (Shrinath Jayaram)
This is a very interesting piece.Jerry, my class mate from P.G. had written it to all of us explaining his theory of the human white balance which he had started off while in the University. I hope its O.K. with him that I am posting his letter here, but since its got nothing personal & sounds high funda,am hoping he is fine with it. What I noticed here Jerry is that you were playing the same game that you so detested"Bullshit Bingo". Remember!!!!!!!! Read on......
Folks,
I kinda figured out the now fabled "Human white balance"
conundrum. And I am in a tearing hurry so, please flex your
meaning making muscle to the fullest.
What I meant to say:
You white balance a camera's eye to factor in color
distortions (from the ideal of white light) caused by
prevalent light conditions. In doing so, the image that you
transfer to the recording medium (tape) remains true to the
color scheme of your mise enscene (which is as objective to
an individual as it is subjective to different makes of the
solid state device, the color distribution, that is).
You white balance the spectator's eyes by being reflexive
to your "worlding" - your ontological, epistemological
location; your lived experience. There are many aesthetic
strategies to achieve this reflexivity. But the analogy
with the white balance is that, in the tragic lack of any
objectivity at all, you need to represent the phenomenon by
placing yourself in the frame and not purport to represent
some "objective" noumenon. Just as you place the actual
light conditions in front of the camera's eyes.
Its easy to white balance a camera, because the object you
choose (a sheet of white paper), you can confidently say is
"optically white", and the "whiteness" can be pretty much
objectively quantified.
But if you're worlded with the notion that you are just an
aberration from the White Anglo Saxon Protestrant
Heterosexist ideal, then white balancing your own eyes and
subsequently your audience's might prove to be an
impossible task.
The trick i think is to decolonise the mind.
Jerry
Folks,
I kinda figured out the now fabled "Human white balance"
conundrum. And I am in a tearing hurry so, please flex your
meaning making muscle to the fullest.
What I meant to say:
You white balance a camera's eye to factor in color
distortions (from the ideal of white light) caused by
prevalent light conditions. In doing so, the image that you
transfer to the recording medium (tape) remains true to the
color scheme of your mise enscene (which is as objective to
an individual as it is subjective to different makes of the
solid state device, the color distribution, that is).
You white balance the spectator's eyes by being reflexive
to your "worlding" - your ontological, epistemological
location; your lived experience. There are many aesthetic
strategies to achieve this reflexivity. But the analogy
with the white balance is that, in the tragic lack of any
objectivity at all, you need to represent the phenomenon by
placing yourself in the frame and not purport to represent
some "objective" noumenon. Just as you place the actual
light conditions in front of the camera's eyes.
Its easy to white balance a camera, because the object you
choose (a sheet of white paper), you can confidently say is
"optically white", and the "whiteness" can be pretty much
objectively quantified.
But if you're worlded with the notion that you are just an
aberration from the White Anglo Saxon Protestrant
Heterosexist ideal, then white balancing your own eyes and
subsequently your audience's might prove to be an
impossible task.
The trick i think is to decolonise the mind.
Jerry
posted by Seema at Saturday, February 11, 2006
3 Comments:
By the way I had a conversation with Jerry yesterday & I belive he does not connect to the views expressed here anymore.
He needed to write something as obtuse as this to conclude that the trick is to decolonise!!!???? Uffff!!!
Well. Did you not read this piece before? It was sent when he had just abou sarted his Phd.Hehe
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