As I continue to take my weekly shots at the ford for this project I am becoming increasingly aware of, and attuned to, the subtle changes in the scene as time passes There are the occasional substantial changes, such as when the water level increases dramatically after prolonged rain, or as was the case this last weekend when the temperature plummeted, down to around minus 7º C first thing and not rising above freezing all day leaving everywhere iced up. Otherwise the major changes are only going to be visible over a much longer period.
This strikes me as being relevant to project in part 2, typologies and new topographies that I am just starting to explore and think about. As I am going to write elsewhere it is not the single image that is important but the greater mass and the juxtapositions that mass can create.
The true random thought here though for now is a musical analogy. I have been listening recently to a new set of recordings of piano music by Morton Feldman and what I see is a commonality of approach: Feldman’s work often evolves slowly, positively glacially (for example the second string quartet lasts for more than three hours and sometimes it is difficult to properly register the changes and development of the music from moment to moment – I have never yet managed to listen to the whole work in one sitting!) and it is only by taking a long view that it makes proper sense. That sort of process is at work here in this project and I expect that it will only be once it is complete that it will make proper sense.
Mark Robinson's OCA Landscape, Place & Environment Blog 