Pippin born in 1960, Surrey UK, works with complicated and complex mechanical procedures and kinetic structures which he uses as a metaphor for social mechanism.
Almost all of his photographic and kinetic sculptures are based on physical models. The electronic sculpture Black Hole combines a representation of the solar system with surveillance technology, TV monitor and concepts such as 'black hole' and 'global warming'. Pippin is fascinated by physics and astronomy and extends to the history of measurements and photographic techniques. In his work, he is interested in the process of realising a idea and the concepts behind it are far better than the finished product which at first sight looks rather plain and boring. He purposefully does this so the view can make their own imagination, 'the lack of dramatic or absorbing image forces the contemplation of the mind inwards on itself trying a different approach and a different viewpoint'. |
A pinhole camera, is an optical imaging device in the shape of a closed box. In one of its sides is a small hole, creates an image of the outside space on the opposite side of the box. The pinhole acts as the lens. The pinhole forces every point emitting light in the scene to form a small point on the film, so the image is sharp. The images in a pinhole photograph is inverted because to the light travelling through air in a straight line. For example, if you are taking an image of a tree with a pinhole camera, the light would travel from the top of the tree straight through the pinhole and straight to the bottom of the image. This is also why left and right are reversed. The ability to form an image through a tiny hole has been known for thousands of years, first by nomadic tribes of North Africa A pinhole in the tent would project an image of the scene outside. In the 5th century B.C., Chinese scholars had discovered that light travels in straight lines. Philosopher, Mo Ti recorded the formation of an inverted image with a pinhole. In the 10th century A.D., Arabian physicist and mathematician Alhazen, described a pinhole’s usefulness for viewing a solar eclipses without the risk to the eyes. The first images made directly by the action of light were produced by Joseph NicOphore Niepce, in 1822. These were called Heliographs. The problem with them at that time was how to “fix” the image. The problem was solved by astronomer and scientist Sir John Hershel in 1839 which led to the development of photography. |
for the first pinhole picture, I used an A4 piece of paper and exposed it for 20 seconds. This didn't go well as there are a lot of blackness and then some whiteness around the paper. I think this was because I didn't expose for long enough and my hand was shaking so that caused the picture to be blurry. So I tried it again this time letting it expose for 25 seconds. This one didn't develop. Then I changed the lend because I thought the lens wasn't small enough, making the picture blurry and unfocused. This time I did it for 15 seconds with a smaller paper. This didn't develop either. Then I tried it again but this time 25 seconds because I felt it wasn't getting exposed enough but when developing it, only a little black dot came out.
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With this one I changed the lens and made the pinhole camera (exposed this for 20 seconds). This time an image came out. However it's a little blurry but that may be due to my hand shaking without realising. This second one did produce and image but there is a lot of blackness and it's quite blurry. I think these two produced the best image out of the rest because my lens was too small but to create a better image Next time I will try to keep the image still as possible.
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