The reason the leaves stain the sidewalk is that tannic acid is leached from them by the rainwater. This is the same compound that makes cedar water dark colored. Tannin make a good mordant for certain cellulose fibers. It is present in many species of trees.
These pictures are of the cedar water interacting with the colored leaves. They reminded me of our conversation on Mon. night. Colors floating on water and moving with the current. Also reminds me of the Ray & Charles Eames' movie, Blacktop, of washing the parking lot, with the soap suds flowing. Not very sustainable in the sense of permanent, but very sustainable in the sense of experience, because we all remembered the images, even if we could not recall the name. The emotion and sensory perception of the moving color had a lasting impact.
http://www.eamesgallery.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tannic_acid
This picture is a rotated & lacy view of reflections and cropped to be sort of symmetrical. Same creek.
Last time I was in Terminal F at Phila airport there was an exhibition of nature fotos llike this - large, I recall silver gelatin B&W prints where reflection distorts cognitive reality: example - a person walking across a parking lot after rain has left a thin very broad puddle. The foto makes it unclear whether the person is walking on water, walking in a dramatically lighted clouded sky, or whether it is a montage... delicately done, not in-your-face. Another example of how i enjoy the composition & form adding a 5th dimension beyond three plus Time - a cognitive communication dimension.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised and pleased to find this exciting blog. I created the "Lace Futures" proposal that appears under "invitation." I hope that the excellent insights and explorations here will also find their way to the Lace Futures Exhibition in Kanbar at the end of February. I would enjoy viewing your projects in process and discussing the Lace Futures concept with you. As you may already know, we will create cross disciplinary collaborations as a result of that exhibition to continue to explore lace ideas. We hope to have some major installations of student work on campus at the same time as the Lace in Translation Exhibition at the Design Center in September of '09. I hope to hear from you.
ReplyDeleteHy Zelkowitz