#1 November 21st, 2009 04:28 AM

DameSarah

Member

Crepuscular

In a world of dichotomies and dualism, do you dwell in the gray area in between?
Do you prefer multiple meanings to rigid definitions? Fluidity and flexibility to the fixed and fastidious?

Me, too! And that's just what my new folio is all about...

Crepuscular! It sounds kind of gross, I know, but it's not. Crepuscular is an adjective meaning 'of, pertaining to, or resembling twilight.' It can be used to describe this time of day or the creatures that are active during that time, but it can also be used as a more general term meaning dim, vague, indistinct. I love this time of day - this in between time - but i also love the broader sense of the word, and I have attempted to evoke these different meanings in my folio. See it here: http://www.ishotmyself.com/public/view_ … repuscular

The crepuscular is ambiguous, and in ambiguity there is always possibility. As Judith Butler so eloquently states, "Possibility is not a luxury. It is as crucial as bread." If everything is clear and certain, black and white, then choice is constricted and possibility is limited to what is already there. But in the uncertain, the enigmatic, the crepuscular - here there is opportunity, serendipity, and endless possibility.  To me, my new folio represents a reminder to look beyond the binary - dig around in the murky middle and revel in the in between - because I believe it's in these places, the gray areas, that we can explore and expand and grow. But that's just one interpretation. What does it mean to you? Whatever that might be, I hope you enjoy it!

P.S. - the crepuscular is associated with mauve (the color of twilight - seriously! pay attention next time and you'll see). As you may be able to see in my folio, the green and blue lighting comes together at times to create a mauve-like hue. Coincidentally, or perhaps not, mauve also possesses many of the same characteristics as the crepuscular. Halfway between the pink and the purple, it is ambiguous and uncertain. Shelly Jackson writes that "mauve is the color of suspended choice and uncertain boundaries." If this has piqued your interest, you can read her full piece on mauve for cabinet magazine here: http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/28/jackson.php   
I'd love to here your thoughts!

-XO-

DameSar

Last edited by DameSarah (November 21st, 2009 04:31 AM)

ngaio

Member

Re: Crepuscular

Dame Sar, it's awesome to have a statement like this to give me some insight into your latest folio which I already loved before reading this. I love the careful thought and attention you're putting into your folios, it's really something special to see.

Also, I entirely agree with you about preferring to dwell in grey areas. I find it to be an eternal source of personal frustation when people turn the world into black and white, good and evil. Nothing is that simple, nothing. Not only does viewing the world in simplistic terms cut us off from endless possibilities, but I believe it is downright dangerous.

I try to express, in some way, that viewpoint in my own art making in that I try never to tie the work down to only one or two meanings or readings... despite pressure at art school to do just that to give my work a stronger, more obvious message.

That's interesting sounding reading about mauve, too. I shall have to check it out when I get home. Thanks a lot, Dame Sar, you are just fantastic!

basil

Member

Re: Crepuscular

In a world of dichotomies and dualism, do you dwell in the gray area in between? Do you prefer multiple meanings to rigid definitions? Fluidity and flexibility to the fixed and fastidious?

I love those as opening questions, DameSar, and I went back and had a look at your folio again with those (and your entire post here) in mind. I loved it - and I loved feeling the thought and intention behind the images.

I think we all dwell in grey areas to some extent (especially women, actually) - I know I sure do - as someone who performs (badly!) in a few different disciplines (each one distinct in tone from the other), I'm seen quite differently by the groups of people who view various segments of my stuff, which I like. It gives me the freedom to present wildly different faces to the world, and to never have to settle on one...

I think you're right - in ambiguity there is always possibility, and the whiff of potential on the air is always more exciting than potential realised...

DameSarah

Member

Re: Crepuscular

Hi Ngaio and Basil!

Thanks for your kind comments! I'm glad you liked my folio - I've admired both your yours as well and see a lot of the same qualities I referred to in my post in your art and your artists statements. Yay for grey!

xo -

Sarah