Static (Idea) 2/24

Defined

Stat·ic (sttk)

adj.

1.

a. Having no motion; being at rest; quiescent.

b. Fixed; stationary.

2. Physics Of or relating to bodies at rest or forces that balance each other.

3. Electricity Of, relating to, or producing stationary charges; electrostatic.

4. Of, relating to, or produced by random radio noise.

n.

1. Random noise, such as crackling in a receiver or specks on a television screen, produced by atmospheric disturbance of the signal.

2. Informal

a. Back talk.

b. Interference; obstruction.

c. Angry or heated criticism.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Quotations

"I saw myself then as I see myself now, driven step by step towards that hasty blow, the creature of a sequence of accidents leading inevitably to that. I felt no condemnation; yet the memory, static, unprogressive, haunted me."

Wells, H.G. "H.G. Wells: The War Of The Worlds: CHAPTER SEVEN - Free Online Library." H.G. Wells - Free Online Library. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. .

"The tendency of the individual life is to be static rather than dynamic, and this tendency is made into a propulsion by civilization, where the obvious only is seen, and the unexpected rarely happens."

London, Jack. "Jack London: Love of Life And Other Stories: Chapter 5: The Unexpected - Free Online Library." Jack London - Free Online Library. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. .

"They needed little to release the accumulated pressure of static nerve force which the terrorizing mummery of the witch-doctor had induced."

Burroughs, Edgar R. "Edgar Rice Burroughs: Jungle Tales of Tarzan: Chapter 4: The God of Tarzan - Free Online Library." Edgar Rice Burroughs - Free Online Library. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. .

Annotated Bibliography

J.D., BIERSDORFER. "Q&A; On a Plasma TV Screen, Ghosts of Images Past." New York Times 31 July 2003: 4. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 25 Mar. 2011.

This article was based on a consumer concern about the "burn-in" affect of stationary images on a plasma screen television. As opposed to an LCD screen, the plasma screen televisions are subject to this "ghost-like image" effect if a static image is left on the screen for too long. I find this very fascinating, not only from a technological mindset, but also from a consumer point of view. If you are watching a channel that is a risk of "burn-in," are you just watching a picture? Is a still image considered the basis for moving images? Or the reverse?


Relates

This concept relates to my work because I am dealing with a medium out of response to another medium. My concept deals with the life after the static, still image. The ideal shot of the subject is slowly and discretely, but also crudely stripped of its perfection to reveal its lifespan. The continuous passage of time is revealed by the clocks and the sound in my videos. I am interested in the idea of the static for the reasons described above, but also because the idea of permanence and evolution has driven my work and continues to fascinate me. Static is another connection between the organic and electronic permanence I am juxtaposing together because of its reference to physical state as well as technical electronic connotations.