Comments on: peter tonningsen – buceros bicornis https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/04/buceros-bicornis-by-peter-tonningsen/ burn is an online feature for emerging photographers worldwide. burn is curated by magnum photographer david alan harvey. Sat, 18 Jun 2016 08:45:36 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.4 By: Kathleen Fonseca https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/04/buceros-bicornis-by-peter-tonningsen/#comment-35287 Thu, 09 Apr 2009 07:33:44 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=2153#comment-35287 sorry…the hour is late, my eyes are crossed..Correction:
“…than a live one that has not been quantified”

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By: Kathleen Fonseca https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/04/buceros-bicornis-by-peter-tonningsen/#comment-35286 Thu, 09 Apr 2009 07:31:51 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=2153#comment-35286 I like the ‘hands-on’ tactile credibility of scanner ‘photos’. I can imagine if Karl Blossfeldt was working today, this is how he’d do what he did so well. I am not at all discomfited by the fact that the background data is not relevant to the bird that’s pictured albeit the broad interconnection between species (which does seem a bit of a rationalization). In fact i especially like that the background has nothing to do with the bird. It’s the author’s personal statement versus a scientific illustration. It says to me, one species’ as good as another, long as it can be quantified. A beautiful bird, a lowly cockroach, a human being. We’re all just numbers in some data base. It only increases the sadness for me that the bird was killed to provide meaningful data to scientists who couldn’t care less that the animal might not have chosen to give his life for science. To the scientists, better a dead bird to measure than a live one that they has not been quantified. I get a distinct chill moving my eye from the clenched claw of the bird to the splayed legs of the lizard. Really, is all this killing to count necessary?

Aesthetically, it is beautiful work Peter. I am just not sure about celebrating the sorrowful death of this vital creature in order to measure it. i think your project is very worthy. The animals will rise above their ‘death for data’ to that of art, a somewhat more distinguished epitaph.

Best
Kathleen

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By: Mike R https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/04/buceros-bicornis-by-peter-tonningsen/#comment-35193 Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:42:12 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=2153#comment-35193 I have no problem with the photograph or means of capture. The background is a reference to the analytical and as such is suitable. The only problem I have is the dead bird; presumably killed to provide a specimen of its species.

I remember watching a t.v. programme some time ago which showed just-hatched baby turtles racing to the open sea. “From here” said the voiceover “We have little idea where they go”. I thought at the time “Thank fuck for that”. As a species we are inquisitive in the extreme. The upside of this is that we wander, explore, find out how things are made, go to the moon etc. The downside is that we sometimes despoil, destroy and treat other life-forms as inferior to us and thus worthy of our exploitation!

We kill animals for food; o.k. – if the animal in question has had a good life before death then i can accept this. To kill so that an animal can be weighed, measured, classified, numbered and put in a box just chills and saddens me. It is a legacy of a hopefully bygone age. Perhaps my attitude is because I’m getting old and am more aware of my own mortality.

Apologies for the gloom, Peter: I really do like your technique and would love to see it used on “found objects” or flowers, grasses etc. (they grow back).

Best wishes,

Mike.

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By: david alan harvey https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/04/buceros-bicornis-by-peter-tonningsen/#comment-35165 Wed, 08 Apr 2009 06:42:52 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=2153#comment-35165 CARRIE….

you are without a doubt one of my most welcomed contributors…..i would say more my dear, but i am about to make this keyboard my pillow….

many thanks….

cheers, david

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By: Carrie Roseman https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/04/buceros-bicornis-by-peter-tonningsen/#comment-35163 Wed, 08 Apr 2009 05:41:15 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=2153#comment-35163 DAH-

I realize that my zooming train of thought muddled by wordiness and a late night muddied the intent of my message. I know that I was sputtering, and in doing so, thought I was gaining perspective, and therefore clarity; but, sadly, I missed. I was attempting to set up the discussion with the mindset that scanned imagery would not be seen as “photography” …not to say that I stand by that or promote this point…it is simply to say that I thought this would be argued. DAH made a great point by saying that digital imagery recorded on a digital camera is merely such: a scan. Therefore, scanned work is photography. I get that, and I agree…in the same way that my eyeballs are scanners for my memory and the way I recall imagery that I record in my brain. I didn’t think about it this way until it was pointed out to me. Thank you.

I know that BuRN is not trying to promote any one type of work (debated much earlier about the photojournalistic aspect of the work presented here), but the point (of BuRN) is to enlighten us as to the work of emerging photographers…a sincerely bold effort, and one that continues to challenge us in the most academic and intelligent way. As for the work at hand, however, I simply anticipated a thread that would take on the challenges of scanned work…some commenters here even have challenged (in past posts) the fact that we make money off of our photography (god forbid we enjoy what we do and get paid for it!), so in that respect, I just thought the thread would go into a crazy debate.

I try to write intelligently and thoughtfully of the work posted here, as the work and artists behind it deserve it as well as the publishers who present it. As for the work at hand, I am very drawn to work that is collaged…it fascinates me because it is a meshing of things that didn’t necessarily exist together, yet we come up with a composite that is interesting and relevant…at least to the artist. I love the effort here to gain insight into the history of biology and science and birds and organisms and life…pick a part of the circle to examine and pick apart the circle…where do we stand and how is this all relevant? This work, geared seemingly towards a scientific curiosity, is art. Thank you, Peter Tonningsen, for your brilliance and insight.

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By: Gordon Lafleur https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/04/buceros-bicornis-by-peter-tonningsen/#comment-35159 Wed, 08 Apr 2009 04:40:34 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=2153#comment-35159 Peter

Welcome to burn and congrats on your project.

What is your intended output here, are you making large prints? Scanner art, with its insane level of detail, looks amazing when printed larger than life size. It seems to pale a bit on the computer screen only a few hundred pixels in size.

I have to agree with some of the comments that the image appears a bit “pasted on”. Perhaps a softer selection, and a quiet drop shadow would help.

On it’s own here, I’m afraid it doessn’t hold my interest. However I’d love to see it in a gallery, big, with the others in the series, or in a large format book.

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By: bb(homer) https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/04/buceros-bicornis-by-peter-tonningsen/#comment-35128 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:09:12 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=2153#comment-35128 p.s.

check out Magg’s work

1) NOMENCLATURE
2) CONTAMINATION
3) NOTIFICATION
4) REPETOIRE

all viewable on the web….

or look his early pics of my hero J. Beuys….

running
b

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By: bb(homer) https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/04/buceros-bicornis-by-peter-tonningsen/#comment-35127 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:05:46 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=2153#comment-35127 DAVID :)))

indeed, indeed, hear u loud and clear my friend! :)))

and as for Burn, yes, as Burn grows (im literally telling as many people about it as i can, including artists/filmmakers/conceptualists,etc), it will continue to grow and reflect the diversity that is photography…couldnt be happier for you and Burn :))…..and as we discussed, when things get settled, i’ll jump in with the other stuff we talked about ;)))….as for the writing/pic collaboration, i’ve promised to finish it this week ….it has been a very very busy/intensive 2 1/2 weeks…and well, had to deal with other things…

the be-all-end all is definitely NOT photography ;))))…we both share that vision too :))….

and by the way, we must talk about May…i’ll call u next week, ok??…this week/weekend, need silence and i know u need rest post-workshop, middle-of-EPF….so, next weekend, i’ll call u to talk about CONTACT and visit….

got goodie idea for u too…

running
hugs
b

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By: wendy https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/04/buceros-bicornis-by-peter-tonningsen/#comment-35125 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:30:29 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=2153#comment-35125 I feel the same
as Harry….
for no good reason…..
**

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By: Akaky https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/04/buceros-bicornis-by-peter-tonningsen/#comment-35123 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:00:09 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=2153#comment-35123 It’s not a Norwegian Blue, is it?

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By: ian aitken https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/04/buceros-bicornis-by-peter-tonningsen/#comment-35122 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:56:14 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=2153#comment-35122 Peter,

Visually to begin with, I was a little thrown by the lack of appearance of physical contact between the bird and background ( no drop shadow etc), then I began to feel it looks like it could be an exhibition piece in a museum case with the bird raised above the background on a perspex plinth and lit seperately, which works.

It also makes more sense as a narrative as there is only a flitting relationship between the bird and the text. The background is the environment and associated animals which the bird inhabited.

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By: david alan harvey https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/04/buceros-bicornis-by-peter-tonningsen/#comment-35121 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:55:35 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=2153#comment-35121 JARED…

you should be able to click on most of the singles and have them go larger…not full screen , but larger….this particular photograph being shown now is way more vertical (deeper) than most others, therefore it just does not fit exactly….i am now on a 13′ screen and it is just slightly cut…a standard format 35mm aspect ratio vertical photo should fit your screen just right….

cheers, david

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By: jared iorio https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/04/buceros-bicornis-by-peter-tonningsen/#comment-35120 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:41:37 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=2153#comment-35120 tech note:

I’m viewing on a pretty standard 15″ screen — photos published on burn in portrait mode (as opposed to landscape) are unviewable in their entirety. Scrolling up and down makes for a poor viewing experience.

I know you can’t conform to everyone’s hardware, screen size, etc., but my screen is an average laptop screen, and the photos are just about 100 pixels too long.

I thought you were able to click on them and see them in full screen mode, but maybe that’s just for essays…

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By: bb(homer) https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/04/buceros-bicornis-by-peter-tonningsen/#comment-35118 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:26:58 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=2153#comment-35118 Peter:

Last comment….are you familiar with the great and extraordinary photographer Arnaud Maggs?…Arnaud’s work is extraordinary…and my wife and i have had the great honor to meet and talk with him. In his 80’s, he’s a remarkably intelligent, tireless and creatively-restless seaker….his recent photographs, all deal with the questioning of ‘color’ and images and, well what his entire work has been about….

http://www.canadacouncil.ca/aboutus/artistsstories/visualarts/an127876889334034580.htm

take a look at Maggs’ recent work…brilliant….and agile, mind-tickling and, as challenging as any young art-school grad is producing ;)))…

enjoy

bob
b

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By: Harry https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/04/buceros-bicornis-by-peter-tonningsen/#comment-35117 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:19:09 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=2153#comment-35117 Peter,

I’d like to see the back grounds that have a connection to the specimen. Do you have a link to those pictures that match beast and notes? For no good reason it bothers me that they don’t match.

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By: anon https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/04/buceros-bicornis-by-peter-tonningsen/#comment-35116 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:58:56 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=2153#comment-35116 susana raab, sorry ! DOH DAH!

http://susanaraab.wordpress.com/2009/04/07/proyecto-luz-seeking-volunteers-to-teach-photography-in-mexico/

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By: anon https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/04/buceros-bicornis-by-peter-tonningsen/#comment-35115 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:57:37 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=2153#comment-35115 OFF TOPIC but of possible interest to Burn Victims, sorry, don’t know where else to post dah — (spotted on susanna robb’s blog)

Proyecto Luz seeking Volunteers to Teach Photography in Mexico
April 7, 2009
Locations:
– Undisclosed community in Mixe region of Oaxaca, Mexico.
– Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico, Mexico.
– Ejido Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico

Housing and stipend provided.

Requirements:

– Fluency in Spanish REQUIRED. Individuals with little Spanish-language fluency may participate in operations.

– Cultural sensitivity/respect and willingness to adhere to community practices/suggestions REQUIRED.

– Previous experience working with youth strongly preferred.

– Previous experience teaching photography/journalism preferred.

– Knowledge of and experience with Mexican culture preferred.

If interested, please send questions and the following materials to jasmin.mara@gmail.com by May 1, 2009.

– Letter of interest detailing previous experience working with youth and/or teaching photography.
– Link to your website, portfolio & bio.

Mission Statement:
Project Luz seeks to inspire and empower youth living in communities throughout Mexico. With the help of dedicated volunteers, we provide youth with photography resources (professional mentors, instruction and equipment) necessary to encourage positive social change within themselves and their community. We understand photojournalism as a powerful tool for community self-reflection and empowerment.

Media:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjQnbWBR7DA
http://insidemex.com/downloads/issues/imx22-issue.pdf (Pg. 7)
http://proyectoluz.blogspot.com/

Contact:
Jasmin Lopez
Founder/coordinator
jasmin.mara@gmail.com
Skype:Jasmin_Mara
Oaxaca, Mexico: (951) 195 7880

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By: Stupid Photographer https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/04/buceros-bicornis-by-peter-tonningsen/#comment-35114 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:37:02 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=2153#comment-35114 So often I just have to step way back in wonder, and quietly sneak away, hopefully without stepping on any toes, while the people having a whole another life experience celebrate it, and I’m just a stupid intruder, doing nothing but trying to leave.

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By: erica mcdonald https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/04/buceros-bicornis-by-peter-tonningsen/#comment-35113 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:20:18 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=2153#comment-35113 The Buceros bicornis keeps staring at me while I am trying to work. I sort of wish his eye didn’t glow like that..I feel like he wants something.

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By: bb(homer) https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2009/04/buceros-bicornis-by-peter-tonningsen/#comment-35112 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:06:14 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=2153#comment-35112 Peter :))

my pleasure…love Binh Danh by the way…linked to his work for Road Trips (david’s old blog) 2 years ago when the disucssion of ‘what is a photograph’ came up :)))….by the way, check out simons’ work

Cratylus….which is his juxtaposition between fossils and the Platonic dialouge about Language with Cratylus….

http://www.simonglass.ca/pages/artworks/cratylus/cratylus.html

Simon is also an instructor…and now Dean of the big Art School here in TO…and a close friend…feel free to write him…

all the best
bob

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