8/02/2017

The window as a metaphor

12

Following the thread of a thought brought on
by this morning's post to Instagram, I made a curious discovery;
I discovered that since my very first post on IG in 2014
I've posted a total of 14 images related to  the window.

Just what is it about them I find so intriguing?

~ view into the woods right after dawn, posted August 2017 ~

A quick hop to googleland took me on a merry journey exploring symbolism.
There was this article in particular, 'Windows: Exploring the History of a Metaphor' by
H. J. Krysmanski

“The ‘window’ metaphor has a long career in the history of art and, in fact, in the evolvement of the human perspective in general.” 

It's long, but comprehensive, with a thought-provoking list of subtitles to choose from:

The Evolution of the Window
The Evolution of the Window Metaphor
Source of Eternal Light: the Gothic Cathedral
Renaissance: the Appearance of the Screen
Light on Privacy: the Windows of Jan Vermeer
Window Dressing: Staging the Theatrical Stage
Through the Looking Glass: Virtual Reality in Victorian England
Space and Time: the Epistemology of Screening and Framing
The Eye: Mirror and Window of the Soul
The Window Metaphor in Islamic Culture
The Window Metaphor in Buddhism and Confucianism
Walls of Glass: the Essence of Architecture
Modern Painting: in Defense of the Classical Screen
‘Peep Show’ and ‘Fensterln’: Folklore of the Windows Experience
Window Shopping: the Commodification of Desire
The Window Metaphor in Modern Science
Journeys through Space: the Cinema Screen
Surveillance: Monitoring the Radar Screen
Archaeology of the Computer Screen
How ‘Windows’ Chanced To Become A Registered Trade Mark


~ bedroom window overlooking the wild Atlantic :: Isle of Harris, Scotland, posted August 2017 ~

So what if I just compile all my windows here, as a group? ... ALL of them
in the order they were posted starting with this morning's, working back thru time.

I'd like to see what their collective voice may have to say.


~ better than the movies, posted February 2017 ~


~ sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean, west Cork, Ireland, posted October 2016 ~


~ first crack, posted September 2016 ~



 "It doesn't interest me if there is one God or many gods.
I want to know if you belong or feel abandoned.
If you know despair or can see it in others.
I want to know
if you are prepared to live in the world with its harsh need
to change you.  If you can look back
with firm eyes
saying this is where I stand ..."
~ from 'Self Portrait' by David Whyte, posted June 2016 ~


~ after a big swim, posted December 2015 ~


~ sometimes it takes darkness, posted April 2015 ~


~ threshold :: St. Conan's Kirk, Scotland, posted November 2014 ~


~ seasonal changes afoot :: watching rainclouds mass, posted September 2014 ~


~ 9:05 a.m. on 9/05/2014, posted September 2014 ~


~ first evening in Edinburgh :: view at twilight, posted August 2014 ~


~ my friend's house :: needs a wee bit of housekeeping, Newburgh, Scotland, posted July 2014 ~


~ self :: riding the wind, posted April 2014 ~


:::

straight photography,
app-ed photography;
the real, the imagined, the wished for
... the simple 'what was there.'

“Above all, though, windows have permitted man to experience the essence of light, from Chartres Cathedral to the paintings of Vermeer, and to this day even their most mundane use implies some sort of interaction with the unknown and with infinity.”

I don't mind keeping the question open for now.



12 comments:

  1. fenêtres du passé et sur le futur.. belle poésie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Elfi, J'adore cette idée ... merci beaucoup!

      Delete
  2. Windows are a way of looking at/into the world yet feeling protected.

    ReplyDelete
  3. For me, looking through a window depicts curiosity.
    xx, Carol

    ReplyDelete
  4. the eye of the artist as window to the soul

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Windows to souls .... now that could become a long & investigative conversation :>))

      Delete
  5. How wonderful that you are posting again. I did an entire notebook on "windows" for a class with Anita Mayer in Anacortes. We were then to make some kind of "purse" or bag. Once you start to look for windows--you can't stop. Thanks for posting. I have missed your thoughts

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the kind words, Janet (and for continually stopping by...)

      Delete
  6. And on a more prosaic note....there was window tax.
    http://www.historyhouse.co.uk/articles/window_tax.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well now, that puts an interesting spin on one's perspective!

      Delete