Controlling the point of view

[BarleyBop]

I'm not a diorama guy, but do have experience in museum exhibitry and visual design.

On another thread, it occurred to me that controlling the viewer's point of view might offer interesting possibilities, whether literally 'staging' a dio in an enclosure to direct the viewer to a specific line of sight, or mounting the dio on a turntable with a clock motor to rotate it through a particular axis...

...it was a comment from... drat, now I can't find it again, anyhow, basically describing our efforts as "static" that got me thinking, why not explore techniques from exhibitry, photography and film?

Think: the opening scenes of Apocalypse Now, where the camera pulls us in, upside down, with the ceiling fan blades cutting across the screen.
It is disorienting, but adds a whole new dimension to a scene with a guy just lying there, "static".

Cheers!

 

[the Baron]

It's called a shadow box
There are some excellent examples of the technique to be seen at https://www.boxdioramas.com/

 

[urumomo]

Get building !
post lots of pix

 

[BarleyBop]

Cool! Will definitely be reading up on box dioramas!
There truly is nothing new under the sun; this is a great example of 'thinking in the box'! Ha!

From doll houses to museum dioramas, there is something compelling about miniatures, or recreated scenes and objects that fire up the imagination!

Sadly, from my experience working in the national museums here in Ottawa back in the 80s, there has been a move away from the craft of dioramas, with the advent of immersive exhibits and now, virtual environments.

Is this a general loss of imagination and us slipping into consumption passiveness? ...feel a rant coming on!

Better sign off... and build something!

 

[Edbert]

I'm not a diorama guy, but do have experience in museum exhibitry and visual design.

I just gotta say, you (and your chemist-turned-coder-wife) sound like very interesting folks, at least to me.

 

[BarleyBop]

That's nice of you to say. There are many interesting people in this forum!
Funny how we will get to know each other through the assembly and painting of little plastic kits.

 

[OldManModeler]

Ah, yeah. The ceiling fan blades spin over a sweaty bed of a black ops Operator, and they become the spinning blades of a transport Huey.

It's all an art form. In cinema, static models, wall paintings and other outlets. The depth is posed by the artist and the impact is gauged by the public audience. Emotions and personal history all play into the final outcome. But the 'artist' should always have his reason and why it matters to him or her. Not the public perception.

The balance and money maker is when the artist can connect with the public.

As artificial intelligence builds, myself, as a hack artist, and those real artists are doomed to mediocrity. Nothing will be real anymore. It's all ones and zeros in a mainframe. In an essence, just lies.

Let's keep truth in art going in static scale.

Be well. Model on.

Eric

 

[airdave]

I'm not a diorama guy, but do have experience in museum exhibitry and visual design.

On another thread, it occurred to me that controlling the viewer's point of view might offer interesting possibilities, whether literally 'staging' a dio in an enclosure to direct the viewer to a specific line of sight, or mounting the dio on a turntable with a clock motor to rotate it through a particular axis...

...it was a comment from... drat, now I can't find it again, anyhow, basically describing our efforts as "static" that got me thinking, why not explore techniques from exhibitry, photography and film?

Think: the opening scenes of Apocalypse Now, where the camera pulls us in, upside down, with the ceiling fan blades cutting across the screen.
It is disorienting, but adds a whole new dimension to a scene with a guy just lying there, "static".

Cheers!

I'm an artist, painter and a model designer/builder.
When I put out something for the public, I can be be extremely picky and controlling when it comes to where and how you see my stuff.
I agree with OldMan that the artist must retain control over how their work is presented.

But in reference to Barley's original comment, I was once at a scale model event and there was a builder there who had created some sort of diorama that I did not get the chance to view properly.
On the table he had a large 'box' made up of various panels. It wasn't all smooth sides, but it was unfinished and unattractive looking.
Thinking back I'm going to guess it might have been 2 to 3 foot square and at leat half that tall, so it took up plenty of table space.

On one side was a small window, much smaller than a trading card, forcing any viewer to stoop and look into the box by a very specific angle.

Obviously the box contained a diorama that needed to be viewed only from a specific perspective.
I assume there was lighting in the box too.

All I can say is the reception was less than enthusiastic, with most spectators passing all together or reluctantly bending down and giving up fairly quickly.
While I may support an artist's desire to control how their work is viewed, there must be a tolerance/acceptance of the viewer's willingness to accommodate the presentation.
In this case, designing a diorama that can only be viewed from such a specific and controlled position might not have been a good idea.
If you make something too difficult for the viewer to take part or understand, they will not show any interest.

 

[the Baron]

Don't let your experience at the museum get you down. I don't think it's comparable to tastes in our hobby. Dioramas are very popular. If you ever get to a show, whether IPMS or otherwise, you can see the work that some modelers do. And there are clubs, websites, and social media groups devoted to dioramas. And if you look beyond the West, to Japan, especially, and other countries in Asia, you'll see that the genre is alive and kicking.

 

[Jakko]

the genre is alive and kicking

Most definitely. I went to Scale Model Challenge 2023 (my first visit to that show), and this is what won best of show there:


(not my photo, just one I found online)

That's, as I recall, 1:35 or 1:32 scale or so. And it was just one of a great many dioramas with all kinds of subjects (most of them military, though), many of which looked just as good to me.

 

[BarleyBop]

All I can say is the reception was less than enthusiastic, with most spectators passing all together or reluctantly bending down and giving up fairly quickly.

Very much a case of understanding your audience, or not... but also begs the question, "do I build for my audience, or my muse?"

@airdave , very nice to meet a painter!
Because I worked mostly in tech, my usual reply to 'what was you major' was, "oh, basket weaving". So I trained as a painter, but quickly moved into design when I had more than just my mouth to feed. How did you transition your skills as a painter to modeling, or did they develop together?

Cheers

 

[BarleyBop]

designing a diorama that can only be viewed from such a specific and controlled position

Upon further reflection, isn't this the very definition of standard photography?

I sometimes wish more of us could unlearn the enculturated approach to appreciating 2D and 3D works... the child who draws a table as a rectangle, with 4 legs heading off in different directions: because that is what they understand a table to be; until they learn that in our culture at least, the camera's cyclopean view is considered the true reality.

How many more of us would draw, paint and build models and dioramas if they didn't think their work would be compared to a photograph rather than an experience of the real thing?

...sorry to ramble on, but I still remember the time I was in grade 2 when the teacher held up my drawing of Jesus preaching on the mount to show the class. Shaded rocks, many blades of grass.

I was pleased, and proud.

I have since learned that the effect on many of my classmates, probably decided then and there, was that they felt they couldn't draw.

Not so pleased, not so proud.