Interim notes on Arno Roncada and the imaginary place.
Diese wahrhaft wunderbare Natur hat mich heftig ergriffen, wenn mir gleich vieles in seinem Wesen dunkel geblieben ist. –Ludwig Tieck, 1834
1.
The giant volcano Hes or Fire Mountain rises above the lonely plains of Kalon. Since time immemorial, the mountain was a sanctuary for the Cult of Fire. More than two thousand years ago Kalon was conquered by Rassen, one of the generals of Alexander the Great. He forced the Cult of Isis on the volcano, which now was called Hes, in honor of the goddess. The first high priestess of Hes brought some changes to the original cult in which the mere worship of fire had to make way for an exaltation of life and nature.
Around Hes live wild tribes who worship the priestess and bring her gifts. Their belief in the goddess of fire involves certain primitive and savage rituals. One of the most remarkable was called “the hunting of witches”. The shaman of the tribe casts spells with a big white cat on his head. Then he puts the cat in a box and passes the line of suspects who have their hands tied behind their backs. If the cat jumps in the face of one of them then that is an irrefutable proof of witchcraft and the culprit will be burnt alive.
Henry Rider Haggard, Ayesha. The Return of She, London, 1905.
2.
“The Valley of Humiliation” is situated between “The Valley of the Shadow of Death” and “The Hill of Difficulty”. Some say that it is no good there, but it actually is one of the most fruitful and peaceful areas of the region. Simple farmers work the rich soil and shepherds herd their sheep on the slopes. It was a very suitable place for contemplation and meditation, where the Lord’s country residence was and men and angels met and pearls were found in the fields.
John Bunyan: The Pilgrim’s Progress from this World to that which Is to Come. Delivered under the Similitude of a Dream. Wherein Is Discovered the Manner of his Setting out, his Dangerous Journey and Safe Arrival at the Desired Country, London 1678.
Diese wahrhaft wunderbare Natur hat mich heftig ergriffen, wenn mir gleich vieles in seinem Wesen dunkel geblieben ist. –Ludwig Tieck, 1834
1.
The giant volcano Hes or Fire Mountain rises above the lonely plains of Kalon. Since time immemorial, the mountain was a sanctuary for the Cult of Fire. More than two thousand years ago Kalon was conquered by Rassen, one of the generals of Alexander the Great. He forced the Cult of Isis on the volcano, which now was called Hes, in honor of the goddess. The first high priestess of Hes brought some changes to the original cult in which the mere worship of fire had to make way for an exaltation of life and nature.
Around Hes live wild tribes who worship the priestess and bring her gifts. Their belief in the goddess of fire involves certain primitive and savage rituals. One of the most remarkable was called “the hunting of witches”. The shaman of the tribe casts spells with a big white cat on his head. Then he puts the cat in a box and passes the line of suspects who have their hands tied behind their backs. If the cat jumps in the face of one of them then that is an irrefutable proof of witchcraft and the culprit will be burnt alive.
Henry Rider Haggard, Ayesha. The Return of She, London, 1905.
2.
“The Valley of Humiliation” is situated between “The Valley of the Shadow of Death” and “The Hill of Difficulty”. Some say that it is no good there, but it actually is one of the most fruitful and peaceful areas of the region. Simple farmers work the rich soil and shepherds herd their sheep on the slopes. It was a very suitable place for contemplation and meditation, where the Lord’s country residence was and men and angels met and pearls were found in the fields.
John Bunyan: The Pilgrim’s Progress from this World to that which Is to Come. Delivered under the Similitude of a Dream. Wherein Is Discovered the Manner of his Setting out, his Dangerous Journey and Safe Arrival at the Desired Country, London 1678.
3.
Neither story has anything to do with the photographs of Arno Roncada. At least not on an anecdotal or narrative level. But considering them as an uninhibited possibility for interpretation, however, we get pretty near the mark. The two stories are synopses from the acclaimed reference book ‘The Dictionary of Imaginary Places’ by Alberto Manguel and Gianni Guadalupi, an endless and detailed inventory of states, islands, beaches, mountains, cliffs and rocks, with this in common: they do not really exist, only by the grace of their creators. In a comparable manner, Arno Roncada creates his images in an imaginary geography.
4.
But they are photos, aren’t they?
5.
Of course they are. But what we get to see is never what there was to be seen, or ought to be seen. Or did you ever see a thundering avalanche under a clear starlit sky? These photos, says Arno Roncada, show that the 'sublime' in the twenty-first century is about the dominance of the representation of reality. Specific recording techniques and software make a reality of its own hyperbole. This can sting sometimes, but can also create space for interpretation and imagination.
Furthermore, we see that Arno Roncada’s creating of imaginary places is not only limited to image manipulation, there is often a game of references and citations made. Photos such as Untitled (Self-portrait at Zabriskie Point and Power Plant (Red Desert) quote verbatim from the films of Michelangelo Antonioni. (By the way, Red Desert not only refers to Antonioni's Il Deserto Rosso, but was once the location where Planet of the Apes was shot). Anyhow, and all too briefly summarized, Antonioini avoided possible explanatory moments, dialogues, and objects. His films are mysterious like life itself ... Arno Roncada is seeking a similar reserve, by which the viewer can withdraw from the creator’s vision and create his own expericence.
6.
Remote, but also endless. Literally, sometimes, through a veil of clouds and fog.
“That’s the great thing about fog”, the woman remarked. “You can see whatever you want.”
-- Erik Eelbode, March 2009
Neither story has anything to do with the photographs of Arno Roncada. At least not on an anecdotal or narrative level. But considering them as an uninhibited possibility for interpretation, however, we get pretty near the mark. The two stories are synopses from the acclaimed reference book ‘The Dictionary of Imaginary Places’ by Alberto Manguel and Gianni Guadalupi, an endless and detailed inventory of states, islands, beaches, mountains, cliffs and rocks, with this in common: they do not really exist, only by the grace of their creators. In a comparable manner, Arno Roncada creates his images in an imaginary geography.
4.
But they are photos, aren’t they?
5.
Of course they are. But what we get to see is never what there was to be seen, or ought to be seen. Or did you ever see a thundering avalanche under a clear starlit sky? These photos, says Arno Roncada, show that the 'sublime' in the twenty-first century is about the dominance of the representation of reality. Specific recording techniques and software make a reality of its own hyperbole. This can sting sometimes, but can also create space for interpretation and imagination.
Furthermore, we see that Arno Roncada’s creating of imaginary places is not only limited to image manipulation, there is often a game of references and citations made. Photos such as Untitled (Self-portrait at Zabriskie Point and Power Plant (Red Desert) quote verbatim from the films of Michelangelo Antonioni. (By the way, Red Desert not only refers to Antonioni's Il Deserto Rosso, but was once the location where Planet of the Apes was shot). Anyhow, and all too briefly summarized, Antonioini avoided possible explanatory moments, dialogues, and objects. His films are mysterious like life itself ... Arno Roncada is seeking a similar reserve, by which the viewer can withdraw from the creator’s vision and create his own expericence.
6.
Remote, but also endless. Literally, sometimes, through a veil of clouds and fog.
“That’s the great thing about fog”, the woman remarked. “You can see whatever you want.”
-- Erik Eelbode, March 2009
