17 February 2010 - Relative vs Perceptual

After many frustrating attempts to configure my printing workflow to provide perfect prints I have finally settled on Perceptual rather than Relative using Canon's 190gsm Glossy Photo Paper. The reason being that the ipf6100 with this paper has a gamut that extends down to around 24 in rgb, not 0. So when using Relative rendering all the values between 0 and 24 are the same black since their out of gamut. Using Perceptual rendering the values are transposed so that 0 becomes 24, 10 becomes 33, 20 becomes 43, etc. Some tonal range is maintained in those tonal values. Another more or less equivalent way if to use Relative and apply a input-output linear curve but its tedious to check this every time you print. The downside though, and I need to look into this some more, is the effect of the Perceptual rendering transposition on skin tones.

15 February 2010 - Why is the England Rugby Team sponsored by O2?

Why do the England shirts have a big O2 logo on them? Are we so cheap as a country that our Rugby team has to be sponsored, or are we so greedy that our rugby union will sell its soul to the devil for a little more money. When did we sell-out. What next. Will Gordon and his pals have tie-pins with the Nike logo on them, or will the Queen wear a coca-cola cap when she opens parliament. Will the BBC have a little 'sponsored by Barclays' in the bottom corners when its hippo's swim. France is the only team which doesn't have some corporate logo. Good for them; at least they have some self-respect and dignity. I think I might move from O2.

14 February 2010 - The Charmless Chinese New Year

What a huge disappointment the Chinese New Year was in Manchester. Huge. Never again. From the moment I got off the train at Piccadilly and saw three surly policemen at the end of the platform intimidating people with the blank stares I knew the occasion wasn't going to be fun. Then, at the event, the over-bearing security staff whose manner was unhelpful, whose only skill or purpose was in blocking peoples way. Are these people told at the start: don't smile, don't be polite, don't be helpful, don't have any manners. There were so many of them, corralling people behind barriers, shouting through loudspeakers.

And then the dragon itself. A Chinese dragon; sponsored by BetFred. Unbelievable. All the people carrying the dragon, none of them Chinese, all the people in the parade were wearing BetFred t-shirts. How not Chinese. It was embarrassing to watch. Even Fred looked embarrassed as he led the parade. Notwithstanding the pathetic BetFred sponsorship the parade was just a dragon. A dragon and over-bearing security people, and noise; the ever-present pa booming over everything. It was utterly charmless. I shan't go again, and recommend that no-one else does.

Fortunately the day was rescued by the Manchester Art Gallery, which despite being busy, has two excellent exhibitions on. Both worth seeing. Ron Mueck and Facing East: Recent Works from China, India and Japan. Both excellent. My boys and I were stunned. Rarely recently have so many interesting works been put together.

6 February 2010 - Naming or Numbering Paintings?

It having been a busy week I spent Saturday morning Wikipediaing Abstract Expressionism for a new project I'm working on: Jackson Pollack, Ellsworth Kelly, Marc Rothko, Barnatt Newman, etc. I came across this quote from Pollock's wife, Lee Krasner, who said that Pollock "used to give his pictures conventional titles... but now he simply numbers them. Numbers are neutral. They make people look at a picture for what it is - pure painting." Now is that really true? Can paintings be 'simply numbered'? Numbering a painting six, or seven thousand two hundred and fifty-two carries with it different information. Numbering pictures in order carries with it a logic, a progression. Similarly, numbering pictures sequentially, implies an order, a structure. All these things have an impact on the viewing. Further, numbers carry there own symbolism. Number seven: the seven seas, seven days of the week, seven sins, seven notes in Western music, seven inch single, seven wonders of the world, Madness' third album. Whereas, 13? You get the gist. Would the title "Number 13" affect how one views a painting?

ps. yes, I know, making a verb from a noun is a terrible terrible thing. I apologiese for "Wikipediaing". Language moves on. Lets party anyway.

24 January 2010 - Neil's Party