.project.notes.

Title: thy sheep shall take no harm.

Displayed alongside The Hireling Shepherd when it was first shown at the Royal Academy, from Shakespeare’s King Lear:

“sleepest or wakest thou, jolly shepherd?

thy sheep be in the corn;

but for one blast of thy minikin mouth,

thy sheep shall take no harm.

Quoted in Report on Probability A from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:

“Do not, I beg you, look for anything behind phenomena. They are themselves their own lesson.”

From Shakespeare’s Hamlet:

“Her clothes spread wide

And mermaid-like, awhile they bore her up;

Which time she chanted snatches of old tunes,

As one incapable of her own distress,

Or like a creature native and endued unto

that element. But long it could not be

Till her garments, heavy with their drink,

Pulled the poor wretch from her melodious lay

To muddy death.”

The Hireling Shepherd: this painting is in the public domain.

William Holman Hunt (1851) oil on canvas, 30” x 43”, held at Manchester Art Gallery.

Ophelia: this painting is in the public domain.

John Everett Millais (1851-1852) oil on canvas, 30” x 44”, held at the Tate.

Report on Probability A: Cover art used with permission / falls under fair use.

Brian Aldiss, published in three editions: Faber (1968), Lancer (1968), and Sphere (1969).

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

vs.

Pre-Raphaelite sisterhood

Ungendered pre-Raphaelites

Post-Pre Raphaelite Collective

1.Combinatory elements: images which are departure points for the proliferation of more images, a proliferation achieved via a number of photographic processes, which is ongoing. There are 15 initial images, the proliferation is triggered by digital interactions through surveillance and social media. A performative aspect which allows the Aldiss text(s) to be read/performed through the camera and/or in the space, recordings of these also proliferate and become absorbed in the installation.

There is no fixity of meaning or lasting form.

There is no ultimate point of realization.

2. “What is the perception that we have when we are under surveillance?”

3. Surveillance is simultaneously mundane and disturbing; it is ubiquitous in the developed world. We are under near-constant, nonconsensual surveillance… images generated through surveillance provide a strange approximation of reality, a form of documentation that seems inherently ominous.

surveillance and the uncertainty principle:

- a fundamental limit to accuracy

- a relationship of special relativity

- Historically inextricable from the observer effect: the disturbance of an observed system by the act of observation

“The uncertainty principle has been frequently confused with the observer effect, evidently even by its originator, Werner Heisenberg. The uncertainty principle in its standard form describes how precisely we may measure the position and momentum of a particle at the same time – if we increase the precision in measuring one quantity, we are forced to lose precision in measuring the other. An alternative version of the uncertainty principle, more in the spirit of an observer effect, fully accounts for the disturbance the observer has on a system and the error incurred, although this is not how the term "uncertainty principle" is most commonly used in practice.”

4. The project will trouble boundaries of what is publicly accessible and acceptable, and what is not. Uncertainty, instability, and discomfort are aspects of this work. These are reflected in the seemingly irreconcilable interpretations of the ambiguous poses in the Hunt painting, and the tension between the perceived subject matter and site in the Millais painting.

5. Controversies regarding the paintings: Hunt’s relationship with the model Emma Watson, the illness of the model Elizabeth Siddall after posing for Millais. The interpretations and reception of the paintings in their “own time.”

5. What is the relationship between Wikipedia and the proliferation of images?

What is the relationship between the proliferation of images, and the proliferation of information?

There is a falseness at the core of these reproductions, there is a constant potential for what seems clear and legible to be fallacious; these seeming truths are Janus-faced.

It is possible to access the history of Wikipedia entries and observe the changes made to entries over time, all of the changes are archived.

6. An entangled world where time is nonlinear: the model for the Shepherd is Brian Aldiss. Millais and Hunt paint on opposite sides of the same stream. The multiple inhabitants of the worlds of Probability A observe these and other worlds: the paintings are each windows into yet other worlds, where time moves so slowly that it essentially stands still; from these worlds are vantage points that view still other worlds.

7. "And", reveals Aldiss, "there were watchers watching them, and they too had watchers, who also had watchers, and so on, and so on", while "Mr. Mary's wife sat at her own screen and regarded the cycle of universes as night closed in" and C lay in the loft above the garage, contemplating a picture of two snakes swallowing each other's tail like an ouroboros.”

8. In “our own” world/timeline, Hunt did paint The Hireling Shepherd when he was living and working in close collaboration with Millais, who was painting Ophelia at the same time at the Hogsmill River near Ewell, Surrey. Both paintings depict English rural scenes, the innocence of which is disturbed by subtle but profoundly threatening violations of natural harmony.

9. The shepherd ignores the sheep as they founder. He leans over a young woman who leans neither towards him nor away, her face unreadable. He places his arm around her shoulder to show her, cupped in his hand, a death’s head moth.

10. The irreconcilability between the interpretations and ambiguities led Aldiss to discuss the painting in detail in Report on Probability A in which characters from parallel universes observe each other in an attempt to comprehend the alien worlds that they have been given partial access to. The painting is repeatedly described as an example of an image that may have a clear and legible meaning, if only it can be found, or, alternatively, it may be a fragment of experience forever locked into an unreadable moment with multiple possible narratives leading to and from it.

11. A young woman floats a in river, surrounded by plants and flowers. Her mouth is parted, she may be speaking or singing. Ophelia’s pose is also ambiguous: it can be interpreted as a gesture of inevitability, an allusion to the crucifixion and the genuflection of martyred saints, or as an erotic invitation. It has often been claimed that a human skull is visible in the weeds, and that a water vole was depicted in an early version of the painting alongside Ophelia.

12. The complex and conflicting possibilities inherent in the imagery has been reinterpreted by artists and filmmakers, among them Salvador Dali, Nick Cave, and Wes Craven. The painting functions as a constant reproach to the notion of fixity of meaning and is instead a representation of the possibility for a proliferation of realities dependent on a waking-dream state, where that which governs reality is dependent upon the length of the dream and the strength of the dreamer. This may be a representation of an eternal moment in which the subject neither drowns nor escapes death, but is suspended in a boundless, liminal space between life and demise.

13. “polytemporality: a synchronous sense of the past, present, and future.” (Andrea Ray)

How is the proliferation of images connected to polytemporality?

How does polytemporality trouble or counter the narrative of helplessness that the pre-Raphaelites imposed on their female subjects/muses/models?

14. Within Report on Probability A is the leitmotif of the Wandering Virgin:

There are copies of the painting The Hireling Shepherd “in the outbuildings occupied by G, S and C, and it also exists in Domoladossa's world, where it is attributed to a "Russian-born German of British extraction" named Winkel Henri Hunt. A detail from the painting is reproduced in black and white on the dust jacket of the Faber edition, and superimposed on the reproduction is a picture of a book with the words LOW POINT X on its cover in pink block capitals. The book lies on the grass in the foreground of the painting and is one of the books on a shelf in the upper room of the outhouse occupied by S. It may also be a reference to "the pigeon known as X" which frequents the Mary's garden, since a black-and-white cat stalks the pigeon and eventually catches it. (The painting, as seen on the Faber dustjacket, is also referenced on the cover of the 1969 Sphere Books paperback edition. This depicts three bubbles, each containing the central detail of the painting, receding in perspective, as they apparently drift through thick clouds.) The Faber version of the painting with the book exists in another world where a woman known as the Wandering Virgin is in a trance-like state. She is reciting events in the worlds of G, S and C, Domoladossa, and the men in New York to a jury of ten men, whose members include the Suppressor of the Archives, the Impaler of Distortions, the Impersonator of Sorrows, the Image Motivator, and the Squire of Reason. The book is thought to indicate the mental state of the girl in the painting, but the Virgin's recital becomes confused, and the jury cannot decide whether the worlds she is describing are real or imaginary. The novel ends with the suggestion that the painting is a window on another world where time stands still. However, there is also a world in which both versions of the painting exist – in Manchester Gallery and on Faber's dust jacket – and readers of the novel who are, in effect, 'watching the watchers' may be left with the feeling that perhaps they too are being watched in other parallel universes.” (Wikipedia)

current wikipedia links

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hireling_Shepherd

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophelia_(painting)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Report_on_Probability_A

notes from chatGPT:

(S) describe the painting the hireling shepherd

(C) "The Hireling Shepherd" is a famous painting created by the British artist William Holman Hunt. Completed in 1851, it is an oil on canvas work that is often associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group of English painters who sought to revive the detailed and vibrant style of art that predates the Renaissance.

The painting depicts a pastoral scene set in an idyllic countryside. In the foreground, there is a young shepherd boy dressed in a vibrant red tunic, leaning against a tree. He holds a shepherd's crook and is looking away from his flock of sheep, seemingly disinterested in his duty. This portrayal of the shepherd as negligent and neglectful is the central theme of the painting.

To the left of the shepherd, a lamb lies wounded and dying, symbolizing the consequence of the shepherd's inattention. The painting suggests that the shepherd's lack of care has led to the lamb's demise. The lamb's mother stands nearby, grieving over the loss of her young, adding a touch of emotional poignancy to the scene.

In the background, there is a distant view of the shepherd's cottage and a meandering river. The landscape is lush and green, evoking a sense of tranquility and abundance.

"The Hireling Shepherd" is laden with symbolism and moral undertones. It serves as a commentary on the idea of responsibility and the consequences of neglecting one's duty. The painting suggests that a hireling, someone who undertakes a job solely for monetary gain rather than out of genuine care, cannot be trusted to fulfill their obligations faithfully.

William Holman Hunt's meticulous attention to detail, vibrant colors, and symbolic imagery are characteristic of the Pre-Raphaelite style. "The Hireling Shepherd" stands as one of his most renowned works, showcasing his mastery in capturing both the beauty of nature and the complexities of human behavior.

(S) describe the painting ophelia

(C) "The Ophelia" is a celebrated painting created by the British artist Sir John Everett Millais in 1851-1852. Inspired by the character Ophelia from William Shakespeare's play "Hamlet," the painting depicts the tragic moment of Ophelia's drowning.

The scene is set in a serene and lush natural environment, capturing Ophelia floating in a calm river surrounded by an abundance of flowers and vegetation. Millais pays great attention to detail in portraying the intricate flora and fauna, creating a vivid and enchanting atmosphere.

Ophelia lies motionless in the water, her body seemingly weightless and ethereal. Her face is serene, her eyes closed, and her arms extended gracefully as if embracing the water. Her clothing, saturated with water, spreads around her like a billowing white dress. The flowers scattered around her—primroses, daisies, violets, and other symbolic blooms—accentuate the poignant scene and add layers of meaning to the painting.

Millais' depiction of Ophelia's tragic demise captures both her beauty and vulnerability. The painting evokes a sense of melancholy, reflecting the overwhelming sadness and despair associated with Ophelia's madness and eventual suicide in the play.

"The Ophelia" exemplifies the meticulous and detailed style of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, to which Millais belonged. The artists of this movement sought to revive the detailed and vibrant aesthetic of art from before the Renaissance, often incorporating mythological, literary, and symbolic elements into their works.

Millais' painting of Ophelia remains an iconic and influential piece in the history of art. Its striking portrayal of beauty and tragedy continues to captivate viewers, inviting contemplation of themes such as love, loss, madness, and the transient nature of life.

(S) describe the book by Brian Aldiss, report on probability a

(C) "Report on Probability A" is a science fiction novel written by Brian Aldiss, an influential British author known for his contributions to the genre. Published in 1968, the book explores complex themes of time, reality, and the nature of human existence.

The story is set in a post-apocalyptic future where society is divided into two classes: the Normals, who are considered the "true" humans, and the Variants, who possess psychic abilities but are marginalized and oppressed. The protagonist, David, is a Normal who works as a reporter for a television station. He is assigned to investigate an enigmatic phenomenon known as the "Report on Probability A," a series of surreal and disturbing visions that seem to defy conventional understanding of time and space.

As David delves deeper into the investigation, he encounters strange and unsettling events that challenge his perception of reality. He becomes entangled in a web of political intrigue, encountering powerful figures who are determined to control and exploit the Variants' psychic abilities. Along his journey, David also develops a relationship with a Variant woman named Inger, which adds an emotional depth to the narrative.

Aldiss skillfully combines elements of science fiction, dystopia, and philosophical introspection in "Report on Probability A." The novel explores profound questions about the nature of free will, the limitations of human perception, and the fragility of societal constructs. It challenges readers to consider the inherent contradictions and biases within human society and raises philosophical questions about the essence of humanity itself.

Aldiss' writing style is characterized by his descriptive prose and introspective narration, which immerses the reader in the protagonist's journey of self-discovery. The novel's plot unfolds in a non-linear fashion, reflecting the themes of time and reality it explores, and employs rich symbolism to convey its ideas.

"Report on Probability A" is considered a significant work within the science fiction genre for its thought-provoking exploration of existential themes and its imaginative portrayal of a dystopian future. It showcases Brian Aldiss' talent for blending speculative elements with philosophical contemplation, leaving readers with lingering questions about the nature of existence and the human condition.

Works Consulted:

The Administration of Fear

Satin Island

Report on Probability A (three editions)

“Elizabeth Siddall: Pre-Raphaelites’ Muse Finally Gets Her Own Voice, 150 Years after Death; Best Known as the Model for Millais’ Much Loved Ophelia Painting, a New Book Hopes to Foreground Her Own Work as a Poet.” The Guardian (London). Guardian Newspapers, 2018.

Kriz, Kay Dian. “AN ENGLISH ARCADIA REVISITED AND REASSESSED: HOLMAN HUNT’S THE HIRELING SHEPHERD AND THE RURAL TRADITION.” Art history 10, no. 4 (1987): 475–491.

MacMillan, John Duncan. “Holman Hunt’s Hireling Shepherd: Some Reflections on a Victorian Pastoral.” The Art bulletin (New York, N.Y.) 54, no. 2 (1972): 187–197.

Mancoff, Debra N. John Everett Millais : Beyond the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. New Haven: Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, the Yale Center for British Art, 2001.

Ray, Andrea. “Sounding Expanded Affinities: A Polytemporal Approach to Reconceptualizing Egalitarian Social Relations.” PhD diss., Malmo Art Academy, Lund University.

Zeleny, Rachael Baitch. “Ophelia, the Singing Corpse: Pleasure and the Gaze in Where the Wild Roses Grow.” Neo-Victorian studies 3, no. 2 (2010): 56–.

Zylinska, Joanna. Nonhuman Photography. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2017.