Perfection

Perfection.

Mark Surloff was hired to shoot buildings at NASA. He planted his tripod and shot. This photograph resulted.

On a normal day, Mark shoots and shares brilliant mall reflectives. Or he’ll shoot humor into what he sees around the neighborhood.  I receive a steady diet of eyeball delights: his photographs. Master of the grayscale, his photos land on the covers of architectural magazines in color.

NASA has always been a favorite of mine: some of the highest technology on earth cradled in Florida’s natural wildlife. We as a people sent ourselves into space aboard the jewelried rocket boosters.

Had the duty roster had an opening, I would have worked as the artist on board the Star Trek Enterprise.  Practicing for that position, I worked for the American Institute of Physics, NY in the 1980’s.  NASA and I were connected and I completed a dream.

Living in Florida, I have witnessed shuttles launch. Outside my door of my home, I saw shuttles launch…live action….nail biting, hoping for success…I saw shuttles launch. Again, a  completed  dream of being with those who touch SPACE.

Mark Surloff touched me with this photo.

As a viewer, I will walk you through my initial experience of it.

My first eyeball instinct was to follow the x’s. That set up of centering energies…that X in the road is highly compelling for the eye to be pulled through. This shows what brilliance he has in his shot set ups. I’d bet if you were walking around there, you wouldn’t see the X…you’d maybe see some lines in the road as a crosswalk or some traffic directional. Then he took that compelling X and cut it in half with the strong triangular shadows (of what??!…ah…mystery….shades of grayscale Twilight Zone mystery).

Then, as my eye walks on through the very center X, the grass is the same value of gray as the shadow. Now there’s a confusion of what is a ‘thing’…tangible vs. a mystery shape that can’t be touched. Intangible being in union with the tangible.

Next, my eye shoots up the center palm tree, recently trimmed, and off my sight goes to the far left…the American Flag is a powerful attraction. And yes…that emotional pride of country does come. It’s a big flag on that big building. Both are so big but both are in scale to each other so that it’s very hard to feel the enormous space that building houses around it’s space ready craft.

As my eye starts the journey to the right, I notice the verticals of the lamps. Those lamps are adorably reminiscent of old style “flying saucers”.  Very cute of NASA to remind us of the old 1950’s hilarious special effects.

Verticals are variously textured…from the rough surfaced palm tree, to the smooth satin finish of the UFO lamp poles to the rocket ….to the rocket…..and then I realize I’m looking at a live launch caught in action.

The silvery whiteish needle vertical hasn’t even tipped over the massive NASA building. It has just launched as Mark shot the building. Did he know the launch was going up? Yes. Having knowledge does not remove the surprise and shock that he actually caught a shot…shot a launch. He shot the most humble launch I ever saw. This tiny rocket, on horizontal par with the UFO lamps, did not take the X factor away.  If Mark blinked, this image would not exist. If the rocket rose over the building, it would be taking a shot of a rocket out of Space Kennedy Center,….’business as usual’…energy.  The white blast above the puffy ‘pole’ blasted me.

Horizonals, X’s and verticals are the statics of a photograph. Catching the launch before it went into glory was perfection.