A strange couple of days, I'm frustrated at the lack of artistic progress, particularly the time spent on the masks for Salome. The main factor is that they require a lot more work than expected, and have no actual use in the performance, but the gesso and new sculpting techniques on them were excellent, and may be useful in future. I'm reminded that we must always be created based on what we know, but always learning something new.
I sent a Facebook message to Gordon Scott, recommending that he join the Society for Art of Imagination. I then realised that he has 'unfriended' me from Facebook, which was strangely hurtful, I think our art, outlook, and struggles are similar. How I despise Social Media. Social Media feeds inequality and injustice more than anything before it. As an advertising tool it is as good as QVC, the TV shopping channel. As a platform for social change it is immoral, if not actually evil. It gives more power to fewer people. In school, bullies were a minority with special physical presence or a confidence to push other people around. Social media gives that presence and confidence to everyone. It breeds bullies, with an added dimension of gang behaviour, and a self-righteousness childhood bullies do not possess.
I started work on a new sound effects job, modifying and creating new effects for a game development application which, if luck is with us, may become a longer term collaboration. I completed these today. My skills are better than ever here. The changes I've made to SFXEngine this year, due to the unexpected and welcome sound commission from Mike Vitt, have really proved their worth. Today I coded a new feature which examines and notes the peak levels of an entire project, which has improved the sound quality a little bit more. Most of mastery is a slow accumulation of tiny changes, each barely significant, which have a great cumulative effect.
In audio, this mastery includes my software; Prometheus and SFXEngine, worked on and improved upon over the past 20 years. This isn't always the case. There are lots of great software tools that stop being supported, or get worse. Much as I love Sony SoundForge (it's far better than Audacity), the older version was better, and my version is probably better than the newest version (which isn't by Sony any more). Sony CD Architect, which is no longer supported or for sale anywhere, is wonderful and was a bargain purchase for its quality. I hope it keeps working for years and decades.
I've also submitted the 'Light' story from Deep Dark Light to John Hopper's new literary magazine, 100subtexts. He's agreed to serialise it over 10 editions and seems enthusiastic over it, as am I. The images in that story often come to my mind, even now. I'm not sure when the first edition is due.
The Salome videos are just about complete now, but the timing will probably need adjusting. Stefano is due in the country this week and the show is less than a fortnight away. After this, I can do any art, and I'm already thinking about paintings, albums, and ideas.
