I’m thrilled to have acquired @DianeeLindo’s latest 1/1, Imagination on Fire.
I’ve watched this work at least 69 times since opening the @SuperRare auction. A few observations below, but first watch the vid with volume on at https://opensea.io/assets/ethereum/0x365e83429beeb54e5ffcd831a47678b7b437e601/1:
FRAMING. The narrative occupies three frames:
- “The world.” Mannequin Diane’s mouth-probes sniff out visual stimuli. Mixed metaphors foreshadow crossed wires.
- “Busy brain.” Crossed wires and loose screws produce an environment conducive to magic.
- “Magic fruit.” A tomato bursts with emotion.
While the vid begins in the world, we never fully revisit it after diving into busy brain. The thought crescendo, climax, & denouement all happen in brain, a level down in fruit, then back in brain. This is a psychic journey.
INEVITABILITY. The hooded figure is a motif Diane seems to like to use to represent her self-perception. It also figures prominently in Resilience, another 1/1 of hers in my collection.
Notably, this figure’s own manic switch operation is what triggers the “down” arrows.
The resulting intrusive thoughts thus seem to flow inexorably from the same cerebral activity that births love, passion, and fiery imagination.
The vid doesn’t ask whether the highs are worth the lows. It just paints one person’s complex inner self.
“OK BYE.” The hooded figure’s sole line seems to be an acknowledgement that one can’t play forever in an emotional minefield. After euphoria and dystopia come repression.
And that’s where we end, somewhat abruptly, leaving the viewer to ask, “what now?”
Here’s where part of me wants to see a pan-out back to the world. If Mannequin Diane was already quiet-mouthed, what’s she like when she zips her thoughts up, as if her brain were their bodybag instead of their incubator?
The artist’s decision to deny us that pan-out hits hard: without busy brain, is the artist even really there?
…After a pregnant pause, the vid restarts.
This is my third 1/1 by Diane. I also own several editions.
It’s been a privilege following her development. This work really showcases her sound design/mixing, with the audio track governing pacing and mood to a great degree.
Diane also has a good intuition for controlling supply while offering work at different price points. It’s often seen as gauche to talk about art as marketing, but it shouldn’t be. Collectors aren’t only buying the art. Crafting that “something else” is itself an art.
Thank you, Diane, for giving me the opportunity to collect another of your gems.