What are Atmospheres ?
Encounter with a cat in Bomarzo, Italy, 2019The Encounter with a cat in Bomarzo is an experience I had in 2019. The village was inhabited by many cats and I remember feeling cheerful about that. The video starts with a cat composition, I only wanted to capture the lying cats and I didn’t expect much else to happen. In this example, an Encounter turns into an Atmosphere : a mundane situation becomes an intriguing experience which triggers feelings/emotions and creates a storyline. Non-verbal communication made our interaction possible.
Atmospheres mostly happen unexpectedly and can be noticed in the present moment. They can be found in every potential interaction one has with the outer world. Same goes for the inner world, each emotion/thought has the power to create an inner Atmosphere which determines the interpretation of the outer world – a projection. An Encounter can also simultaneously be an Atmosphere. In this case, it must create a feeling of space within, and so, build up an absorbing sensation of “high” that expands, triggers emotions and forms a projection onto the outside world : an Atmosphere takes literally shape.
These experiences distinguish themselves from others because of their resonance – they touch something deep within the self, and thus, activate a feeling of familiarity and importance. Therefore, everyone is attracted to different kind of experiences and Atmospheres according to their own needs, desires, wishes, etc. In the following examples, you can discover my own notion of Atmospheres, which is unique and only defines my own experience.
Same as Creatures/Encounters have the ability to act as communicators, Atmospheres embody this role as well and invite to look beyond the physical. In my experience, Atmospheres help me to understand where I am at emotionally : due to their absorbing nature, they capture my attention and reflect an unconscious part of me which needs attention.
The following examples of Atmospheres are only a small part of the material I captured in the outside world. I regrouped a few of them below in order to explain my understanding of Atmospheres. I hope that you can make your own definition of it through your experiences and interpretations.
Henriette Zephir, no title/year found on the Internet
Peter Birkhäuser, At The Door, 1965
Mario Sironi, Solitude, 1925-1926
Natalia Gancharova, Gardening, 1908
Antoni Tàpies, Writings on the wall, 1971
Agnes Pelton, Return, 1940
Fra Angelico, The Annunciation, c. 1440–1445
Giorgio Morandi, Still Life, 1956
Miriam Cahn, Mich Betrachtend, 2012
Kat Lyons, Pascha (At Dawn), 2020
William Degouve de Nuncques, The Peacocks, 1896