Edition: 91-A3
Newton
Text prompt
Looking forth by light of moon or favouring stars, I could behold the antechapel the statue stood of Newton with his prism and silent face, the marble index of a mind for ever voyaging through strange seas of Thought, alone.
Source
William Wordsworth (1850) The Prelude, or Growth of a Poet’s Mind. London: Edward Moxon
Parameters
Trinity College, Cambridge, 1850.
Midjourney Job ID #
29b89382-319a-41a7-a312-338d10b24c38
Prompt Author
Ron McBurnie
Discord Message Link
https://discord.com/channels/1044909475292774460/1044909475854827572/1076439924632473632
Date Completed
15.01.23
Image prompt (author supplied)
Additional image prompts (web sourced)
Parent grid
Ron McBurnie – Author’s Response
When I first saw the images, I was a little underwhelmed emotionally. Some seemed reminiscent of many ornate British sculptures of the 18th and 19th century – which is to be expected.
The compositional structure of all the images was poor except for one (Edition 91-A3 above), where the figure, the plinth and architecture work together fairly well. One of the images (Edition 82-A4), relates to many religious sculptures, it is Christlike in many ways through to the pose as well as the bound (or cut?) sections on the wrist. The tree in this image shows no relationship to the figure.
I’m not sure what the algorithm is saying about the past. Maybe that the past is understood through a combination of different narratives – or that there is no past but only a collage of different memories.
Edition 32-A3D (below) is interesting to me as a sculptural form. It communicates to me that it was sculptured in the Expressionist era (1916-30) and relates to the work of people like Ernst Barlach and references an image of a seaman or an explorer.
The algorithm has infused the images in some cases with a religious tone. In the case of Edition 18-A3B we can see classical and historical references being expressed. I think the algorithm has drawn on classical Roman as well as British Neo-classical sculpture. It has drawn also from Renaissance religious imagery.
It has mainly drawn from the Expressionists, particularly in Editions 32-A3D and 100-A2BBD. For me Edition 32-A3D is the only work which seems to have an emotional and lyric link to Wordsworth’s poem even though it is not made of marble as is suggested in some of the more statesman-like images.
I’m not sure what the algorithm is saying about the past. Maybe that the past is understood through a combination of different narratives – or that there is no past but only a collage of different memories.
RB 22-06-2023
Edition: 32-A3D
Newton
Text prompt
The antechapel where the statue stood of Newton with his prism and silent face, the marble index of a mind for ever voyaging through strange seas of Thought, alone.
Source
William Wordsworth (1850) The Prelude, or Growth of a Poet’s Mind. London: Edward Moxon
Parameters
Trinity College, Cambridge. John LeKeux, 1840, Wordsworth, 1850, Ron McBurnie, 2022. –ar 2:3 –iw 3 –v 3
Midjourney Job ID #
3d33f6d7-e1e6-4930-b590-a03734955d5f
Prompt Author
Ron McBurnie
Discord Message Link
https://discord.com/channels/1044909475292774460/1044909475854827572/1076379029994750032
Date Completed
15.01.23
Image prompt (author supplied)
Additional image prompt (web sourced)
Parent grid
Edition: 18-A3B
Newton
Text prompt
Looking forth by light of moon or favouring stars, I could behold The antechapel where the statue stood of Newton with his prism and silent face. The marble index of a mind for ever voyaging through strange seas of Thought, alone.
Source
William Wordsworth (1850) The Prelude, or Growth of a Poet’s Mind. London: Edward Moxon
Parameters
Pen and ink drawing. 1850. High contrast, intricate detail. –ar 3:2
Midjourney Job ID #
3816a698-7bc0-4776-9728-42b4827acbd1
Prompt Author
Ron McBurnie
Discord Message Link
https://discord.com/channels/1044909475292774460/1044909475854827572/1076369720028176455
Date Completed
15.01.23
Image prompt (author supplied)
Additional image prompt (web sourced)
Parent image
Edition: 100-A2BBD
Newton
Text prompt
The statue stood of Newton with his prism and silent face, the marble index of a mind for ever voyaging through strange seas of Thought, alone.
Source
William Wordsworth (1850) The Prelude, or Growth of a Poet’s Mind. London: Edward Moxon
Parameters
The antechapel, Trinity College, Cambridge, 1850. Pen and ink drawing. High contrast, intricate detail. –v 3
Midjourney Job ID #
1ca7a7ea-4668-4b07-9d66-ab8eaa76f1aa
Prompt Author
Ron McBurnie
Discord Message Link
https://discord.com/channels/1044909475292774460/1044909475854827572/1076359146112286720
Date Completed
15.01.23
Image prompt (author supplied)
Additional image prompts (web sourced)
Parent grid
Edition: 82-A4
Newton
Text prompt
The statue stood of Newton with his prism and silent face, the marble index of a mind for ever voyaging through strange seas of Thought, alone.
Source
William Wordsworth (1850) The Prelude, or Growth of a Poet’s Mind. London: Edward Moxon
Parameters
The antechapel, Trinity College, Cambridge, 1850. Pen and ink drawing. High contrast, intricate detail. –v 3
Midjourney Job ID #
a2670002-8a4e-4391-a2a2-0e00a0adc3b0
Prompt Author
Ron McBurnie
Discord Message Link
https://discord.com/channels/1044909475292774460/1044909475854827572/1076376459096096858
Date Completed
15.01.23
Image prompt (author supplied)
Additional image prompt (web sourced)
Parent grid
Edition: 05B-A2BC
Newton
Text prompt
The antechapel where the statue stood Of Newton with his prism and silent face. The marble index of a mind for ever. Voyaging through strange seas of Thought, alone.
Source
William Wordsworth (1850) The Prelude, or Growth of a Poet’s Mind. London: Edward Moxon
Parameters
Pen and ink –ar 16:9 –iw 0.5
Midjourney Job ID #
e8e450f6-a0dd-4068-aa54-fcb21e190677
Prompt Author
Ron McBurnie
Discord Message Link
https://discord.com/channels/1044909475292774460/1044909475854827572/1076428418654146620
Date Completed
15.01.23
Image prompt (author supplied)
Parent grid
Production Contact Sheet
The Newton series
Production Details
Image production dates: 23-11-2022 to 18-02-2023
Editions :: 184
Parent Grids :: 34
First Discord instance:
Image series citation:
McBurnie, R., Goodwin, M. & Midjourney, “Ron McBurnie – Newton,” in Slow Down Time, Goodwin, M. Ed. Melbourne: Word Press, February 18, 2023, http://slowdowntime.com/ron-mcburnie/
Slow Down Time 