Blots
The Blots are a collection of 16 stop-motion, water portraits by Rollin Leonard. The images are made by photographing through custom water lenses on glass. You can watch my process in these videos. Blots are minted on a custom smart contract on the Ethereum blockchain and are listed on Foundation's marketplace for 0.2 ETH.
Blot Shape: 1 Subject: Andrew Benson Expression: Puh Color: 5600K Droplets: No Symmetry: Bilateral Rotation: Up Reflection: No Frames Per Second: 18 Frame Order: Forwards Frames: 20
Blot Shape: 1 Subject: Vivian Fu Expression: Angry Surprise Color: Red Blue Droplets: Yes Symmetry: Bilateral Rotation: Down Reflection: yes Frames Per Second: 18 Frame Order: backwards Frames: 20
Blot Shape: 1 Subject: Ann Hirsch Expression: sad disgust Color: cyan green Droplets: No Symmetry: Bilateral Rotation: Up Reflection: yes Frames Per Second: 18 Frame Order: backwards Frames: 20
Blot Shape: 1 Subject: Monica Orozco Expression: happy tongue Color: magenta red Droplets: yes Symmetry: Bilateral Rotation: down Reflection: No Frames Per Second: 18 Frame Order: Forwards Frames: 20
Blot Shape: 2 Subject: Andrew Benson Expression: angry surprise Color: magenta red Droplets: yes Symmetry: Bilateral Rotation: Up Reflection: No Frames Per Second: 12 Frame Order: Forwards Frames: 24
Blot Shape: 2 Subject: Vivian Fu Expression: sad disgust Color: 5600K Droplets: yes Symmetry: Bilateral Rotation: down Reflection: yes Frames Per Second: 12 Frame Order: Forwards Frames: 24
Blot Shape: 2 Subject: Ann Hirsch Expression: happy tongue Color: red blue Droplets: yes Symmetry: Bilateral Rotation: down Reflection: No Frames Per Second: 12 Frame Order: backwards Frames: 24
Blot Shape: 2 Subject: Monica Orozco Expression: Puh Color: cyan green Droplets: yes Symmetry: Bilateral Rotation: Up Reflection: yes Frames Per Second: 12 Frame Order: backwards Frames: 24
Blot Shape: 3 Subject: Andrew Benson Expression: sad disgust Color: cyan green Droplets: yes Symmetry: asymmetrical Rotation: Up Reflection: No Frames Per Second: 18 Frame Order: Forwards Frames: 34
Blot Shape: 3 Subject: Vivian Fu Expression: happy tongue Color: magenta red Droplets: No Symmetry: asymmetrical Rotation: right Reflection: No Frames Per Second: 18 Frame Order: backwards Frames: 34
Blot Shape: 3 Subject: Ann Hirsch Expression: Puh Color: 5600K Droplets: yes Symmetry: asymmetrical Rotation: left Reflection: No Frames Per Second: 18 Frame Order: backwards Frames: 34
Blot Shape: 3 Subject: Monica Orozco Expression: angry surprise Color: red blue Droplets: No Symmetry: asymmetrical Rotation: down Reflection: No Frames Per Second: 18 Frame Order: Forwards Frames: 34
Blot Shape: 4 Subject: Andrew Benson Expression: happy tongue Color: red blue Droplets: yes Symmetry: Bilateral Rotation: Up Reflection: No Frames Per Second: 15 Frame Order: Forwards Frames: 27
Blot Shape: 4 Subject: Vivian Fu Expression: Puh Color: cyan green Droplets: yes Symmetry: Bilateral Rotation: Up Reflection: yes Frames Per Second: 15 Frame Order: backwards Frames: 27
Blot Shape: 4 Subject: Ann Hirsch Expression: angry surprise Color: magenta red Droplets: yes Symmetry: Bilateral Rotation: down Reflection: yes Frames Per Second: 15 Frame Order: Forwards Frames: 27
About Blots
Blots are looping stop-motion portraits that combine my animations with my ongoing Water Portrait series, where I photograph people through real droplets of water on panes of glass. Playful psychological studies, they are a distributed array of feelings, colors, and shapes. The combinatory effect of these traits is channeled through the portraits’ subjects. I think of the totality of the set of Blots as a kind of crystalline chorus, with each piece like a different facet of the same cut stone.
About the Subjects
The subjects of Blots are artists Andrew Benson, Vivian Fu, Ann Hirsch, and Monica Orozco. Even though my work makes imagined realities and new perceptual experiences, I have always thought of the human subject as its center. A portrait of a living person is a channel to the real world, marking a moment in time and a particular individual. For example, I own a tintype photograph of a Quaker farmer from Pennsylvania in the 1800s, wearing his best clothes. This person is forgotten to history but the specificity of his portrait gives me a portal back to his subjectivity. It’s this feeling of specificity I seek to impart in my own portraits, during this particular time of face filters, the proliferation of screens, and Web3. And photographing artists that I know and admire is also a way to pay homage to my friends and colleagues.
About Rollin Leonard
I’m an artist and have been making digital art since 2004. Exhibited in The Whitney, Centre Pompidou, Haus Der Elektronischen Künste, Carnegie Museum of Art, and more. Previous NFT projects include Swimmers, Alphabet Soup, and Puddles. From Wisconsin, living in Los Angeles. www.rollinleonard.com