Category: art

this is a collaborative project with lili maya, our website is here.

charge-shift nos. 1 and 2, are two sculptures made of micro-controllers, custom software, electrical components, and monofilament wire, measuring approximately 4’x2’x10″, and suspended inside of two display areas on the porch of the virginia weston besse gallery on martha’s vineyard. they were included in our recent solo exhibit entitled ‘of light like intervals’.

inspired by the slowly changing, ambient natural light of the westward facing space, the architecturally transitional nature of the porch, and the color and textures of its wooden interior. charge-shift, along with 7744, and 8 diaphanes, was developed with the combining of indirect sunlight and electric light (LEDs), and the qualities of transition, in mind.

the electronics consist of multiple small micro-controllers each controlling a single tiny LED, each interconnected and suspended/positioned within the work by thin, white conductive wire.

the network of micro-controllers are programmed individually to persistently and slowly change the brightness of their LEDs in a process analogous the gentle shifts in ambient light of the space as sunlight is filtered through the lush foliage of a garden in front of it.

looking at charge-shift, one is aware of change occurring on the surfaces of the piece, resulting in different views of the composition, but the specifics of what in fact has changed are not always clear.

we began making site visits to prepare for our show in early may, prior to the bloom of spring, and were captivated by the island’s natural light, and the intricate, twisting branches, and horizontality of its trees and brush. in subsequent visits we noted the forms created by the lines of branches interlaced with increasing foliage. while we never intended to portray these forms in our work the affinity between the island’s landscape and our compositions and mark marking is clear, and in the context of these works in this location, formative.

to view the entire flickr set, go here.

for additional projects and videos, please visit our site: www.mayarouvelle.com

from of light like intervals, lili and my recent solo exhibit on martha’s vineyard, august 2011.

suspended from the ceiling, in the middle of the gallery, transient, still uses custom software to analyze live input from an iSight, and attempts to recreate what it sees using a limited palette of mono-chromatic ellipses. when the software concludes that is has created a reasonable facsimile of what it has registered through its camera, the program pauses to present the composition rendered by the software through an LED projector that shines its images through a construction of small motors, and copper/monofilament wire onto a piece of mylar.

the shade of the ellipses indicate the relative brightness of the objects in the scene.

the background color shifts between orange, yellow, blue, and green.

the computer running the software sat on the floor above the gallery. the piece was connected to that computer through the visible opening in the ceiling.

one theme of this exhibit was the transformation of kinetics into electro-luminescence and back. this work, situated in the middle of the exhibit, was composed of aspects of all of the works around it – from materials to variants on code, and was based on a feedback loop where, in real time, light becomes motion and motion becomes light.

for still images, please visit our flickr gallery

from of light like intervals, lili and my recent solo exhibit on martha’s vineyard, august 2011.

sustained contemplation offset is a floor piece made of two LCD monitors [one mounted vertically, and one mounted horizontally – the horizontal monitor was rescued and brought back to use by us for the show], a PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) security camera, two mac minis, and custom software.

in this work, the vertical monitor is displaying a screen saver called flurry, which we made some subtle changes to. a PTZ security camera is positioned in front of the vertical LCD monitor and programed to track the movement of flurry on the screen. the PTZ is focused tightly on the screen saver. the live feed from the camera is fed into custom software that filters the incoming stream and shows the images that it selects in a varying rhythm on the recycled/specially adapted horizontal lcd.

for still images please visit our flickr gallery.

we’re a part of the st. cecilia sound art project that runs this friday, january 28, from 8-10, and this saturday, january 29, from 2-9, at 21 monitor st., brooklyn, ny (greenpoint). directions and map below.

the show is organized by Rabid Hands and features many artists in a variety of media who have filled the former convent with projects.

we have two new pieces in room 307, minimal audible fields, and feedback f s f -r s ns:

minimal audible fields generates visual compositions in response to low frequencies at the threshold of sound and vibration propagating through the convent during the exhibit.

materials: LEDs, micro-controllers, sensors, mixed media.

in detail:

minimal audible fields is a robotic work whose inputs are low frequency sound and vibration on-site. every 54 seconds the project analyzes the past 54 seconds of sound and vibration, and compares its readings with the previous set of data it generated 54 seconds in the past. the pattern of LEDs is determined by this comparison. the timing of the piece is intended to permit visitors time to look at the compositions generated by the project.

feedback f s f -r s ns is composed of two robots, and is in the form of a closed system with interlaced feedback, i.e, the output of one robot is the input of the other. the system generates visual compositions as the robots alter their environments and influence each others’ behaviors.

materials: various reflective and refractive media, micro-controllers, motors, lasers, sensors. 2011

in detail:

robot 1>>
senses: emf
output: slowly rotates a glass tumbler containing reflective/refractive media.

robot 2>>
senses light/motion
output: light, fluctuations in the emf field (via motor induction, phosphorescing of chemicals on the sensor of robot 1).

robot 1 is programmed to sense changes in the emf field around it and reposition a container of reflective/refractive media proportionally by spinning a motor.

robot 2 is composed of three servo/laser components programed to survey the surface of robot 1’s glass tumbler and define quadrants of highly reflective points on the tumbler’s surface.

robot 2 is programmed to draw straight lines with a laser on the curved, translucent, rotating surface of robot 1. the light from the lasers pass through a rotating tumbler (robot 1) filled with a mixture of reflective, and refractive media.

as the beams of light pass through the tumbler, their trajectories are refracted and the resulting altered beams strike a treated sensor plate and phosphoresce.

the phosphorescing and servo motor movement ripple the emf field and robot 1 spins the tumbler accordingly. the moving tumbler causes robot 2 to re-scan the surface of the tumbler, etc.

we’ll be there friday/saturday, so if you’re headed out let us know! if you’re out on saturday afternoon and hungry, we’ve been eating at a great little vegan place called boneshakers that is just two blocks from the convent.

st cecilia’s convent:
View Larger Map

Subway: L to Graham Ave. Walk down Graham (Via Vespucci) towards BQE; turn right on Richardson and left on Monitor.

thanks to everyone who came to see to our new project over the weekend, it was great to see you! we posted a lot of images, and just uploaded some video documentation. we’re also happy that scrapworm is sharing the space with us.

if you took pictures please upload them to flickr with the tag traversal53, we’d love to see them. if you don’t use flickr, please send us a link. we’ll be making a digital book about the project at the end of the exhibit and are very interested in including your images. see the post below for more information.

the project runs 24/7, but it seems that after 8pm is an optimal time to visit, as its dark and the street vendors are gone.

while researching the donnell we found these photos of the collection being prepared for re{dis}location/scanning, and the site changing to its current, transient state – central themes of our project.