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.
lili and i have two new projects, robot radio/transient, set that are for lea bertucci and ed bear’s ExiTrip project, more documentation on this work and others can be found on their site.
ExiTrips are functional, salvaged, obsolete iTrips (low range fm transmitters for ipods), fitted with a stereo mini-plug and battery pack. the theme of lea and ed’s project is creative re-purposing of obsolete consumer electronics. we found out about the project from free103point9 and submitted a proposal.
after noticing that walking around the Exitrips seemed to affect their transmission we decided to use the 5 ExiTrips lea and ed sent us as sensors. we were able to read each ExiTrip’s signal strength with an fm tuner chip from Silicon Industries. we used the variations to create a live audio work entitled robot radio, that was premiered within another new project entitled transient, set – both of which you can see and hear above.
each of robot radio’s ExiTrips was outfitted with a new, longer antenna sized to its selected broadcast frequency and encased in acrylic. in addition to contributing audio, the ExiTrips became a sculptural element of transient, set. in transient, set, software processed live video from a resurrected, yet glitchy iSight camera and projected the resulting two dimensional, black and white imagery through an assemblage of materials that reflected and refracted the light, providing bits of color. the long, thick, bare copper antenna’s or robot radio, the monofilament used to suspend them, and their acrylic encasements were a part of that assemblage.
the software for both works, developed in different programming languages (max/msp w/arduino for robot radio, processing for transient, set), used similar logic, that involved processing input data and developing patterns in response to it. the programmatic consistencies between the works created shifting perspectives on their relationship from those of alignment (one work) to separation/individuation as qualities of the works changed in response to environmental conditions, including the movements and location of visitors on site.
**this may be obvious but “robot radio” will sound quite differently depending on what you’re listening to it through.
we posted some images on our flickr pages. for more info about this and other ExiTrip projects please visit the exitrip homepage. for our detailed project description go here.
we showed this robotic art project in bushwick, brooklyn @ stanhope cellar studios, -‘a light in the basement’- curated by nicholas chatfield-taylor via todd p.
we filmed lili knitting the monofilament mesh at the center of the work, and tracked the needles’ movement. we mounted blue lasers on linear actuators and servos, and programmed the motors with the needles’ position data. the table top is the shape of the room.
a separate robot toggled a low wattage light bulb to present different lighting conditions.
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.
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
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.
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.
Location: 20 w. 53rd St (6th Ave side of site, across from MoMA),
Dates/times: Friday, December 3, 2010 (beginning at 9pm) through Sunday, December 19, 2010. Running 24/7.
We’ll be on-site: 9pm-10pm, Friday, December 3rd
Installed in the western half of the former Donnell library (20 w. 53rd St, NYC, across from MoMA), and visible across the surfaces of the large windows fronting the space, traversal53 is a kinetic art installation composed of robotic instruments programmed to survey the space with custom optics.
Inspired by photographs of the preparation of the library’s materials for digitizing by archive.org, and the library’s current, ambiguous status, traversal53 is a process of scanning the transitional moment of the building itself, analogous to the scanning of the materials of the library prior to their relocation.
The output is designed to work with the reflections on the large windows of the building to create compositions from the interplay and slippage of the interior and exterior environments. traversal53 is a persistent, transflective event.
Visitors are invited to photograph the work and upload their images to flickr, with the tag traversal53. In doing so, visitors are completing the archival gesture by digitizing the space itself in its transitional moment, and then situating it, in that condition, in digital space. A selection of the images will be included in a digital book that will be kept at archive.org. Selections will be credited.
here’s our flickr site with some images of us installing
lili and i installed our new project, surface-active agent, at 3 stars laundry on myrtle ave in brooklyn last week as part of an exhibit on ephemera and overlooked details of the city street, curated by christina vassallo.
the piece presented various constructed and active transflective surfaces. an example of transflection is the surface of a window where one can look through while observing reflections at the same time. surface-active agent is a composition of transflective picture planes on the exterior and interior surfaces of the laundromat.
the audio was recorded with the video, and the first video above is an unedited montage of moments from the exhibit. the second, shorter clip is an additional sequence that didn’t make it into the longer series.
for more info, stills, and selected short sequences please visit our site, or our vimeo channel.
recorded in a park at sunset, under high magnification, natural light filtered through undulating leaves, refracting as it moves across a surface of reflective, crystalline nanostructures.
lili and i made this device that refracts and projects light for an upcoming project.
bright, white light over a moving array of tiny, and not so tiny reflective surfaces. inspired by a recent weekend spent wandering around manhattan looking at the complex picture planes on windows fronting empty/transitional spaces.
