Tag: technology

Nick Gentry

February 1st, 2010

Artists like Nick Gentry make me feel justified in keeping hundreds of broken old blank CDs. For some reason, I have trouble throwing out obsolete media storage because in the back of my mind I’m thinking “One day I’ll turn this into an art project.”

However, I’m the first to admit that mine would not be this stunning.

Gentry incorporates floppy disks into his artwork (sometimes using a grid of them as a canvas itself, sometimes painting on and around them).

We are indeed undergoing a cultural shift in which personal identity moves steadily toward the intangible. We are represented on the Internet, little blurbs in a seemingly infinite sea of information. But at one time we had to preserve our information in physical form.

From the artist bio:

Each floppy disk used in the paintings has a history and story of its own. It represents the increasing pace of the modern life cycle, where objects are created, used and disposed of quicker than ever. To challenge this notion, as these personal artifacts of life are cast aside, the obsolete are now given new life and a renewed purpose by using them as a medium for art.

See more of these amazing pieces here.
John Nolan Animatronics

January 22nd, 2010

This has been making the blog rounds, but I still want to call attention to John Nolan’s awesome animatronic creations. The combination of robotics and “organic” looking materials (like this fine fellow’s gums) is creepy genius.

See the rest here.

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Leonardo Da Vinci’s Workshop

January 15th, 2010

Has anyone been to see Leonardo Da Vinci’s Workshop at Discovery Times Square in NYC?

Exhibition features:

Full scale models of Da Vinci’s inventions including his self-propelled cart, airplane, robot knight and mechanical lion

Innovative touch screen technology translates over 500 sketches from his actual notebooks into 3-dimensional models

Da Vinci’s most important paintings can now be viewed using avant-garde technologies and extensive 3D imaging and animations

I’ve seen Discovery Channel specials about building Leonardo’s contraptions based on his sketches, but I think it would be rather interesting to see these models in person.

The exhibition closes March 14th. If you see it, please let me know how it is!

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iVictrola

January 13th, 2010

I rarely talk about Mac products (sorry fanboys and girls), but this is pretty unique. The iVictrola iPod Amplifier evokes the classic record player design (actually, it’s more like the ghost of a Victrola rising from a block of wood).

What looks like an antique at the first sight can play your iPod without using batteries or an electrical plug or a solar panel for that matter, but the device runs on an acoustic amplification based on its simple and smart engineering.

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Nathniel Mellor: Robot Heads

December 13th, 2009

Welcome to the uncanny valley. These singing robot heads (in an installation by Nathaniel Mellor) remind me of a horrific setup in a serial killer’s basement.

Don’t they look like the final scene in a Tales From the Crypt episode?

Here, let the Haunted Mansion singing busts show everyone how it’s done (a cappella):
DIY Book Scanner

December 3rd, 2009

I love hard copy books, so I will not be undertaking this project. But I have to share since it’s rather amazing.

Bioephemera drew my attention to this tutorial on how to make your own book scanner.

Look at this thing! It’s like a robot overlord! Do you dare create one?
Mechanical Tumor

October 1st, 2009

My apologies if you’ve seen this before. But if anyone here hasn’t come across this invention (and has the urge to feel like part of a terrifying dystopian nightmare) who am I to withhold it?

Interactive media artist Mio I-zawa crafted this mechanical tumor that expands and contracts based on the amount of stress your computer is feeling.

Most of us know when we need to give our overheating CPU a rest, but in case you need a pulsating, malignant reminder…here’s how it works:

I-zawa also created a fleshy looking mechanical heart that moves in tandem with the user’s pulse. I must say, I’d like to walk around NYC with one of these, like it some sort of pet. Just for a day.

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Artist site
Lissajous Webs

September 16th, 2009

I am an absolute geek in many areas…but advanced math is not one of them. I was fine until pre-calculus, then my mathematical aptitude stopped short.

Needless to say, I had no idea what a Lissajous Curve was until I saw this post on Art From Code.

This is what happens when you begin with Lissajous Curves and velocity is allowed to vary randomly.

How beautiful math can be…

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Traveling Sound Museum

July 24th, 2009

I’ve been meaning to post a few projects from ITP grad students since the ITP Spring Show in May.

What a fantastic concept by Mike Rosenthal:

“Imagine that you could listen to any sound, from any place, from any TIME, in the history of the world. That the sonic history of our planet did not start with the wax cylinder in the 1870’s, but that man has been able to capture sounds in jars as though they were fireflies since the 7th century?”

This is the premise of Rosenthal’s Traveling Sound Museum. He gives life to the concept by recounting a rich history and describing the origin of each sound captured in his collection of jars (carried on a vintage cart).

Each jar is a beautifully convincing “antique” that indeed transports the listener to a different time and place.

In a time when people are rushing to make every gadget smaller, more streamlined, sleek and shiny, it’s heartwarming to see a dose of good old fashioned magic in a multimedia project.

See more on the website.
Life Sized Fetus Replicas

July 6th, 2009

Bringing home the first ultrasound visions of a growing fetus is indeed and exciting moment for expectant parents. But thanks to Jorge Lopes’ PhD program at Royal College of Art, parents can now have a 3-D life sized model of the “bun in the oven” to take home.

Dr. Lopes has pioneered a process to convert ultrasound and MRI data into plaster models.

The technology is a rapid prototyping machine; a 3-D printer that “builds” the model with plastic powder in much the same way a regular printer builds an image with ink.

The replicas are an odd fusion of art and science, with far reaching implications (some of which include helping blind mothers to bond with babies prior to birth, or detecting developmental abnormalities).

Lopes researched the practical implications of model making in medicine over the centuries, and began his work with images of mummies, dinosaurs…then fetuses.

Some of the models can be rather haunting.

Despite the fact that the fetuses were undoubtedly quite comfortable in their cozy wombs when the images were captured, for some reason the sculptures appear frozen in a tortured moment of time. At least to me. Maybe it’s different when you’re looking at your own offspring.

I don’t necessarily recommend carrying these models around to show off, in lieu of classic ultrasound images. Though I personally wouldn’t be put off if a friend reached into her purse and pulled out a plastic embryo…I can’t speak for the rest of the population.

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