Saturday, August 8, 2009

Final Exhibition




Here are a few images that Kenny Mosher shot:

Saturday, August 1, 2009

The Home Stretch



The work is coming together - due in no small part to the dedication of all involved - Nick, Melody, Sarah, Victoria, Alex, DeMarcus, Charvon - you guys are the best. The space at the Excelsior looks amazing (aside from the leaky roof) and Nick and I are hard at work on the center-piece - Nick is a madman welder.

Something that I discovered after group presentation on Thursday was the fact that it is sometimes difficult to switch back to 'conceptual mode' when I am in 'production mode'. I found it difficult to articulate some of the connective qualities that I feel are in the work - even though I know them quite well- as _I_ see them. It is also difficult to balance giving enough descriptive information about a piece such as this when I feel that it is really up to the viewer to decide for themselves. I feel that being too didactic doesn't serve the work well - it's a funny thing about intent - those of us that have worked so close together over the last 7 weeks have gained an understanding of the conceptual framework for what has occured - so there is something of a collective understanding, but having that information (in its entirety) isn't completely necessary for the experience (of course). In fact, I feel that the work may function very differently when one encounters it (with respect to the piece) tabula rasa. After all, it can be said that in part, this is about observation, how and when and why, and what may transpire, what may change.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

LED Arrays: low-energy and highly directional



Wired in parallel these tiny (10mm) lights will illuminate points on the columns @ the Excelsior. Held fast by solid brass plumb-bobs (usually used as measuring devices) these floor-to-ceiling wire-sets are easy to build and provide very striking and dramatic effects for our paper and cast pieces.
Lighting shows us how to 'see' something; obviously film and flat-Art take advantage of this, and the technologies and how we respond to color can be taken into account - and used with conviction to both create a mood and to converse with our physiology.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

The Next Generation: Tabbed and Double Crane

What are the components of transformative action? The hands create - as do the eyes - and the building processes themselves play their part in giving an object meaning. The elements that constitute an object's representative power can be transformed: When we take something virtual and give it dimension, weight, mass and volume, drive from it its inherent 'flawlessness' and make it tangible it occupies our space, is subject to our perspective and is also affected by time and material degradation. It becomes an object subject to physical laws and a material existence.

Digital origami seems ironic, humorous, pointless and painstakingly incorrect and corrected - mathematically modeled - then molded, cast, sanded, post-processed, carried and deposited as an analogue that never reaches 'crane-ness', but instead points towards something else.


Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Observation permitted by laser light: 635 nM

The light-scattering properties of nano-particles of colloidal gold provide us with a blood-red solution (the color determined by the size of the particles) in which the metal is suspended. The absorption of light at specific wavelengths, combined with the careful manipulation of the solution, can allow us control the depths to which different lasers will penetrate the column.

There are interesting variations in the sensitivity curve of the human eye during different lighting scenarios. Very sensitive to yellow wavelengths, the eye will perceive a yellow laser (561 - 594nM) as brighter and more intense than a red one (630 - 650nM) of comparable power. In the fading light, the experience of these intensities will change as the numerous rod photo-receptors in the eyes become more active.