Archive for December, 2006
Looking at the rich mix of colour, form and movement that we see in processions and carnivals, and celebrating Leicester’s cultural diversity, Interactive Architects, Jason Bruges Studio have integrated colour capturing technologies into sculptural lighting columns as a commissioned art work for Leicester City to define and link the entrance gateways and the route between the Peepul Centre in Orchardson Avenue and the Cultural Quarter in Leicester City Centre. I believe they’re currently being installed so I just thought I’d post something I’m looking forward to seeing in the New Year. Jason Bruges are a London based studio that have produced a diverse range of interactive work that includes light sculptures, kinetic installations and interactive environments.
I’m off on holiday for a well needed break so Merry Christmas to everyone, but heres a sneak peek at the project that has kept me so busy recently. Its working name is Signallers which is suitably nondescript until I entirely work out the potential of the piece. I will resume my posting on Interactive Architecture dot Org hopefully more regularly in the New Year.
December 22nd, 2006
Another project from the very clever fellows at MITs Tangible Media group. Senspectra is a computationally augmented physical modeling toolkit designed for sensing and visualization of structural strain. The system functions as a distributed sensor network consisting of nodes, embedded with computational capabilities and a full spectrum LED, which communicate to neighbor nodes to determine a network topology through a system of flexible joints. While the Senspectra infrastructure provides a flexible modular sensor network platform, its primary application derives from the need to couple physical modeling techniques utilized in the architecture and industrial design disciplines with systems for structural engineering analysis, offering an intuitive approach for physical real-time finite element analysis. Utilizing direct manipulation augmented with visual feedback, the system gives users valuable insights on the global behavior of a constructed system defined as a network of discrete elements.
December 6th, 2006
I’m doing a talk later this week at Goldsmiths Art College for the Live Art Garden Initiative along with a couple of artists including Jem Finer who’s work I look forward to finding a lot more about. Here’s his Zero Genie project which he collaborates on with Ansuman Biswas. They describe themsleves as ‘Slightly inept trainees of an ancient mystic sect, that have somehow managed to infiltrate the Cosmonaut’s Training Programme in Star City, Moscow and are determined to practice the kind of space flight taught by a long line of sages… and they certainly need the practice.’
See Video Excerpt from their Movie
‘Thousands of years of spiritual insight and shamanic technology have enabled humans to explore the entire universe, conversing with the denizens of other worlds and witnessing far out visions. The Zero Genies are just beginners. Poverty stricken, slightly uncoordinated, and yet noble, they are convinced that space travel is not the exclusive pursuit of the rich and rational Western world. They are here to show that a comfortable carpet and well-packed hookah will suffice. At the Cosmonaut’s Training Centre in Star City, aircraft with cushioned interiors create weightless conditions on board by plummeting out of the sky. The Zero Genies, hailing from an obscure land on the fringes of civilization, want to put Race back into the Space Race.’
‘So, within the magic lantern of a Russian cargo plane, they demonstrate the ancient wisdom of their people. They dance, levitate, and reveal, for the very first time in the West, the mythical Flying Carpet. On a shoestring budget, with mental discipline and Russian hospitality, the Zero Genies defy gravity and military-industrial economics to celebrate the dream within us all.’
December 4th, 2006
During my current work research (see previous post) I came accross the beautiful work of Anthony McCall and thought I’d post it as my second post in a series on kinetic art and architecture. He used film to explore ideas of space, architecture and duration – in his piece Long Film for Four Projectors (1974) see below he conjured up four walls of intersecting light. The actual work occurs in the space between the film projector and the screen.
As with his earlier work, Line Describing a Cone (1973) see below, McCall encourages a heightened sense of relational involvement with his audience as the solidity of the light is enhanced through the use of fog machines.
December 1st, 2006