Tuesday 11 November 2008

fly drawing device

fly drawing device

This installation produces drawings based on the subtle movements of houseflies. When flies enter a small chamber sensors detect their movements. A micro-controller articulates a drawing arm in real time based on the fly's movements. When a fly is no longer detected in the chamber the paper scrolls over and the device waits until a new fly enters the chamber to begin another drawing.

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copyright © david bowen 2008

Wednesday 5 November 2008

Possible Outcomes

Hybrid of craft and technology?

Interior/exterior structures?

An interactive/responsive environment?

A moving fabric/pop-up?

Wearable architecture?

Animation movie?

A Complimentary Book Collection?


Innovation

Kinetic architectural solutions that celebrates the environment and elicits ‘delight’ in it’s users

Sculpting the interior/exterior space through natural sources of power
‘The world’s energy is a concept of power’ Theo Jansen

Aims of Project

To construct a moving architectural space/material
that responds to the environment and people

Exploring the poetic potential of structure and materiality.

Working with wood, eg.Bamboo, willow strips. Paper,glass and soft fabrics

Exploring natural sources of power. (wind-power and water)
Design Direction

Inspired by Japanese paper structures, natural architecture and pop-up books;
I wish to create A hidden kinetic structure that appears unexpectedly within it’s environment

Christian Kerrigan

Growing a hidden Architecture

growing ship
Christian Kerrigan’s project, Growing a Ship in a Yew Forest “explores the possibilities of a symbiotic relationship between two different systems of organization, technology and nature— to theoretically alter newly planted trees in the last remaining Yew forest.”(Kingley Vale)

Architect & Editor of ‘The Space Between’magazine, Christian Kerrigan investigates in his recent work, how man’s ability to control his surroundings is intimately linked with his advancing capabilities of using technology. Christian says “We have reached a point in our evolution where we are now capable of creating design criteria to manipulate natural growth and development.”

By controlling the manipulation of refined armatures, calibrating devices and designed corsets; the system is capable of controlling the growth of a ship inside the forest. The ship will grow over a period of two hundred years and will exist as a hidden architecture inside the trees.

forrest view

growing ship

Su Blackwell

Monday, January 14, 2008

su blackwell: beautiful paper art.

Wildflowers

everyday we encounter paper and it's products. it can be an easy thing to overlook. su blackwell turns what can originally be something flat and banal into something gorgeous and defined. often working w/ her favorite stories, su transforms books into beautiful, incredibly intricate 3-d stories for her viewers to witness.

su was gracious enough to set aside some time and answer some questions i had for her. i have to say this was a really exciting interview not just because i was delighted to ask an artist who's work i admire questions but also because i learned much more about her work. su's work is impressive enough just by looking at her pieces, so it was even more exciting to hear some of her explanations behind them. so put on the kettle, make yourself a nice cup of tea and enjoy su's answers...i certainly did.

Wintrytheworldofice

you mainly work w/ paper, can you tell us a little bit more about this medium? how did you find your way to it? have you always worked w/ paper?

my background is in textiles, and embroidery was my medium. i tried to push the boundaries of embroidery, electroplating it to make it sculptural and using fine wire. i began to develop more sculptural work, and to encompass other medium in my work, that i felt communicated my messages. i began to incorporate paper. which has both a fragility and strength that drew me in and still fascinates me to this day. it is a readily available, cheap material that has gone through a cyclical process from wood to paper.

Magnoliatree

what is it that draws you to paper? you also work a great deal w/ books as a medium, what inspires you to create from books?

i am interested in transforming non-art everyday objects into works of art. all the books i use i discover trawling through second-hand bookshops. some of these books i think have been sitting on the book-shelves for years.

when working on a project, do you only use the one book that appears in the end project or do you use multiple books?

when making my book-cut sculptures, i only use the book that appears in the end project.

Aliceinwonderland

are you constantly on the look out for books? where do you find your medium? is your house littered w/ loads and loads of rare paper or do you use just plain white paper?

i cannot walk past a second-hand bookshop without taking a peek inside. i have a lot of old books in my studio, some of which i may use, and some of which are there to inspire me.

what are some of your favorite books? are you an avid reader? have you used all or any of these w/in projects of yours?

when i was a child i loved reading alice in wonderland and the lion, the witch and the wardrobe. i re-read these books recently, and it was a very different experience. nowadays, i like to read modern day fairy tales, such as angela carter and a.s. byatt.

Aliceinwonderland2

one of your pieces on your website that is not book specific is while you were sleeping. it's so beautiful. can you tell me a little more about that piece?

i made that piece after finishing my studies at the royal college of art prior to any of my book-works. it was made specifically for an exhibition in australia. i read in a book a burmese legend about the soul butterfly or win-laik-pya...it is believed that a sleeping person's soul takes the shape of a butterfly and flies abroad while it's owner is asleep, searching for the souls of other persons and animals and returning when the owner awakes. burmese children are still taught never to wake a sleeping person for fear they may die, or worse, live on, without a soul.

Whileyouweresleeping

your pieces have a very ethereal quality to them, are you inspired by fairy tales at all?

yes, especially by hans christian anderson, there is a very dark under current to his stories.

you worked on a commercial for beringer vineyard, had you worked w/ stop motion animation before? do you have plans in the future to do more animation?

yes, it was great to work on the commercial, and to see all the processes of the stop-frame animation take place. it was inspiring to see all my models come to life, and with music, it added another dimension. i had dabbled with stop-frame animation before, i would love to do it again, and intend to experiment some more in the future.

how was it working on the commercial? it's a really incredible piece, especially for only 45 seconds. how long did it take to create and film?

the filming was very slow and mundane, they had to film it in 7 days. prior to that i had spent 3-4 weeks making the models, and a week prior to filming, a team of artists made replica vines on set. it was strange at first, seeing other artists create replicas of my work.

Theoldhouse

what is up for you in 2008? can you tell us about any shows you have coming up? any new yrs resolutions?

i am moving to a new studio in holborn, london and will be exhibiting work at the hosfelt galleries in san francisco and new york in their summer shows.

i am currently working on designing the stage sets and props for a circus/theatre production, which will open in berlin in 2009. i am feeling excited about this year!

Jason Burges

wind to light


'wind to light' is a project commissioned by
onedotzero and light lab for architecture week
2007 in the uk, executed by jason bruges
studio. the events for this years architectural
celebration, organised by the arts council
england, riba and the architecture centre
network, were focused upon issues of
ecology and sustainability posing the reflective
question 'how green is our space?'. its aim
was to inspire people to think creatively about
the spaces that surround them and which they
inhabit.

jason bruges studio produces a wide range of
diverse work including interactive light
sculptures, interactive environments, events
and screen based installations. their objective
is to explore the applications of interactivity
and the relationship between individuals and
their environment through the creative use of
highly imaginative and innovative technologies.

'wind to light' is a custom built, site-specific
installation consisting of 500 miniature wind
turbines directly generating the power to
illuminate hundreds of integrally mounted LEDs
(light-emitting diodes). the effect is to create
'firefly-like fields of light' where the wind can
be visualized as an ephemeral electronic cloud
in the atmosphere. the turbine and LED modules
are attached to their base by flexible poles
which allow them to slightly sway in the wind,
animating the movement of the wind by a digital,
electronic means.

the self-powered, autonomous installation
illustrates the simplicity and directness of wind
power and its potential, literally and symbolically
closing the gap between power generation and
consumption. wind to light presents wind power
in a visually tangible way and one that is
characterised primarily by its resultant output
rather than process. it eloquently illustrates the
silent power of wind.

wind to light presents the perspective that wind
power can be an attractive or even potentially
beautiful addition to the landscape, contrary to
many widespread opinions that wind turbines
are a man-made, visual and physical intrusion
upon scenery and its natural beauty.

the relocation of wind power from the rural
environment to urban surroundings literally
brings it closer to us and suggests
that as our requirements from wind power
have evolved since the use of windmills so
should our attitudes towards its application
and location. perhaps wind turbines are more
suited within the man made environment than
nature where they are alien and their need is
divorced from them.

due to the popularity of the installation its stay
on southbank has been extended through the
summer till september 1.

http://www.jasonbruges.com
http://onedotzero.com/windtolight







miniature wind turbine




self-powered installation








wind to light installation




wind to light installation




wind to light installation



more than 500 miniature wind turbines











building the wind to light installation at the southbank centre, london

Bridge, Michael Cross

Jean Tinguely

Arthur Ganson

Arthur Ganson

Lucien Bull

Etienne- Jules- Marey


Theo Jansen