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Linear, Crossed
Author(s): Tristan Perich
Instructor: Rozin, Daniel
Class: The World-Pixel by Pixel
   
URL: http://www.tristanperich.com/art/linearcrossed/
Documents: Linear Squared (Photograph by Tristan Perich)(JPEG)
Keywords: physical computing, minimalism, animation, solenoids, kinetic art, expressionism, noise
 
Linear expressionist animation for 64 solenoids.
64 push-type solenoid motors in a line (hung against a wall) push up and down, animated by a self-contained microprocessor. The animations, inspired by Perich's interest in minimalism, motion and machine art, create kinetic shapes that propagate along (or against) the line. The motors make soft ticks when activated, so the piece creates a changing sonic texture as it activates varying patterns. Less waves than forced structures, the animations have a rigid, geometric feel to them runs between expressionist theater and noise electronica. Linear, Crossed is neither interactive nor generative: the animation was created in advance by Perich. (http://www.tristanperich.com)
 
Background:Tristan Perich (ITP '07) (http://www.tristanperich.com) is an artist and musician who studied music, math, and computer science at Columbia University as an undergraduate. For a long time he has been inspired by minimalism and simple structures in general, from math to music to visual art. With One Bit Music (http://www.onebitmusic.com), an art/music piece with electronic components packaged in an ordinary CD jewel case, Perich was able to explore one-bit as an aesthetic principle, one dealing with simplicity of information, what it means to be digital, and reductionism of means. He has been working with simple, geometric ideas in video and in music, including a collaboration with Lauren Rosati entitled Cord. This exploration continues with Linear, Crossed, where the motors create a limited medium for animation, where each pixel can be up or down. The animation created for it uses these ideas as its starting principle.
Audience:Everyone! I think this project will be most interesting to people who like kinetic art and minimalism. It will also have a nice sonic effect.
User Scenario:The piece is neither interactive nor generative, as mentioned, so it will basically sit on the wall, runing through its looped animation, which will repeat every few minutes. I hope that, because of its length, viewers will have a horizontal experience, where they can watch patterns and shapes move across the wall. Up close, the piece will span your entire field of vision, so watching a detail of it up close will involve moving to keep it in sight.
Technical System Description:Linear, Crossed is made of 64 solenoids, 64 relays, eight 8-bit addressable latches, eight custom fabricated PCBs, one Atmel AVR MEGA8 microprocessor and aluminum housing. The software was coded by Perich in C and compiled in avr-gcc on a Mac. It is about 50 inches long and 2 inches tall. It can be screwed into or hung from a wall from its ends. It requires two outlets for power.
Project References, Research and Literature:I originally had this idea a couple years ago after I first learned how to program microprocessors from Douglas Repetto at Columbia. I'm inspired by minimalism and kinetic art, especially by artists like Sol Lewitt, Jean Tinquely, and Tom Shannon, whose linear works are both geometric and cosmic. Danny Rozin had part in the linear orientation of the piece. My father, Anton Perich, cut the aluminum strips.
Conclusions:This was my first project using custom-designed PCBs. I designed them and ordered them online. This forces one to really think through the circuit early on and helps avoid problems, since the schematic cannot be changed later on. I plan on doing many future projects this way, since the result is much more clean and durable than using a perforated board or breadboard for my circuit.

Aesthetically, I decided to have the circuits for the motors dangle for two reasons: 1) I could think of no reason to cover it up, and 2) I thought that the visible wires and components complimented the quality of the motors. It is the motors themselves that create the animation, not something that the motors are moving, so having one part visible and the rest covered up seemed contradictory. I also was able to break away from the 2D grid idea. Danny Rozin suggested in Pixel by Pixel (when I first wanted to put the motors in an 8x8 grid) that I instead put them in a line, and it stuck. My ideas for the animations translate very well from 2D to 1D, and in either case I'm dealing with motors as discrete objects, like pixels, so the concepts are the same for me. That was interesting to me.