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ClassWork / Kinetic-Sculpture-Workshop-S13
Kinetic Sculpture WorkshopKinetic sculpture assignment no. 2Rube Goldberg Machine. In this assignment we are creating a Rube Goldberg machine, that is, a machine that has multiple steps and usually no real purpose but lots of gratuities mechanisms. We are making one machine for the whole class, so every group has to build one module, see the drawing for the physical constraint of the module. Each module is activated by the one that proceeds it and activates the one that follows, The first module is activated by a person, the last module has no output and should be a grand finale:
Groups for first sculpture assignment:Second Kinetic Sculpture Assignmentgroup 1 (No Input, Get Viewer Input)
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5
Group 6 (No output, Grand Finale)
First Sculpture assignment:(not) clock For this assignment you are requested to design and build (as much as possible) a clock that measures any quantity other than time. This does not have to literally be a clock, probably it shouldn't, but it should have the ability to change according to the passage of a certain quantity (shows how many emails you got ? lame...) measures and accumulates how much happiness you are feeling? measures and shows subjective time (fast when you're interested, slow when your bored, shows how much it’s been interacted with, how much water flowed in hudson, how much a fish swam, how many cabs drove by, how many mb went through the wifi air, how much noise there was... you get the gist. Groups for first sculpture assignment:(every team has one student from the wait list , so most groups will shrink)
Research Topics:Email me this week with your choice of 2 research topics (you will be assigned just one topic and will do the research in a team of 3 students) See presentation schedule in syllabus.Topic No. 1:Alternative energy-
The main tool at ITP is digital,so most of our actuation and sensing is based on electricity, but electricity is not the only possible energy source for sculptures and sculptors have employed many other energy sources including: water, wind, sun, manuel, potential energy( spring, gravity, stored air pressure, stored electricity, fuels) The presentation of this topic should be as hands on as possible, show us (and if possible, let us try) real ways and components that we can use, show us art or other projects/ products that use such energy, have the information concentrated on a web page that will remain available. Class presentation can go up to 90 minutes, we will talk the week before the presentation to see how much time to dedicate in class. Topic No. 2:Simulation-
Kinetic sculpture can sometimes contain complex mechanical motion. Such complex motion is hard to imagine before building and hard and time consuming to mock up physically while in the design process. Software is a very convenient way to simulate such systems. There are two paths for such simulations; programming environments such as Processing offer an open ended environment that relies mostly on our skills, and CAD applications provide specific simulation capabilities for gears, levers and other standard types of motion. A third and not so documented way of simulation is based on animation and video softwares such as After Effects to visualize the results of mechanics. The presentation of this topic should be as hands-on as possible, and use cheap or open source tools so we can actually use them. Show us in class how to use the tools, devise a short tutorial so that we can actually try something in class on our computers. The presentation can go up to 90 minutes, we will talk the week before presentation to see how much time to dedicate in class. Topic No. 3:Mockup (small)-
Making sculptures usually means making big things which can be expensive, heavy and take up lots of space. Going small is a good practice for testing designs and shapes. There are toys that allow a good amount of mechanical variation, Lego Mindstorms, Erector Set etc. and then there are modeling techniques and materials used to muck up product and architectural designs. The presentation of this topic should be as hands-on as possible, show us (and if possible, let us try) real tools that we can use, have the information concentrated on web page that will remain available. Class presentation can go up to 90 minutes, we will talk the week before presentation to see how much time to dedicate in class. TopicNo. 4:Kinetic art history -
It’s been 100 years to the Kinetic Art movement. Over that period, lots of significant art has been made in this form, and lots of books, essays and manifestos have been written to solidify the conceptual background of kinetic art. (I'm talking particularly kinetic sculpture). The presentation of this topic should be slideshow/ presentation that surveys the movement, shows important pieces and points to important concepts. Presentation can take around 45 minutes, and if needed, reading material can be distributed ahead of time to have the students prepare. Also I can help by providing links, books, and essays to get you started. Topic No. 5:Linear motion / gearring
Many kinetic sculptures rely on standard mechanical components to achieve movement, things like gears, slides, levers, pulleys and sprockets. Choosing the right one, using it properly, and finding it at a reasonable price can be challenging. The presentation of this topic should be as hands on as possible, show us (and if possible, let us try) real components that we can use, maybe we can build something in class. Have the information concentrated on a web page that will remain available. Class presentation can go up to 90 minutes, we will talk the week before presentation to see how much time to dedicate in class. Community service No. 6:At least 2 of our guests will be presenting to us via skype or some other video/ screen sharing capability. I need one person to coordinate this with the speakers and set this up (This will count as a research assignment) |