MacBlog

The idea for this project came from an earlier project I did for this class. In that class we were to make a “random” and I decided on making a random sculpture. The end result was a group of three geometric shapes that could connect to one another to create one larger sculpture. They were able to stick to each other because of 15 very strong rare-earth metal magnets placed just beneath the surface of the forms. The randomness came from the random way different classmates combined the shapes to construct the sculpture. I really like the piece and people seemed to really have a good time playing with it. (Still looking for pictures to post!)

Initially, I was going to take this project and make it more of a polished piece but it needed something more. Light! I really wanted to incorporate light into the piece so that when a form was connected to another in a given way a light within one of the pieces would turn on. But it still wasn’t enough. So I started playing with the forms and eventually came to the conclusion that I should use two shapes. It became too confusing (for me) to have to determine the the different combination just to turn on a light and I think others would lose interest. So I paired the sculpture down to two forms: the light and a base. And what is a light and a base? A lamp. I am making a lamp. But a sculptural one that sill maintains the essence of the earlier random sculpture.

For the purpose of the prototype I built the base using masonite that is lined with metal on the inside to give the light form something to stick to. The base and the light form can sit anywhere on a surface while it is off. To turn the light on one simply needs to place it on any surface of the base. The base itself can rest on any of its surfaces. When the light makes contact with the form it sticks to it using a magnet. When the magnet catches a switch closes a circuit that turns on the light. Should the user want to turn the light up or dim it they simply need to turn the form to the left or right as they would any dimmer dial. To turn the light off they simply pull the light form off the base.

Next steps:
For the final piece I need to figure out the construction of the light form and decide on a shape for the base. The base needs to be rebuilt out of sheet metal in order to provide a direct connection to the magnet in the light form. I still have quite a bit of work to do to figure out how to construct the mechanism that turns the light on and how to actually create the dimmer function. For this prototype I did actually make a crude switch using two triple A batteries and 6 leds but the magnet used to attach the light element to the base was just barely strong enough to hold the light without the lighting inside.  I think the base being made of metal and using a slightly stronger metal will solve that problem.

Additionally, I am going to figure out how to charge the light. I could create a docking station of some sort but like the wireless component of the piece. For the time being I may need to rely on replaceable batteries but should I ever want to actually market this I would have to come up with a solution. I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.

Using the work of Carl Andre (144 Graphite Silence) as an example, I set out to create a basic set of rules to create a assemblage of squares. I’d say “an artwork” except I am working with an existing work and not recreating it in the attempt to create art. So the concept was simple: come up with a set of simple rules — or instructions — to create  … something. Vague, right?

The setup
To begin, a black square outline was placed on the floor. Each student was given a few post-its (for a total of 49) and instructed to do the following:

Execution
Class participation was great. Everyone did exactly as the rules said. Now, the rules were pretty straight-forward but still left room for some interpretation. However, as the rules went on there was less and less room for interpretation. By rule 7 the Post-Its were placed anywhere within the black box as long as they were in a grid. At this point the Post-Its were arranged in a grid but it was in a corner of the box. It wasn’t until rules number 5 and 6 that the design was locked down. There was no mistaking the arrangement of the Post-Its in the black box. Now I never said how they had to execute the creation of the grid. The last rule required that the grid have equal space on all four sides from the black box but by that point the grid was in the corner. Rather than picking up all of the squares in the grid and placing them back in their proper spot, as dictated by the rules, everyone came up with a clever solution: move the black box!

The final result: 49 Post-It Silence

Generative Art, as defined by Philip Galanter (“What is Generative Art? Complexity Theory as a Context for Art Theory”):

Generative art refers to any art practice where the artist uses a system, such as a set of natural language rules, a computer program, a machine, or other procedural invention, which is set into motion with some degree of autonomy contributing to or resulting in a completed work of art.

Works for me. Going forward in the class it was asked that we try to revisit our thoughts on how to define generative art … so I’ll try to do just that. As the class goes on and as I have had more time to contemplate on what generative art means to me I’ll post my thoughts and see what I come up with.