If you’ve spent any time on this site you’ve probably realized that I collect a lot of stuff. While it often takes a while, most of the things I gather find their way into sculptures eventually. A small portion of these things however just strike me as too precious to sacrifice for art. These things pile up in boxes or on shelves and generally just sit there waiting for me to die so that someone else will haul them back to the dump where I found them in the first place. Well, a little while back I found a really nice box frame at a yard sale and thought “Hey, I could put some of my treasures in here”. It has taken several months but I finally mustered the patience to put this plan into action.
Last week I had the great pleasure of of speaking to the National Cancer Institute about the relationship between art and science.
Below I’ve posted the visual part of the presentation, but sadly there is not audio or video recording to go along.
Here is a brief summary of my 30-minute presentation to help you make sense of the visuals.
I began by emphasizing that I am in no way an academic expert on the relationship between art and science. I was, however, a rare example of someone formally trained in science, but working as an artist. Then, before I got into the big picture of Art and Science, I spent some time discussing the similarity between working as an artists and working as a scientist. Both involve long hours of hard work for little pay or recognition, during which nothing ever seems like it’s working or going well or coming out the way you’d hoped; and this work is rarely punctuated by brief moments when the stars align, the universe unfolds and amazingly beautiful things happen. Finally, I emphasized the important role of community and criticism to both artists and scientists.
From there I touched upon some of the big picture relationships between art and science. They are the two great modes of human thought, both pushing the boundaries of what we know and how we know it; what we can perceive and how we perceive it. I quickly went over the role of aesthetics and experimentation in both. I pointed out that because art and science share so many things in common, it’s often suggested that the line between them is blurry. While I understand this suggestion is often made in an attempt to elevate both, I believe it actually diminishes both. We know there is a difference between art and science, but what is, and what can it tell us about their relationship and importance, we are still exploring.
Ironically, art and science differ most noticeably in the last great trait they have in common: communication. While both art and science are principally about communication, they differ in the direction in which they are communicating. Science begins with the physical, observable, concrete occurrences in the world and scientists generate abstractions that communicate their understanding of these phenomena. I used Newton’s law of gravitation as an example. He began (the story goes) by observing an apple falling from a tree. From this (and a lot of other observations and work) he generated his formulation of gravity, an abstraction that has nothing to do with apples or trees. It is pure science, a beautiful and clear abstraction, that is its power.
Art, I suggested, ran this reaction in the opposite direction. Artists begin with their abstract internal understanding, beliefs or feelings, something that exists within them. Artists then work to generate specific, concrete, physical manifestations of these abstractions: paintings, songs, dances, sculptures, etc. As an example of this, I presented The Neuron Chamber as an attempt to take an abstract understanding of both how neurons work, and my experiences studying them, and create a sculpture that communicates that.
I discussed how this led me to think more explicitly about the role of education in my work, and how I viewed teaching as very close to generating artwork. I pointed out that when you teach, you are forced to take all the things you know about a topic, all the abstractions you understand, and communicate them using the solid and specific, usually speaking. I reminded them that when you teach something you often develop deep insights into what you are teaching. I suggested this was because you are forced to make the abstract concrete, you are in a sense working as an artist. I spoke about my work at the Exploratorium developing hands-on and interactive ways to teach science.
Finally, I encouraged them all to go and try this with their own work. To generate specific, aesthetic, physical representations of what they were studying scientifically. When forced to find a set of mappings between what you know and what you are creating, you develop a new understanding. I told them that just as they can get the benefits of exercise without thinking of themselves as athletes, or competing in the Olympics, they do not need to think of themselves as artists to get the benefits of creating art.
My cocktail-mixing machine, The Corpse Reviver, made a couple appearances recently, first at Barbot 2010, then at a fundraiser party for the Neverwas Haul at the Shipyard.
For the record, the Corpse Reviver is a fully mechanical device that pours, mixes, and chills a cocktail. The cocktail it makes is also called a Corpse Reviver (#2, to be precise), whose ingredients are: equal parts Gin, Lillet, Lemon Juice, and Triple Sec, plus a dash of pastis if it is handy. It is seriously tasty, even when it is not made by a machine.
See what people had to say about the Corpse Reviver on Wired Blog’s coverage, or even at the Huffington Post (?!). Let me know if you would like to know where The Corpse Reviver will turn up next!
What began as a simple how-to article about making gears has turned into a major project article for Make Magazine and at last is published in volume 21. The project is candleholder with three gears and parallel action arms which move the candles up and down at different rates. In many ways, it is similar to my first candleholder, but this one is made from aluminum plate and uses tea lights or small floating candles. The design and the variable gearing also make it a more playful device.
On the project page here, I have posted all the images from the construction process (many more than in the published article) as well as some additional charts and diagrams which can supplement the material in the article. Hopefully these materials can help out with some of the more tricky parts of the project. If you have any questions, want a CAD file, or would like to share photos of you project, send me an email!
In keeping with my current fascination with bits of wooden furniture, I have been working on a larger scale figure. This one evolved from an old radio cabinet, and a photography enlarger lamp that I found a while back. Note: I’ve also been posting these images (and more) as I take them on my Facebook page.
I have a brother in High School who is currently putting his portfolio together to apply to art schools (we’re so proud). I’m of the opinion that the work is pretty exceptional regardless of my family bias. Check out these images, if you agree let him know: Ben Gould.
The Inverse Graphing Calculator (version beta-1) is like a backwards graphing calculator. Normally, you enter an equation into your calculator and then get a graph of the curve. The way the IGC works is, you type something you’d like as your curve, like ‘Hello World’ or ‘I love you’. The IGC produces an *equation* which has this phrase as its graph!
But I will say there are several Tublians on Neblous-9 who risked a lot to get these to me. I hope none of them lost any gills.
There are Top Secret Rocket Corps documents (Dogstar clearance and higher!) that have full specifications and Materaliser specs for The Raygun Gothic Rocketship.
Normally these could produce a perfect, working Raygun Gothic Rocketship by printing on Piperarian Dimensional Flux Sheet, assembling it with nanobots and placing it in a 7-axis Materaliser.
However, because such technology is banned on Earth (don’t complain to me, send a beammail to your Universe Senator), I’ve printed them on on 100lb glossy paper.
You can use a sharp knife and some adhesive to make yourself a scale, paper model of The Raygun Gothic Rocketship.
For $12.50 you get a full papercraft model printed on 100lb. glossy paper that we mail to you.
I’ll be participating in a show themed around “The Art of the Video Game” this Thursday. If you come, don’t tell anybody there that I don’t know anything about video games. I’ll be displaying my “Above it All” piece.
Hotel Des Arts 447 Bush at Grant, S.F. 6-10 pm -Facebook-
I’ve had this small Aperture that I made as a prototype for the Triaparator that has been kicking around my studio for a while.
Well, I’ve decided to turn it into a lamp.
Fitting huh?
It’s still has that raw, being-worked on look to it but it’s close enough to the final idea that I’m okay posting it.
The light source will go behind the small circle at the center of the aperture and throw light onto the copper hemisphere.
I’m going to use an LED for the light source. Normally, I avoid LEDs on old looking work like this, however, I’d like to sell this and an LED will last longer.
UPDATE (March 7th): I finished the lamp in time for the Five Ton Crane group art show opening on Friday night. The Flicker set below has updated photos of the finished lamp at the show. It will continue to be on display for the next three weeks and is for sale for $600.00. When I get a chance I’ll try to post an updated video of the aperture opening and closing with the light on. The lamp is adjustable, it can rotate and pivot.
Applied Kinetic Arts (A.K.A.) is a community of artists working within the medium loosely defined as “kinetic”. Works incorporating motion, light, sound, and interactivity are represented by the group’s ever expanding member base. A.K.A. was founded in 2007 by artists Christopher T. Palmer and Nemo Gould with the intention of raising public awareness of this art form and providing a support network for its members, and others working within the genre.
On this website you will find RSS streams from some of our members own blogs which will provide a peek into the studios and processes behind this unique approach to art making. Check the members section to learn about our contributors, see examples of their finished work, and find links to their personal sites.
Please feel free to post your comments and help spread the word about us. It is your interest and support that make it possible for artists like us to find an audience and shape the future of contemporary art.
This website does not seek profit from sales. Please contact artists directly if you are interested in purchasing or showing their work.
If you’ve spent any time on this site you’ve probably realized that I collect a lot of stuff. While it often takes a while, most of the things I gather find their way into sculptures eventually. A small portion of these things however just strike me as too precious to sacrifice for art. These things pile up in boxes or on shelves and generally just sit there waiting for me to die so that someone else will haul them back to the dump where I found them in the first place.
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