Dissection of Creation

400 Show Re-Cap

2008-05-11T12:50:00.000-07:00

[thanks so much to mollie and anna for the photos!]

Tunnel Vision

is an interactive installation meant to create a frustrating physical space between two screens by trapping the viewer in a loop of live video. Humans spend most of their lives existing within the perceptions of others, Tunnel Vision tries to highlight the third person perspective we constantly struggle with.

How it went

The final piece was a lot simpler than the original plan, which was a great idea and helped people understand it better and not get too conflicted in the space.

I heard some good feedback from people witnessing others interact with this piece, how they really got into the interactivity aspect of it and trying to figure out what was going on. The people I witnessed experiencing it looked like they were having a good time but I'm not sure they completely understood the concept until after I came up and talked to them about it (then I got the "ohh, I get it").

The space between each "end" of the tunnel was not long enough and so I don't think the feeling of being trapped between two screens came through that well. I received feedback that if the two screens were at the end of an actual enclosed dark hallway, the effect would be a lot stronger. This was nice to hear as the "perfect conditions" for this piece would be exactly so.

One other thing that surprised me was the "infinite feel", or loop that happened in the screens. Although it is nothing we have not seen before, I think having it live made a lot of people intrigued and heightened the interest of interacting and existing live in a seemingly infinite space.

Overall, I'm happy that Tunnel Vision came together as a fun and direct interactive installation to contrast with the rest of the show. I figured out some problems with the camera installations and space issues that I would have never came across on paper. The cameras have to be hung at a certain height and certain angel to be successful and the screens must be put at an angel as well to compliment each other. Also, the projectors need to be adjustable so they won't distort an angled image~ only one of my projectors had that ability.

Corners

Corners is a series of still digital photographs meant to deceive the audience by flattening a three dimensional space, as well as intrigue the audience by making them wonder if that space is really there.

How it went

A simple idea, I heard some nice comments about this humorous play on space and perceptions. I'm not sure what I would change in the future of presenting such a piece, but I am happy that people chuckled and wondered at it.
My favorite comment to it was "Hah, yeah, what IS art anyway?" and this comes back to why I had one of them in a frame, to underline the fact that the medium of photography and the process of viewing the world through a lens is a form of art and force people to accept and approach these pieces of space as an artistic process and interpretation of it. I did not want to put all of the photographs in frames as it disjointed them from directly touching the physical space they were representing.

3D inspiration

2008-04-22T21:54:00.000-07:00

I went to see this today and it pushed my conceptions forward a great deal.
A part of this installation was projected on flexi-glass, or just glass hanging off of the ceiling in layers. There were opaque circles drawn in a spiral on each piece. Within the opaque parts, the projection was more solid, but the surrounding glass gave it an ethereal feeling with its reflective quality.

Another part of the installation was projected on a canvas made of plaster which also existed as a 3D sculpture. The digital projections were physically synched with the surfaces and provided them with an interesting and lively quality and amorphous texture.

----

This brought me back to thinking, what if these projections were stereo?
Combining with non-stereo projections, this could give another dimension to such space.

---

Some random brainstorming:

A table with little canvases on it.
mirrors under the canvases

something moving through the multiple canvases

what is my point?
breaking physical space with the digital, confusing people's perceptions, it's not what it seems,

why do i want people to feel this?

texture of digital light onto/into reality

i want people to become confused

why

i want people to question their reality

why

makes life more interesting!

----

not just a flat canvas

400 update

2008-04-20T23:58:00.000-07:00

The original plan is not fitting together as nicely as planned. More so I would like to spend more time on it and not have to rush.
So I have two 'back-up' plans.

Plan B

Show 'Tunnel Vision'
This will depend on if I can get enough cameras and projectors/TVs from Kane. Will update on Tuesday, April 22.

Plan C

Show my video "Couch Squares" with edits on a TV in front of the couch at Sand Point.

extra credit plan:
take photos of a corner and frame them and hang them in that corner. 2d. mess with perception.

details

2008-04-13T13:40:00.000-07:00

Two rooms.
Everyday details.
Transformation.

Kitchen/Bedroom
bolded is physical object
[thought: on a table with a screen or a sideways table]

Milk carton/Book

Pencil/Fork

Brush/Blender

Inside of an oven/ Side table with lamp

Update for display

2008-04-13T11:59:00.000-07:00

My project will use the medium between digital and physical space in order to transcend the audience into a new perspective of their surroundings. This will be done using stereoscopic projections into a physical space composed of screens with physical objects attached to them (if not possible to get stereoscopic screen for projection, , project non-stereo onto a 3D surface to morph the environment as a preliminary version).

The space will be composed of screens made of translucent fabric stretched over frames. The viewer would ideally be able to walk through these screens with stereo glasses on and feel like they are entering different rooms of a house. They perspective of what these rooms are will be changed using the projections interacting with whatever physical objects will exist on the screens.

For equipment I will need a stereoscopic projector. If not possible, just a regular projector. Possibly both.

I'd like to have this be in one of the hallways, although the screens can be hung from the ceiling in the middle of the gallery, I'm just not sure it will be dark enough to get a good view of the projections.

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New Ideas for 3D/ 400 display

2008-04-07T15:05:00.000-07:00

Proposal

I'd like to complete a project that involves a digital stereoscopic image moving through different layers of physical space over time and telling a sort of story. Different simple environments would be composed within the physical space and incorporated with the dimensional digital material being projected. It may either be:
-one stationary image projected onto layers without movement but interacting with the environment, perception changing depending on physicality
-one image but changing over time and causing a sense of animation/movement on the layers
-different images for each layer
-animation moving through layers

Philosophies:

Our perception of digital and physical space is slowly deteriorating as computers become extensions of our minds/fingers and many of our every day interactions are existing within different screens than physical objects. The object we use to interact become only tools for us to get to someone or something rather than the thing itself. I'd like to explore this space and try to skew perceptions of what is digital and physical to bring awareness to this recent phenomena of digital vs. physical spaces (i.e. have you ever tried to "Esc" out of a thought, I have!)

1. We are made up of layers, much like a jawbreaker. Each one is a different color and strips away a different part for a different reason. Within each layer we find out either completely different information about an object or a variation on information previously perceived. How are these layers connected? Why are they shaped a certain way? Why are they in a certain order? Do they tell a story within themselves?

2. Deterioration of information. Recycling. Pros and cons of recycling. How our society processes information over and over again until the concepts are distilled to something either completely different than intended or the intention becomes gruesomely blatant as the "fluff" fades away with each layer.

How it works:

1. Different scenes will be set up on every layer of material representing a screen. There will be a few different screens which will be set up parallel, one after another. As the projected, digital scene moves through different focal points, it will appear focused on different screens and tell a story based on the images portrayed both in the digital and physical realms of the set up. Fog or mist may be used to fill in space and potentially create a movement between scenes.

2. Similar set-up, only focus will be more on using different opacities of materials. The image will deteriorate through these layers and the physical environment created on the layers will succumb and be tailored to fit with each part of the deterioration.

technique/technology/supplies

-steroscopic images/animation
-Maya modeling
-different type of fabric stretched on frames-which one works better?
-tv monitors/clear plastic combo to create holographic imaging
-misters/fog machines/water forms
-normal projectors- different light power amounts

Timeline
Subject to change based on 400 show dates.

Week 2: [4/7] DUE: project proposal presentation
-work on deciding on the final idea and researching techniques, things already performed, potential materials

Week 3:[4/14]
Start on gathering materials and materials.
Begin digital modeling of scene and make sketches of physical scenes
Think about storyline

Week 4:[4/21]
Continue working on digital scene/s
Do some informal tests on projections through/on materials with different projectors

Week 5:[4/28]
Have a prototype digital and physical scene sketch to test

Week 6: Midterm [5/5] DUE: midterm project presentation
start working on actual layout of rig and choreograph movement through space

Week 7:[5/12]
Expand, do testing, work on scenes, building rig

Week 8:[5/19]
Work work work. Have a working model of focal points/material distances set up and working by themselves.

Week 9:[5/26]
Any revisions for final.

Week 10: Final Prep [6/2]

Final: Mon June 9th, 4:30pm until finished

-Use this week

Links and Research

Vasulka video installations

Anthony McCall works with fog and mist space

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Other Links and Research

system of infrared lights to sense where you are pointing

The simplest version of the technology is based on a system of mirrors and lenses. The object whose image is being projected sits inside a pedestal, which projects the object's light into space above the pedestal, where the image is reformed. The effect is as if the object itself is hovering above the pedestal's surface.

To activate the system's virtual "buttons," the viewer simply pointed a finger at the image of the button. The system uses a grid of infrared lights -- similar to systems in stores that beep when a shopper enters -- to calculate the position of the viewer's finger.

what would happen if you projected stereo into a mirror

POSSIBLE IMAGES

-[[actual images of things with layers or things with no layers forced into this space?)
-Anatomy of the body (back to biology)
-Simple environmental spaces, like rooms in the house (kitchen vs. bathroom, what makes them them)

Link to proposal

2007-12-05T15:59:00.000-08:00

LINKY

technicians

2007-11-18T18:02:00.000-08:00

My projection so far is very broad and involves simple dots falling randomly within a square surface. This is a familiar space for a person who has witnessed any kind of classroom setting and immediately disconnects the viewer form the intimacy that is hoped to be created with the direct association the body will have with the projection.
Therefore, I would like to create a sense that the light could come from anywhere. This will be achieved if the motion sensor will indeed be moving and projecting onto wherever the body may be.

Content
Perhaps I'd like to step a bit farther and actually make the projections little chromosomes so people will have a more direct association to biology. If you step into a projection of randomly falling chromosomes, you are bound to make the connection to your internal system at some point and the randomness with which it transforms and moves inside us and with us. Yes, I'd like to have colorful chromosomes slowly fall onto the body which steps into an area of motion sensing.

Interaction
Time based, evolving itself over time. You will step into the steps of someone before you- this means that however many chromosomes have fallen so far into the shape of the person before you, will end up on your body as well. You will initiate the time to start falling once again and continue the course of evolution. All in all you will feel that you have changed the piece as a whole and wonder how many people it took before you to get it where it is now. You will also hopefully have a personal sense of pride and want to come back and see where it all ends up at the end of the day. Each day will produce its own print of the person created within it. There will be a gallery at the end. A virtual gallery, maybe something as simple as a computer with rotaing imaged form the day. You will be able to input your name for today and see other names that made up other beings before you.

How?
Programming language using Processing will be used, just as before. The previous post has given a sense of how I'd like it to work in the form of interaction, where it begins when someone steps in and the feeling of directly interacting with a bigger system. However, the actuality of the how will be an inverse of the "shadow puppets" because instead of the shadow initiating, the body will initiate the interaction within itself.

ressurection

2007-11-11T12:53:00.000-08:00

let's rethink this project and try to make it work.
simple and sweet.

Art is what it is, after getting some feedback on my creation i do realize that so many packed ideas is not necessarily the best thing- however though, i believe it is. If you put so much thought into an art piece, it will come through if it is presented in a way that encompasses perhaps an infinite trail of thought into one tiny simple thing, but it will be effective because that simple thing does encompass it all. I have to be careful though.
I think people connect with what is drawn upon them, the visual system is strong, as I have been learning so directly from a biopsych class this quarter. We have it all mapped out, connections, colors, maps...the job of the artist is to use what's there to help the viewer come to a conclusion. I'd like to explore my visual ideas more and play more with the audience and their perceptions.
My goals from the beginning of this project have been to put the viewer into an almost eternal space of evolution and mutation to have them realize the agora of it all without actually imposing it upon them. People get taken aback with such huge ideas and must slowly be lead into them without their own knowledge when finally they have an epiphany, if not right then and there, maybe reflecting upon the artist experience later, just a simple realization will complete the goal of my project.
Alright then, onwards with the body projections and the good ole shadow puppets.

Finale

2007-06-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

The final product came together in a bit different way than expected. After many versions of video programs, the original idea of having little videos and sparks went too slow and the lag was unbearable, so this monet-like-vitrivial man structure came to be.I liked how people interacted with it and it seemed to get the point across, although more time would have been great to completely finish the newest idea for the visual.
As I mentioned, a visual interpretation would have been a lot stronger than the audio, but I'm glad that I took the route of experimental ground where I haven't stood before and composed "my own piece" of music from a pretty rad underlying structure.

Now I will be working on just the visual- projecting those circles based on a motion sensor which would know where movement is occurring and project only on those areas.

Looking back, it was a very intriguing process and evolution. The project began as something completely different and ended up in many different forms leading up to the final. Constructing the music piece was a big challenge, programming even bigger, but I'm glad it all worked out to produce something that's not half bad to listen to while also having some depth and meaning.

Umm, that's all for now. Maybe I'll write more later.
Can't wait to see the last of stuff on Wednesday.

the future is now..no NoW..wait...NOW

2007-05-29T22:13:00.000-07:00

ahh good ole room 105. or maybe the tropical desert of 105?

I've been working on the visuals for the past few days, making some cool particle emitter thinggies in the program Motion.
They files are too big and cause a great lag when Processing is running them.
However, my matrix grid is working and it's playing little movie clips on top of the big clips, which is tres bien, oui oui.

Now, the biggest problem I have left is syncing up the audio with the little video sparks.
You see, because the audio is all processed at once, then played, it's hard to process it "real time" and trigger the movies on account of an audio sound.
Currently trying to sync the video enough within itself to match up to the audio- this is very pertinent to getting my point across, but if it ends up not syncing exactly that will be alright. Just having it working the way it is now already enriches my audio lots and lots.

Audio is cool. I'm happy about it. Minus maybe the exact instruments to use. It's on a drum mix now, I'll add some instrumentals. If you have any suggestions, shoot.
Tried to multi channel it today in room 117 but realized there is no point since my panning is already working. I think I will resist the temptation to be a manual "mixer" and pretend I'm turn-tabling mixing my own genes, live. ow ow.

Almost Disappointment: I will just not have enough time to make an elaborate interface. Since my project made a progressive appearance into the physical realm outside of the computer, my interface slowly melted into the endless space which the audio and video created. Even though I am currently disappointed that direct interaction and a sort of "systems art" will not be created obviously, I am satisfied with the space emerging from its core, as a more personal role is sculpted in the viewer who is subjectively experiencing this environment as well as themselves within it.

I'm SO stoked to see everyone's project.
Luck yall.

Progression. Progressions. some ?s too.

2007-05-20T15:45:00.000-07:00

Audio part is just about done.
My only decision is in which batch of instruments to choose/how to choose them, as this new program has many, many sounds of which lots sound especially great when the temp raises.
If you have any suggestions for this after listening to my piece, do tell :)
Oh yeah and I'm having it play a special way...you'll see...in room 117! [still awaiting reply for that though...]

Click Me to Hear

new features:
*instrument variations [will work on taking out the obvious instrumentals]
*circle of fifths changes ever 10 base pairs, at random [not from lower to bottom octave, too boring]
*every three [i.e. amino acids] vary in tempo]
**note: there will be two strings paying, of different instruments [[will def. spice this up]

As of right now, the program picks at random one of 127 different instruments.
I wanted to pick out the ones that do not sound like instruments you can specifically identify and have it pick at random from those, although having an underlaying order in this could be beneficial as well.

Now, the visual part.
After my prototype, I realized that having my project be implemented via the internet, to the "global' community, was not necessarily the best way to activate the thoughts I wanted within my audience and make the statement/ visuals really be felt, so I've done some thinking.

I am now working on implementing a visual which could be projected on to a screen/ wall which would interact with the viewer.
The simple version would be a human shape with different colored lights pulsing in parts of the body of the human figure, corresponding to the music, while around it would be a star-trek-y flying through the galaxy constantly moving image to give a sense of infinity and that macro-ness. This would nicely juxtapose to the little lights pulsing frantically within the body, representing where all the chromosomes are coding and making this visible overall structure of a human...something looking like so:

The more complicated version depending on time [and if not, will be implemented in the future] would be a feature that would only activate these moving lights when a person walked in front of the screen, only on them, wherever the would be moving. I'm looking into this briefly to see if it is possible, if any of you have ideas about this, do tell as well :)

examples along the lines...:

The visual aspect is very important, although I think with the new atmosphere of the it, the music could stand all on its own; this is the point I would like to get it to by Thursday . Having it play in a room and not some wimpy speakers over the internet with bad connection is a lot stronger, the audience is fully enveloped by the atmosphere of creation...

Thanks to all the commenteurs!
It's been nice hearing your thoughts on this crazy project of mine, it's slowly...becoming and your words give its existence spice.

Official prototype- Y Chromosome in C Major

2007-05-03T01:31:00.000-07:00

This is what the first few hundred base pairs of the Y Chromosome sound like in C major with "T" generating a random note out of the C major scale.
Also added is a basic idea of a visual effect I'd like to coordinate with the music.
On.A.Roll.

Prototype

Schedule Update
For Thursday:
1. ~~Assign definite notes~~
2. ~~Try assigning the random note for T~~
~~3. Figure out how many notes per rotation!~~
4. Make array of notes for cycle of fifths (have all the numbers, just need to input code)
5. Code the different tempos, or note lengths-loudness/ tempo command (convenient)

--[3]
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is usually envisioned as a pair of helices, the sugar-phosphate backbones, winding around a common linear axis. In the famous model of Crick and Watson, one turn of the double helix occurs approximately every 10.5 base pairs.
--
we'll round to 10, that's a nice round number, and hey base 10-the code of the code-1010
--

Notes and prototype TEST!

2007-05-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

Progression is in action! Programming is coming along, my wonderful friend is helping me put what is in my brain into programming language, you are the best. Max helped a great deal with hints for code layouts as well. Teamwork! This is what came out after all that craziness and explanations:

CLICK FOR TEST
[click on the actual gray square to play]

It doesn't sound too interesting right now, but IT'S WORKING so *happy dance* . The next step will be time to make it sound and look good.

I found a cool midi plug in that I'm using within Processing, which is a lot easier and sounds a lot better than what I was planning to do with just computer synthesized tones. Phew! Here are the next steps:

For Thursday:
-Assign definite notes
-Try assigning the random note for T
-Figure out how many notes per rotation!
-Make array of notes for cycle of fifths
-Code the different tempos, or note length?

Later:
-Find out if there are other sounds than piano
-Play two tracks at once representing the two strings (this is very do-able in the midi plug in)
-Begin coding simple visualization program
-Interactivity that would morph the visuals and if enough time for coding, it would morph it along with the audio.

--------------------------------

RESEARCH!
[[mostly to keep everything in order and in one place for moi]]

more notes for layout of action site and details:

-23 different pieces you can click for each chromosome
-Each piece will have their own version of the visual, hopefully based on relevant gene composition
-Interactivity possibility- when the audio and image rendering is running, you can drag mouse button and this will morph the audio and visual somehow, maybe based one coordinates where they click and the pitch of the audio, movement of the image
-Interface will look like the chromosome metaphase spread located within the universe, maybe each planet or star representing chromosomes

-ISSUE: which is better, live streaming of audio, or real time streaming---real time streaming because of mutation difference each time but this may be too slow based on programming timing.

Some reference sites:

All about the human genome

More human genome info

Whole human genome sequence

[[almost scary...for my project that is]]] Facts:
--The smallest Chromosome is 21, ranging 46,944,323 base pairs
--Largest chromosome is 1, ranging 247,249,719 base pairs

That's a lotta base pairs...I'm wondering how possible it will be do do a live stream...may have to just do part of chromosomes and give the impression of humongousness.

Tempos info[[not even sure if this will be relevant since I may just use tone length]]:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempo :

Prestissimo - as fast as possible (200 - 208 bpm)
Vivacissimo
Allegrissimo
Presto - fast (168 - 200 bpm)
Vivo
Vivace - lively and fast (~140 bpm)
Allegro assai
Allegro - cheerful and quickly (120 - 168 bpm)
Adagissimo
Allegro Moderato - Moderately cheerful and quick
Allegretto - Rather lively (but less so than Allegro)
Moderato - moderately (90 - 115 bpm)
Andantino - Alternatively faster or slower than Andante.
Andante - walking (76 - 108 bpm)
Adagietto - Rather slow
Adagio - slowly (66 - 76 bpm)
Grave - heavy, seriously
Larghetto (60 - 66 bpm)
Larghissimo
Largo - suspended (40 - 60 bpm)
Lento - very slow
Lentissimo - exceptionally slow

10 Alanine	Ala	A	nonpolar	neutral	1.8
20 Arginine	Arg	R	polar	strongly basic	-4.5
30 Asparagine	Asn	N	polar	neutral	-3.5
40 Aspartic acid	Asp	D	polar	acidic	-3.5
50 Cysteine	Cys	C	polar	neutral	2.5
60 Glutamic acid	Glu	E	polar	acidic	-3.5
70 Glutamine	Gln	Q	polar	neutral	-3.5
80 Glycine	Gly	G	nonpolar	neutral	-0.4
90 Histidine	His	H	polar	weakly basic	-3.2
100Isoleucine	Ile	I	nonpolar	neutral	4.5
110 Leucine	Leu	L	nonpolar	neutral	3.8
120 Lysine	Lys	K	polar	basic	-3.9
130 Methionine	Met	M	nonpolar	neutral	1.9
140 Phenylalanine	Phe	F	nonpolar	neutral	2.8
150 Proline	Pro	P	nonpolar	neutral
160 Serine	Ser	S	polar	neutral	-0.8
170 Threonine	Thr	T	polar	neutral	-0.7
180 Tryptophan	Trp	W	nonpolar	neutral	-0.9
190 Tyrosine	Tyr	Y	polar	neutral	-1.3
200 Valine	Val	V	nonpolar	neutral	4.2

Off to snooze.

Random((Order))

2007-04-27T19:53:00.000-07:00

Here's a cool media artist dude I ran across who put together a piece called"Pi on the Piano" using simple notes from the number Pi. Psh, a ripoff of Karpen? Kind of inspiring but I wish he clarified weather he recorded off of a piano (probable) or using a program.

4 - Pi & Other Sonified Constants

http://www.tomdukich.com/

I'm having difficulty with either programming in Java or Flash or Processing for my sound part that I outlined in the previous post. Ah! Max shall expect an e-mail soon and probably John too if I get too frustrated.
Going to be a busy photography and programming week-end.

Oh and good job everyone who took the Art History midterm today, wooot a relief!

Audio Programming Skeleton notes

2007-04-24T23:02:00.000-07:00

So I dunno which program would be best to write this in...but having only Java mind chatter right now, an outline I wrote in my brain today of how the audio program may work:

Input File: DNA sequence
Program:
*Contains an audio file for every single note in the cycle of 5ths
Method one:
-If next char = [input---->(A/G/C)] then play concurrent note (6th, 5th, 1st)
-If next char = [ T ] then play a choice out of the notes in the array of the octave it is on
-Loops through circle of fifths every _ base pairs

Method two:
-If string of characters of three = [amino acid]
-change tempo based on premade table of tempos matched with amino acids
["start" codon will be the slowest tempo, "end" codon will be fastest, it will go sequentially quicker]

Amino Acid translation chart:

source of pic

Some info about the amount of time between each cycle and round of the helix...

Source

This is an interesting article in general actually.
I'm thinking perhaps every major and minor groove twist it will change? Maybe I can relate major/minor grooves to major/minor chords...HUMMM...I'll have to think how far into the composition of sound I want to delve because things like that can really enrich the musical aspects of this project. We will see.

Enticing Creation Anger

2007-04-19T08:42:00.000-07:00

Sooooo after browsing the internet last night like a crazy...deexarter, I came across a site which embodied ideas WAY too similar to mine. This made me instantaneously angry as well as jealous beyond insanity until my insides reminisced The Hulk. However, after a short whoozah, my anger became enticement to do a way better job, in way less time, with a way different idea in general.
Things such as:
-Connect visuals with something everyone can actually relate to, not only biologists
-Make these visuals more colorful (maybe) and appealing to a more global audience
-Program for the outcome not just to look/sound pretty, but also have some layers, like Shrek
-On the bright side, the wow factor was there, so leave that and make sure I incorporate the easy usability and interface

He got to sequence his own DNA though, seriously, how cool is that?
Well, maybe not so cool actually, considering what you may find...

Anyhow, I'm stoked, my mind is racing, and everything is starting to fall in line. This site provided me with a great starting point with types of visualizations and how things may be subtly interactive with the user. Since I'm a "big idea" person, my guts were being wrenched by having absolutely not clue what my outcome may sound/look like.
Phew for now, onward march.

oh and that pen sculpt thing in class today was mega. I want one bad.

check it out. make sure you download shockwave first though
(or wait until my presentation Tues)
CLICK HERE TO CHECK THIS SITE OUT!

OH AND i got a cool-er name for the project
(shoot, it's catchy to be catchy!):
D.N.AUDIOEVOLUTION

Some processed lemons

2007-04-17T15:02:00.000-07:00

To make my point not fail in the eyes of scientists, I must revise an aspect of my project. The sound-wave inspired waves are not consistent and depend strongly on what types of reactions are used in the process of sequencing. Therefore, relying on these graphs will create a false definitive sound of any piece of the genome I wish to assign jingles to.
I have rethought my techniques and decided to focus on the very pedestal of life, the four base code. Inspired by the Experience Design article I would like to start with the bases as a database to create.
My overarching themes of global communication, transcription, and empowering beings that are slaves of their own code to have evolution in their own hands remain constant as I push to juice my concept.
Still sounds from within, I will choose those relevant bits of genes and proceed to use them as direct scores for a musical piece. Every three bases codes for amino acid, for a total of 20, so I will use these to control tempo. The music will progress through the cycle of fifths using the four notes as place holders: A-6th, G-5th ,C-1st , T-20th. Since A DNA strand has two strands linked together, one side will be the treble and the other side the bass cleft.
I would like to use Flash as the platform to create a code and database for it to fish from. The critical part of understanding in this project will be the interactivity platform with abstract visualizations depicting the correlation between dynamic creation and rigid blueprint.

VIEW CONCEPT ARCHITECTURE POWERPOINT

hummm similarity?

Proposal 1: Sounds from Within

2007-04-10T16:10:00.000-07:00

Global communication could not be expressed better than delving straight into the depths of what makes things alive and breathing. The world is connected by the book of double helix molecules. My plan is to go back in time and transliterate DNA sequences directly, to give birth to innovative, never before heard pieces of sound creatures. Breathe new life by re-interpreting that which we all possess: directions for living.
Nowadays, the ability to retain knowledge of any DNA sequence opens new doors. In medical research, DNA sequencing is used to identify genes, diagnose existing diseases and for research in development of treatments. Currently, the fastest way to sequence snippets of DNA is by an automated machine using fluorescent dyes to mark each base. In one mixture, each base is paired with a color that fluoresces at a certain wavelength. Once the machine separates pieces of DNA and reads the wavelength, it can portray an accurate depiction of what the sequence reads in the form of a colorful graph.(1) This graph looks very much like a sound wave and this is where my inspiration took place.
Transcription, to transcribe, acts of extracting heart juices out of the masses. Density, matter, compression, creation. Four simple bases code for amino acids, then for proteins, then subtle formations of life and working systems. Mutations occur all the time, all living beings are mutants of one another, connected by the basic form of the double helix. Now step back and wonder, what other kinds of effects could have materialized if the apparent mutations and genetic drift did not unfurl in the way they did. What if the proteins and puzzle pieces were transcribed differently to produce divergent mutants in the world?
This is what my project will address: a new kind of re-interpretation. I will focus on important parts of the genome, as over 95% of it is actually “junk” DNA with no apparent coding. Perhaps I can compare songs of coding for ears in different species based on a phylogenetic tree of mammals. I will compose short histories of evolution in the form of sound and perhaps choose interesting snippets, then re-interpret them back into DNA sequences, amino acids, and proteins they may produce, what kind of being may have a sweeter song to our ears? Of coarse controversy may arise in what kinds of things may be considered “sweeter”, especially in such a global community as our world is today. On account of this, I would like to create a sort of systems art with a user interface able to make choices for what kinds of instruments you would like to assign to sequences. The audience would not only be able to control the organic sounds, but the kinds of controversial genes they would like to juxtapose with one another to create beats of genes and sounds of proteins. Future science advances may open the opportunities to create your own sound from within if you attained a genetic record of your own genome.

References
1) DNA Sequencing. Wikipedia.org. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_sequencing]
2) Kimball, Dr. John W. Harvard. DNA Sequencing. [http://home.comcast.net/~john.kimball1/BiologyPages/D/DNAsequencing.html]

Things that keep me awake at night, unlike boogie monsters

2007-04-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

So now onto an idea I've wanted to create a while ago: the water dress. This time fountain may just be the key to making this dress somehow viable. All you need is to construct the outer shell with see-through plastic, with these crazy light installations within it...turn off the lights, and you have some darn amazing fashion. Maybe I'll make one for my wedding dress, or start a line...
AND--not only will it be quiet an experience, this will be a tangible-like optical illusion which will throw you head first into the sense of wonder, visually persuade you to think about timing within space and liquid emotion.

Mostly I love the fact that this guy worked in a place that used these lights for surgical procedures, but his mind was somewhere else. Let's hope it wasn't somewhere else when he was actually surgicaling people.
These lights could perhaps be of use within the dress process, although I doubt this will be my final project idea as of current status. However, the idea of a tangible illusion still holds and simmers.

one more [smelly] thing

2007-04-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

Since last quarter a group of mine focused on the senses usually not represented in technology, it led my mind astray into the past of time. I ended up thinking vividly about the research at the lab I used to work, defining olefactory receptors and how our nose molecules produce smell stuffs. This is quiet a new field and the last Nobel Prize was given out for research in this unique, strangely simple, but never before sought out category of the senses.

So in conclusion of this contemplating, I decided that I would like to synthesize olfactory receptors together to construct crazy smells nobody has smelled before.

((like bertie bot's every flavor beans. only you wouldn't ever guess the flavour.))

Don't know how possible this would be now, maybe in the future.

...and the smells would be unbearably pleasant.

link to interesting article

Optical Illusions

2007-04-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

can really mess with your perspective and make you wonder things, re-look, be more attentive, think harder but not over think.
Be curious but not too curious.
What's at the end of curiosity?
Wonder, maybe.

look at this one sideways.

Whatever my project ends up being, I'd like to make that feeling you ((hopefully)) just attained from experiencing these images, very present, somewhere within your inside.

Creativity can only be explained by that which we create using it

2007-04-01T23:50:00.000-07:00

((Brain-leeching quotes and ideas from The Construction of Change, Roy Ascott))

"The creative process demands acts of synthesis which defy verbal description and which only the work of art itself can define"

What am I making? What am I thinking? What will happen in the future? What do I want to create tangibly, or idea-wise? All these questions will truthfully only be answered after your piece of creation is fully completed, functional, and interacting with its environment in the way only apparent after actualization.

"I make structures in which the relationships of parts are not fixed and may be changed by the intervention of a spectator

An intriguing concept wherein the art will be more of a systems art piece; shaped, formed, and evolving throughout its existence.

"The identity we give to what we perceive is always relative, yet it presupposes a whole"

No matter who, humans are subjective in their judgment based on the experiences pertinent to only their own lives. This must be taken into account when making a statement through art, or constructing an interaction with the audience.

central point of this intriguing paper falls into the central perspective
(as Christ would fall in a High-Renaissance painting...)
of
CYBERNETICS
dun dun dun
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V

"Cybernetics is concerned with the behavior of the environment, its regulation and the structure which reveals the organization of its parts"

now, let us swim in the waters of cybernetics from the modern dictionary-definitions perspective....

[dictionary.com]
cy·ber·net·ics [sahy-ber-net-iks] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –noun (used with a singular verb) the study of human control functions and of mechanical and electronic systems designed to replace them, involving the application of statistical mechanics to communication engineering.

[American heritage dictionary]
cy·ber·net·ics (sī'bər-nět'ĭks) Pronunciation Key
n. (used with a sing. verb)
The theoretical study of communication and control processes in biological, mechanical, and electronic systems, especially the comparison of these processes in biological and artificial systems.

[another sweet definition]
cybernetics robotics
/si:`b*-net'iks/ The study of control and communication in living and man-made systems.
The term was first proposed by Norbert Wiener in the book referenced below. Originally, cybernetics drew upon electrical engineering, mathematics, biology, neurophysiology, anthropology, and psychology to study and describe actions, feedback, and response in systems of all kinds. It aims to understand the similarities and differences in internal workings of organic and machine processes and, by formulating abstract concepts common to all systems, to understand their behavior.
Modern "second-order cybernetics" places emphasis on how the process of constructing models of the systems is influenced by those very systems, hence an elegant definition - "applied epistemology".
Related recent developments (often referred to as sciences of complexity) that are distinguished as separate disciplines are artificial intelligence, neural networks, systems theory, and chaos theory, but the boundaries between those and cybernetics proper are not precise.

From all of these different explanations, I agree that every single piece of art has a foundational system of cybernetics-from cave paintings, to modern day systems art. From this I have concluded that any project that will be created in DXArts, most importantly my own project, will/should portray the idea of Cybernetics in a very apparent, succinct, maybe controversial but definitely impacting way.

Cool Link---The Cybernetics Society

Some lights at the end of the Creation Tunnel

2007-03-30T18:21:00.000-07:00

Hear ye, hear ye, Julia has come up with two project proposals over the break of Spring which are currently bullying her mind to become real, like Pinocchio still inside that log.
Her doubts sit and marinate as she speculates weather either project is worth the wrath of her sweat blood and tears over the next quarter in the Digital abyss of the Experimental Media Arts.
Maybe she will wait for new aspirations....but for now....

Project 1: Fragile X Fountain
This will be a physical installation that is meant to bring awareness to the biological group of diseases caused by trinucleotide repeat expansions somewhere in the genome. Specifically, this fountain will portray how many individuals are born with the Fragile X Syndrome each year/month/week/day while also mimicking the mechanisms of causation of the disease.
It will consist of three separate parts:

PART 1-Pump
A pump which is timed to squirt a specific amount of water into a basic. Each squirt represents a repeat. After 200 squirts (200+ repeats=full mutation=FragileX Syndrome) the basin will topple over.

PART 2-Basin
This basin will be collecting the "repeats", representing the q arm of the X Chromosome in a genome. After 200 squirts it will be full and by momentum and physics will be gravitationally forced to be toppled over into a device collecting this water to represent the total amount of individuals born with the syndrome.

PART 3-Collection bin
The collection bin is the most powerful part of the fountain, as it is meant to represent a tangible view of the amount of individuals born in the world/USA (depending on available statistics) per chosen amount of time.

DESIGN
will be a very important aspect of this fountain. The above diagram is a basic depiction of how this object is going to function, but the design will be a lot more thought out and metaphorically poetic. I want this to be a tangible and visually appealing piece of art that will draw with its visuals in order to make a statement, be easy to experience and connect to.

Click here to look at a draft of my proposal in word

Project 2: Sounds from Within

[http://home.comcast.net/~john.kimball1/BiologyPages/D/DNA_sequence.gif]

What does the above image look like to you? If you're a biologist you can tell that this is a simple graph taken from the Big Dye Termination method of sequencing any part of a genome. If you don't know anything about genetics, this graph may look like a blueprint for a sound piece, raw data of sound waves depicted by colors in some internal order.

While working at my lab, sequencing DNA using these machines was a regular chore. I would perform this chore every day, let me tell you, as these colorful graphs of the core of life appeared like magic after every time, I definitely felt like the messenger of divinity.
My subconscious connected these lines in this format and now I would like to hear these sounds from within.
The idea here is to assign one instrument to each color, each DNA base, and somehow import the data from sequencing into a sound program. Then you press play. Compare, contrast instruments, mix, be a DJ of the bases of life.
Things that come out may be amazing, they hopefully will have patterns, they will engulf a rhythm. It may fail and nothing may be apparent to our humanly fragile ears.
We will see.

Click here to look at a draft of my proposal in word