Continuing to turn inspiration into reality, Deb and I unpacked our new table saw, installed the acrylic-capable blade, and got to work cutting and gluing. The result is a prototype for a new series of light boxes/cubes:
Electric Window 3.03
With the inspiration of using acrylic as an artistic/structural medium mixed with the notion of baring it all in terms of circuit board exposure, as outlined in this previous post, I set about to realize the next entry in the Electric Window 3.xx series with a new perspective:
[ Build details and more photos after the break . . . ]
It’s all about content . . ?
Gallery hopping in Toronto late last year, I discovered a handful of really inspiring artists.
Gallery Lausberg specializes in abstract German sculpture. Of particular interest to me were the works of Regine Schumann and Klaus Staudt.
Schumann’s work revolves around sculptural acrylic forms illuminated by black light:
Staudt’s work explores form and perspective through a variety of pieces built from patterns of 3D objects suspended in space (through the use of coloured and transparent acrylic):
[ deep stuff after the break ]
Electric Window 3.01
December ‘09 was a busy month! I made a lot of progress on my “Electric Window” light series, both developing it as a platform and getting a handful out there into peoples’ collections.
A big move was finalizing the framework for the 3.xx series, by reducing the “Electric Window (iii)” design from two screens to one:
In an effort to standardize “editions” of my lighting fixtures, the “Electric Window 3.xx” series is based around one or more 24 x 16 pixel displays, in a small enclosure of some sort. While the hardware design will remain fairly constant, the software and enclosures will vary. The pattern shown above is an autonomous drawing program, like an electronic Etch-a-Sketch on auto-pilot.
[ build details after the break ]
Interactive Audio/Visual Installation
Just finished a proof-of-concept video for an interactive audio/visual installation, where the audience become the performers in a room-sized drum machine with blinking lights and sychronized video:
The audio is straight from a drum machine, triggering the video in real time which is done in Processing; this initial draft shows that this is just the tip of the iceberg for what’s possible . . .
Spacing Ottawa launch party
Last week Deb and I performed a dj/vj set (as The Latest Artists) at the Spacing Ottawa launch party at Cube Gallery .
Dawghaus Studios put a video together of the event featuring some of our music, video, and performance — along with Spacing-related content, too, of course 
Kraftwerk sitcom
For whatever reason, I find the following combination of Kraftwerk’s seriousness mixed with a laugh track and a chiché plot hilarious:
Window office
This is the third piece in my “electric window” series, which began in December of 2007 when I stuffed a small pre-made frame with EL wire and a decorative acrylic panel as an entry to Gallery 101’s annual fundraiser / art auction, 101 Frames.
The year after, I made another EL wire based piece, and animated the wire; this year I will probably go with a smaller version of “electric window (iii)”. Here’s a shot of the insides:
This piece was originally the display portion of a weather-responsive work that draws patterns based on wind speed and direction data — as detected from an external weather meter — received wirelessly by the FM receiver board on the upper right:
Unfortunately the wireless link was giving me trouble, so the wind-based project was put on hold, but the remainder of the circuit (an Arduino-controlled pair of Sure Electronics LED display boards) made for a perfect addition to my exhibition with the Conjunction Collective.
Updating an old flave
This piece has a colourful history
The original, static fixture shown above was built for Cube Gallery’s 2008 exhibtion, Homage, which asked participating artists to create an homage to an important influence on their art.
I chose to make a wall-mounted rendition of Dan Flavin’s fluorescent installation, “untitled (in honor of Harold Joachim)”:
For the Conjunction Collective show this fall, I decided to animated the piece . . .