Inspiration China - Opening Tonight.

Inspiration China (Part of China Design Now Portland) opens tonight at 5 PM.

I went by yesterday and loaded Pectomoveo up with ink, and witnessed it put down its first set of lines, and I am absolutely in love with what it's doing. I'm so pleased and excited.

I'll see you there!

New work, old work, and the October shows containing them.

Last month was just jam packed with work for me, prepping both old and new work for two shows I had opening this month.


The show I made new work for this month is Inspiration China, part of China Design Now.

Responding to a 1000+ year old comb, I built a single axis CNC comb titled Pectomoveo, which mimics the gestural history of the comb by recording the movement as ink traces on paper.



The piece is laser cut out of wood, and operated by Arduino.



UO's Allied Arts & Architecture's blog has some nice photos and a good article on the exhibit, which opens this Thursday, October 8th, 5-7pm, at The White Box, 24 NW First Avenue, Portland, OR.

This is going to be a great show, with a lot of great people in it, like my Maybe We Can cohorts Zach Rose*, Shawna X. Huang and Mackenzie Schubert.



The other show I have this month is part of the Dorkbot PDX group show at ON Gallery where I'm displaying Cardiolumen, which was my BFA Thesis Piece.

Cardiolumen @ Maybe We Can from Andrew Parnell on Vimeo.

Using a heart rate monitor, an arduino, a servo motor, some gears and a dimmer switch, I am able to present the user's heart rate back to him, creating a meditative loop.



Jason has some great pictures of the show up on his site. I tried to get some myself, but it was just too crowded. (Not that I'm complaining.)

*You can also see Zach Rose, and his heart beat, in the video of Cardiolumen @ Maybe We Can. That's right, cross promotion within one post.

Data and the Physical World

Hey folks,

Sorry to have gone radio silent for the entire month of September. I've got this folder of images I wanted to post about in September, but now that we're in October, I guess we'll just skip it. (If you follow me on twitter you got the highlights anyway.)

Back in June I got invited to speak at Dorkbot 0x03. It was...not the smoothest talk I've ever been part of, in part because I really rushed through it. But it was a great experience.

Anyway, I recently found out Jared posted the video of my talk, so I figured I might as well share it.

Andrew S. Parnell - Data and the Physical World from Jared Boone on Vimeo.

Enjoy.

Oh Maywa Denki

Seriously, lets just leave it at Maywa Denki, I <3 You.

Body Collective

I'm super loving this work from Second Story for Portland Art Museum's Marking Portland: The Art of Tattoo exhibit.



Titled Body Collective, the piece lets visitors super impose art from the collection onto their own bodies, and then stores that image to be viewed by future visitors to the exhibit. It's super fun, and super beautiful.

...I like the word super today.



Go look at the rest of the documentation on Second Story's site. I think the videos do it the most justice.

The exhibit is running at the Portland Art Museum until September 7th. I'm going to check it out. If you're in/around Portland, you should too.

Thanks Nina for the alert.

The Maze Solving Algorithm

Maze Solving Algorithm from Andrew Parnell on Vimeo.

The Maze Solving Algorithm is a bit more geographically limited than RPS, mostly because you need to be in a walled city (or can otherwise define some bounds that act as a maze wall.) Still, if you CAN use it, the results are wonderful.

In Siena I went from Porta Tufi to Porta Ramano which Google tells me should take about 21 minutes walking, but using the algorithm took closer to an hour. Let me tell you: it was a well spent hour. (Though, I couldn't help but feel frustrated when I realized 30 minutes in that I'd effectively moved one block.)

RPS

After dinner last night I went through and gave RPS a proper trial. It worked BEAUTIFULLY! I'm actually a bit let down that I didn't start doing this earlier in the trip, because I saw areas of town I'd never seen before, and it was amazing.

A little modification to the rules stated last time for doing RPS with a standard ipod. Loading only 3 images (one of each arrow) will actually just repeat in the same random order every time. So instead of loading 3, load 10-15 copies of each image. This seems to work.

Algorithm

I'm in Siena, a medieval walled city. This place is exactly like the kind of mazes you find on children's placements at diners all over the US. (Maybe internationally too... I haven't ordered a kids meal here...) With this fact in mind it made sense to me to try and "solve" Siena using maze solving algorithms.

Maze Solving Algorithm

Now, I'm finding that when I say the word algorithm, people around me seem to just tune out. So let me clarify really quick. By algorithm I don't mean a large convoluted series of equations. I mean a very simple, specific, and strict set of rules. With Siena those rules are as follows:

1) Choose two gates, one to start at and one to finish at.
2) Choose a hand, left or right.
3) Keep that hand on a wall at all times. [Note: you don't actually have to walk touching a wall...that would be silly...but your path must be determined by the ability to do so. IE, if you choose your right hand, every time you can make a right turn, you must.]
4) Treat all gates that are not your final destination as though they are closed, with a wall bridging them.

Because you are starting and ending along city wall, you are guaranteed to get to your destination. It won't be the most direct route, but that's kind of the point.

Along the same lines, but with a less clear destination, is my second method - RPS.


RPS - Random Positioning System

RPS does not guarantee that you will get anywhere, and it is almost guaranteed that you will become lost within the city. After I get back to the states RPS will become an actual ipod touch / iphone app, available for download and applicable to any city. For the time being though I'm accomplishing the same effect with a regular ipod and the following rules.

1) Load an ipod with 3 images, a left arrow, a right arrow, and a forward arrow. Put them in a playlist. Enable shuffle.
2) As you walk, at every interesection, restart the playlist. This will select a new image at random.
3) Follow the arrows.
[NOTE: This WILL get you lost. Pay attention to the route it takes you on so you can back track if necessary.]

Historic Background
Like most things, the basic ideas behind these methods of navigation are not entirely new. And it seems fitting that in the process of prepping for this piece I stumbled across Psychogeography (by stumbled I mean I wound up in its territory and was alerted of this fact by my professor Colin Ives)

In 1955 by Guy Debord defined Psychogeography as "the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals." Guy Debord and the Situationalists used a map of London to explore the German countryside, using a restricted system to approach a nearlly unrestricted geography.

Using a map of Siena clearly wouldn't introduce any new experience to exploring the city, so instead I'm applying rules of mechanical exploration to a human system.

Continue Time

Sander Mulder, the studio that brought you Woofers (you know...those speakers installed in the necks of cast dog bodies...) just made 21 (20 for release, one artists proof) of the most amazing clock I've seen in a while. Continue Time is a 3 handed clock with exposed gears where the 3 hands each pivot on the tip of the previous unit. This is seriously beautiful.





....droooooool.

[via Make]

Green Platform

Hey Kids! (This is going to be rushed...and for that I am sorry.)

I'm in Siena, Italy doing a study abroad for the month of July. It's been pretty much amazing, in spite of my speaking ~15 words of the language. (...I started at 4...so... 15 is an improvement? Ci?)

Anyway, I don't really have internet access here. Not when I'm at my apartment anyway. But when I was in Florance Friday night, our hostel had wifi. Which was amazing, because it just so happened that We Make Money Not Art had posted this. We're talking serious stars aligning here.

So of course, I (along with two of the other artists I'm here with) went! It was this cool combo between art exhibit and science fair, which resulted in a really amazing experience.

Here's a sampling of images for you. The first 3 are my own images, the last two though are taken from the Green Platform website because I apparently was too enthralled by the piece to photo it well. All images are linked to the artist's page on the Green Platform site.


Nicola Toffolini

Nicola Toffolini just made it to my list of artists I think are super cool™ because of this piece, Volumi mutevoli a regime di crescita disturbato, which puts so many degrees of seperation between plant grown and natural sunlight its just breathtaking. (Three degrees are in the photo, realistically there are probably even more levels. But in the gallery it's spotlights powering solar panels powering red and blue grow lights.)


Dave Hullfish Bailey

There's something almost whimsical about Dave Hullfish Bailey's combination of text on planks and 360 degree photos of the library in Slab City, California.


Christiane Löhr

These structures are only ~3 inches tall, and made of grass stalks. I'll say no more.



Nikola Uzunovski

Nikola Uzunovski: congratulations, you've also made it onto the list of artists I think are super cool™. Artificial suns in the arctic circle? Beautiful. But the way you present it in the gallery? Even better. ...is there any way I can get a copy of that video?



So yeah... best 4 euro I've spent on this trip thus far. Click the links on those photos. I'm really not doing any of these pieces justice.

CIAO!

Premiering tomorrow at Maker Faire: a totally different project!

I went to setup Tangólumen at Maker Faire today and after 5.5 hours of setup (well, 5 if you discount that 30 minutes of that was me getting lunch) it... didn't work.

Either I screwed something up in the setup or something broke in shipping (or both... or option C [to be named later]) but whatever the cause, I didn't bring the tools with me I need to really debug it, nor did I really have ample time (or the heart) to rip it back up and fix it.

However, instead of prepping to spend a weekend saying "Well... this is what it should be doing" I went to the hardware store and picked up enough parts to hack together with the laser cut pieces I brought to control Tangólumen's lighting rig to create a brand new piece. And it's 300% more awesome.

...and I'm not going to tell you what it is until after tomorrow opens.

gEarings

Well since they've been delivered, it is now officially safe for me to post about these. For mothers day I made my mom a pair of gEarings, (stud earings that double as a functioning planetary gear when in their case)







I also put the design and instructions on Thingiverse where they have since been featured.

A couple really nice things in my mind: the entire thing is laser cut (including the dowels) There is very little glue (backs of the earrings only) and the earrings were thinned down using the laser on etch.

I am pleased.

Shared on Thingiverse

I decided to share the how to of the device in the last post with the world via Thingiverse.

Check it out.

Cordislumen (Tentative Name) progress

Wow... last little while has been piss poor blogging performance for me, hasn't it? I apologize, many things have been happening in my professional life, the majority of which I do not feel comfortable sharing online.

Anyway, onto the cool stuff.

Cordislumen (Tentative Name) progress part 1 from Andrew Parnell on Vimeo.

I just finished building one of the ... I believe three ... components of my next piece. (Tentatively known as Cordislumen, hence forth not referred to by name). In function it's like the system of pulleys in my last piece. But practically speaking...it works so much nicer. In part this is because I'm not having to deal with co-opting a piece of building infrastructure (though, I did really like that element of Tangólumen) and also because I learned a lot from Tango's design, and was able to better design this one.

This portion of the project contains an outlet, a dimmer switch, and a servo (and for now: a dirty rubber band). The servo operates the dimmer, which in turn controls the amount of current going through one of the outlet's two sockets. (The other one delivers consistent power to the micro-controller / servo via a wall wart.) This is a really nice way to control an outlet...because in all truth, full source voltage is scary, scary stuff.

Some more photos...right here:

Authenticity Sticker

Tweenbots

Since I first saw them on Saturday, Tweenbots seem to be making a serious buzz. This isn't a surprise really, I mean who can resist a cute cardboard robot that navigates urban landscapes through human intervention?

This is exactly the type of project I want to create. It rehuminizes this inhuman technology. There's something really sweet about it.

<3

[Tweenbots] [via NOTCOT]

Tangolumen Completed / Post Review Reflections

After living in my studio for the better part of a week, reviews finally came, and Tangólumen was up and doing things. It wasn't doing exactly what it was supposed to...but it was doing things, and that's something.


Tangólumen In Action from Andrew Parnell on Vimeo.

People seemed to enjoy it, and I got a lot of really useful feedback ranging from what to do next, tweaks to make, things to consider, possible redirection, and so forth. Now that I've gone back and adjusted the lights and programming so that it's actually to spec, I really need to start inviting people into the space and use data I gather from that to further development.

Assemble Flooring - CHECK

The flooring is 100% operational and 100% assembled. I do need to run some gaff around the perimeter to keep it in place, but that has to wait until after I glue the Vcc line into place.

[X] Strip Cat 5 cables + Glue them to the panels with conductive epoxy
[X] Assemble flooring
[ ] Attach Vc to flooring
[REDACTED] Recut 1 servo-box
[ ] Cut 2x 1' of threaded pipe
[ ] Attach pulley rig to dimmers
[ ] Cut and crimp steel cable.

Oh man, it's so close I can almost taste it. It tastes like the floor, which, coincidentally, I've slept on the last 2 nights.

I am the for loop.

There's one thing that seems nearly thematic in my current project: repetition.

This is a side effect of the modular design I'm really proud of across the board in this project, but at the same time it's making the assembly portion of fabrication really repetitive.

Some examples:



There are 64 pieces of chipboard in this project, each with a 17" long strip of aluminum tape running up their center. Each piece is then taped into a grid, with cat 5 cables shared among every eight panels.



When I designed all the acrylic pieces for the pulley system, I designed it around an interchangeable system of pieces. Six pieces combine to make 1 part, there are 32 parts in this system, meaning that I cut 192 pieces (not including extras, or the pulleys). Cutting took ~30 minutes (well, an hour, but that's because I had to do it twice), assembling them was another story all together.


Review prep checklist:
[19/64] Strip Cat 5 cables + Glue them to the panels with conductive epoxy
[ ] Assemble flooring
[ ] Attach Vc to flooring
[ ] Recut 1 servo-box
[ ] Cut 2x 1' of threaded pipe
[ ] Attach pulley rig to dimmers
[ ] Cut and crimp steel cable.

i++;

Some Assembly Required

The downside to laser cutting is that if you want undercuts, you basically have to create them as separate pieces and then laminate them together. The upside is that they look, and are, awesome.



Last leg of cutting is scheduled for tomorrow. Then I just have to cut the threaded rods down length and assemble.