Just got back from Brussels, where Jonah and I led a workshop at IMAL (Interactive Media Art Laboratory) titled Hybrid World Scrapyard Challenge. The workshop is part of IMAL’s New Brave World series and is based on our Scrapyard Challenge Workshops. The workshop concluded Saturday, but there are already some preliminary photos online at Flickr, posted by Malicy.
We just returned from Scotland today where Jonah and I led two workshops, one in Glasgow at Urban Learning Space and another at the new Distance Lab in Forres. We also gave talks at New Media Scotland’s Poker Club in Edinburgh. The trip was a good one, though very quick. Thanks to all who came, participated, and helped us to make it happen, especially Gillian, Stefan, and Michelle.
A while ago I blogged about the new Rip Curl heated wetsuit on Popgadget. Well there’s an update to the story. Rip Curl now has a website for its new H-Bomb, the world’s first power heated wetsuit. On the website you can check out Adam Wickwire and Elise Garrigue score icy perfection amid snow covered ground and frigid waters. The H-Bomb uses two fiber coated elements powered by two polymer Lithium Ion 7.2v batteries to heat your upper back, spreading warmth to your core. The footage of Wickwire and Garrigue surfing features average air temperatures of -5 to -10 degrees celsius and water temperatures around -1 C. Now this is the type of wearable that I get really excited about. (Original article seen at Surf Europe.)
Jonah’s show, Deconstructing Networks opened this last weekend at OBORO Gallery in Montreal. As part of the exhibition Tim came over and two thirds of Family Filter (Jonah and Tim) got together to hold a performance of Simpletext. As one participant texted to the performance, “simpletext is like crack.” - Yes indeed! Jonah’s show runs from September 16th - October 21st. If you’re in Montreal go check it out.
Friday we held a Midi Scrapyard Challenge at Oboro Gallery in Montreal. We all had a blast. Pictures can be found here and at Jonah’s site. Meanwhile the number of people posting their own Scrapyard photos on Flickr keeps increasing. Pictured above is a turntable/beat machine created by Eric, one of the workshop participants. He used springs, screws, and other scrap metal parts to hold down wires against the metal of the turntable which had been intermittently insulated with duct tape. As the leads moved from covered to uncovered sections chords of sound played. In addition, Eric included an old speaker that he used as a variable resistor to control the pitch bends of the notes. Good stuff!
While in San Jose for ISEA 2006 I got to check out the Edge Conditions exhibition at the San Jose Museum of Art. One of the projects, Light From Tomorrow by Thomson & Craighead stirred some interesting thoughts.
The project is comprised of a lightbox in a gallery (or in this case museum) space which is connected to a light sensor located in the Kingdom of Tonga, which lies at the edge of the International Date Line. The light readings from Tonga are sent over the internet to the lightbox, which reproduce the light levels. Two seperate clocks display the local time of the installation and the local time in Tonga. The piece is intended as a poetic reflection on distance, time, and global communications. (In the gallery, the light from “tomorrow” can be seen “today.”) We’re meant to perhaps feel a sense of interconnectedness, wonder, and perhaps optimism. But for me the project causes me to think of the problematic questions which only recieve oblique treatment in the piece.
The ISEA 2006 symposum begins today. Our DIY Urban Challenge ended yesterday. Check out Jonah for more photos or the Scrapyard Challenge website.
Jonah and I did a Midi Scrapyard Challenge at Machine Project on July 9th. Photos are up on our Scrapyard Challenge site and Mark Allen and Zota have posted their pix on Flickr. (Here’s a photo of Mark Daggett rocking out on his weight scale guitar like a true rockstar!)
Jonah and I leave for Amsteram this Friday for ten days. We’ll be holding a Scrapyard Challenge for Virtueel Platform. The workshop location is at Steim. We will also be giving talks while we’re there.
Jonah and I have our work Umbrella.net featured in New Media Art, by Mark Tribe and Reena Jana. The book is published by Taschen and available now at Amazon.