my hideous progeny: the aberrant + grotesque in architecture

2007-04-11T18:20:00.000-07:00

the model: process and progress

The model is underway - here are some images of the progress:

The trees shown above will serve as the backdrop for the model. I was unwilling to enter the site again, as the majority of what I have been working with comes from the assumptions made from the act of voyeurism at the fence. To replicate the row of trees that are on the site, I photographed some tress that were of similar size, shape, and in a similar topographical situation. Some photoshopping later, the result looks pretty similar to those on site.
The fence, in its third iteration, has been cut, stained, and assembled. The fence panels were treated with an acetone transfer of photocopies of images on the site. They were then washed with India ink and water.

The viewports have also been added: there are five separate areas, all which are being developed through the narrative. The architecture of the site will follow this progression.

I've mapped the sight lines through the viewports with string to establish the areas that can be seen through the lenses, and that will be developped architecturally.

2007-04-08T16:58:00.000-07:00

trial by fire: a return to the mentors

Etant donnés, marcel duchamp

After struggling to represent the fence panels in my site model properly, it was recommended that I return to my mentors from the past two semesters; namely duChamp, the Brothers Quay, Roussell, Artaud, and various illustrations of mechanized, grotesques, and theatres from the 16-18th centuries.

DuChamp's Etant Donnes is a pretty significant precent to this project - I've purchased a door spy-hole that will be used to determine the views into the space that will be created. The spy-holes distort the perspective beautifully, and provide a very specific field of view that will be useful in arranging the space. The image of DuChamp's work above is an example of the type of strange and absurdest imagery that I am hoping to develop through my narratives of Sheldon Blank.

image name unknown, the brothers quay

I chose this image from the works of the Brothers Quay to demonstrate the blurring of scale and image that I'd like to achieve. I was looking at the way that the brothers use material in their projects - miniature representations are incredibly delicate and interesting, and I have decided to move away from the white representative model that I was headed for (which really makes no sense in the context of previous work) and return to the grotesque and baroque.

The following three images are taken from "Pruned" blog, and are wonderfully illustrated images of old, strange mechanisms. They are incredibly detailed, yet wonderfully simple representations of machinery. I hope to look towards these methods of illustration to influence not only the drawing of the mechanisms in the site, but also to influence the aesthetic nature of the components within the site. It is also possible that I will use some of these images, alongside some of the mechanisms that were found on-site, to create the collage/perceptual imagery of this project.

theatrum mechanarium, taken from pruned blog

laser cutting, and progress to date

Because so much of what I have been working on to date is by trial, (ie: I'm working on my third iteration of the fence that is to surround the site), there hasn't been much to post to date. I'm hoping that three's a charm, and so there should be sufficient material to post once the new fence gets up and running. Due to the size of the model, photographing it properly between stages is time consuming and difficult - ultimately not high on my list of priorities right now.

The following are sample images of laser cutting work that I have been working on.
These are some of the supports that I am developing to house the door spy-holes that I've purchased to denote the viewports into the site. Right now they're in development, but the shapes of the outlines are to simulate the act of looking through these specific spaces in the site. The spy-hole is a cheap version of what one finds in a door, to see who is on the other side.
The fence panels are being cut out of thin bass wood - the first iterations were cut from plywood, and then from card. The ply was too thick for the scale of the project, and the card had material limitations in that it was not able to properly simulate the wood and the desired effect of the fence.
(to come:)
The fence panels have been held in place by a jig that was created by modeling the site in 3D: the jig ensures that the warped wood and the angles of distortion are properly maintained in the model.

My current goal is to simulate the trees and natural surroundings of the site, while keeping within the realm of the grotesque, and maintaining the aesthetic that has been established through the work this year. The above is an image traced from a 15th century tree image - I'm considering using the same acetone transfer method that I started developing to age the fence panels, to transfer the texture to the paper. Whether or not it works remains to be seen.

2007-03-22T14:33:00.000-07:00

old news: collaging some attractions

i have been working on getting some previous historical work up to date for the portfolio, starting with raymond roussel.
the collages that follow are based off of a few of the attractions that occur in the play. for further descriptions of the attractions, or the plot overview, refer to the previous post below.

attraction one: the earthworm zither player

collage: "the earthworm zither player" by c. grant. 2007.

This was the first collage completed in the series of roussel-inspired collages. the zither player instrument is one of the most bizarre and grotesque mechanisms developed in the play; a worm crawls through a thick, mercury-like liquid. liquid drops onto the strings of the zither. in the play, it is said that the worm has been trained to do this task, composing music.

attraction two: the one-legged lelgoualch plays the flute made of his own tibia

collage: "the one-legged lelgoualch playing the flute made of his own tibia," by c. grant. 2007.

this second collage was completed after a series of attempts to create a legless man playing a flute; after these trials, it became clear that the flute itself was what was interesting. strangely, the geometry of the flute image fit perfectly with that of the bone (unfortunately, it is not a tibia).

attraction three: cats playing the game of 'prisoners'

collage: "cats playing the game of 'prisoners,'" by c. grant. 2007.

the third collage, inspired by the cats playing a game of prisoners, shows not only the cat, but the boy that has trained them to accomplish the task. the description of the attraction states that he is dressed in standard vaudeville, which is strange on a young boy. again, it is this attraction that wins the award of the Incomparibles Club.

attraction four: the echoing chests of the alcott brothers

collage: "the echoing chests of the alcott brothers," by c. grant. 2007.

the chests of the alcott brothers are so completely emaciated that they reverberate sound from one to the other. their father yells his name, and it echoes through the space. the collage shows the brothers as a series of bizarre, deformed, and identical people; it is the emaciation, and the concept of sound reverberation through our body cavities that makes this attraction particularly grotesque.

attraction five: the punishment of pins

collage: "the punishment of pins," by c. grant. 2007.

the final collage in the series shows the queen rul during her "punishment of pins." in the first part of the play, the queen has an affair with another in her tribe; she later attacks her daughter. her husband, furious with her actions, has golden hairpins pushed through the old corset that she wears.

2007-03-21T10:18:00.000-07:00

conceptual mapping and design development

(above: site plan drawing, showing fence elevations and mechanized interpretations. original scale 1/8" - 1'-0". drawn by c.grant)

***note: click on any of the drawings to enlarge***

finally back - the absense from blogging is due in part largely to a complete withdrawal from computerized + digital means of production. the drawings that are posted are the result of my (long) process of defining the site that i've chosen in point douglas and the creation of the narrative (seen in the post concerning sheldon blank). as previously mentioned, the mechanisms that have been drawn were contrived through a study of their actual geometryl the rest has been constructed through these drawings.

plan drawing -blown up for viewing (original scale 1/8" = 1'-0") drawn by c. grant, 2007

this portion of the plan was pulled out in photoshop to show more clearly the area of the site that is most visibly saturated with parts (as visible from higgins). furthermore, most of the components in this section were developed as mechanized components, seen at the top of the original plan drawing.

section drawing (original scale 1/8" = 1'-0") drawn by c. grant, 2007

the section drawing above is the north-south section through the west end of the site. the sections are beginning to show the three-dimensional relationships between the mechanisms. this end of the space is considerably more condensed with mechanisms than the other areas of the space.

section drawing (original scale 1/8" = 1'-0") drawn by c. grant, 2007

the second section (west-east) shows the areas where no mechanisms have been developed. these interstitial spaces will either be further developed in the same fashion as the others, or else they provide area for the new network of architecture to fill the space.

conceptualized machine drawing + detail (original scale 1/8" = 1'-0") drawn by c. grant, 2007

another example of the mechanisms that were drawn along the top of the plan (another was mentioned in a previous post) - this one was one of the few mechanisms that was drawn almost completely from reality - most sides of this were visible from various views in the fence. it is a fairly substantial piece of machinery. this is one of the mechanisms that was incorporated into the mechanized collage about sheldon blank.

the architectural proposal is beginning to develop as well; these components form complex relationships with the site, and with one another, and will serve to create a substrate for an architectural proposal.

currently, the proposal is likely to expand beyond the heights of the fence - both upwards, and down into the ground. this is likely to become more defined as the proposal unfolds.

2007-03-08T09:44:00.000-08:00

the reckless abandonment of young sheldon blank, aged 3 and a half

complete mechanized composition: "the reckless abandonment of young sheldon blank, aged 3 and a half"
chelsea grant, 2007

Taking a page from the narrative currently being developed by thesis student Ken Borton, I've started to develop the story of the character during his childhood. It is an attempt to possibly gain insight into the site itself - where these mechanisms came from, their history, and the relationship of these machines to their owner.

Leading up to this project, it is important to recall the nature of the research - the mechanized grotesque and theatre of cruelty were important influences in determining that the site has enormous potential within these contexts; the story of young sheldon blank is therefore grotesque in nature, and highly mechanized.

The mechanized collage created to tell this story is comprised of a few components. Firstly, the original hole from the fence has been used as a blank stage for the piece, allowing the collage and the mechanisms to act as players. It has been painted in traditional matte black; it acts as a representation of the fence on the actual site, placing it in our physical world, but allowing the collage and the mechanisms act the story.

Sheldon's story starts in Point Douglas, in the mid 1900's. The son of a wealthy industry owner, Sheldon spent much of his infancy in the care of hired help. During these times, it was common for industry owners to reside in Point Douglas; it was close to work, and there was a strong community spirit.
As the industry started to override residential needs in the area, pollution became an increasing problem. A shift began to occur among the residents: wealthy owners started to vacate the area, leaving the lower classes to occupy the houses among the smog filled factories.

For unknown reasons, Sheldon's parents leave Point Douglas without their son. In their place, they leave a series of strange machines and mechanisms, each performing a different function, and each raising the young boy.

The Mechanized Collage: Scene One

The collage tells the beginning of Sheldon's life on his own, including the interaction with a few of the mechanisms.
A cradle gently rocks the young infant to sleep...a noise sounds, waking the child. He rises, and continues the regiment that he has begun since the day he was abandoned: sorting through the mechanized grotesques that were left behind, more is learned about his family, his past, and himself.

The imagery used in the collage was deliberately chosen: on one hand, animals like deer, turkeys, and monkeys (all present in the composition) all have various cultural symbolisms associated with them. They were chosen for their meanings, however in the surrealist fashion, I did not want to dictate the imagery and meaning that would be formulated on an individual level. They have therefore been altered in various ways, and manipulated to form a new and more personalized symbolism.

Technically:
The collage is designed to work with arduino. The cradle, a mechanism of wheels and elastic bands, crawls up and down a string, rocking the infant. When a sound triggers a switch, arduino is programmed to stop the first motor, and start another.
This motor is connected to a series of gears (thought processes and self discovery). The gears turn, eventually triggering a separate mechanism: a randomized light generator. It comprises of seven lights, 6 of which light of separate areas along the gears, illuminating various stages in the self discovery process. The 7th light is wired into the projection mechanism - when it is randomly triggered, the mechanism lights up, symbolizing Sheldon's main realization of the day.
A photocell is wired into this machine - once it picks up the light from the LED, the gear motors stop, and the cradle begins to rock again.

The system is ultimately a closed loop, taking in information from the surrounding environments to instigate movement.

the mechanized cradle - front imagery. photo by c.grant

cradle detail - back of mechanism, showing wheels and elastics. photo by c. grant

side profile of the cradle mechanism. photo by c.grant

2007-03-08T08:55:00.000-08:00

making circuit boards

In order to fulfill part of the manufacutring requirement, Kyle and I constructed circuit boards to house the circuitry for the H-Bridge and sensors required to control two motors with arduino (discussed below).

The circuitry diagram (left) was completed as vector lines by kyle, and printed out on glossy card stock. The original instructions suggested photo paper, but the print shop where we got this printed didn't have the capabilities to lazer print on photo paper.
Lazer printing on the glossy paper lives a slight ridge to the ink. This is transferred to the copper substrate with an iron. The iron makes the ink stick to the surface.
The plate is then soaked in hot water, until the excess paper comes away. This required some delicate coercion with a paint brush. It's important to be gentle with the boards, and not to rub of the ink when peeling away paper.

This is a photo of the board taken after the transfer had been made from the paper. At the top, some of the circuitry lines had come off with the paper, making for an incomplete circuit. To fix this, a permanent marker can redraw the lines before the board in placed in the chemical bath.

The board soaks, slowly removing the remaining exposed copper. The copper that has been covered remains, and the circuitry is complete.

2007-02-26T10:44:00.000-08:00

famous puppet death scenes

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine contacted me about a piece he had seen at what used to be my favorite theatre company in Calgary, Theatre Junction. I once associated the company with some of the better shows that I attended; classics were always reinvented (I can still vividly remember the 1960's acid-inspired interpretation of Moliere'sMisanthrope), and shows were generally well received among more youthful audiences.

The company has since been reinvented, and it incorporates a sort of strange, experimental approach to theatre that I admittedly don't completely understand. They did however bring Old Trout's production of Famous Puppet Death Scenes to Calgary, and I hear it was wildly popular. My friend tells me that he loved the show, and that it fits strangely into the work that I've been doing over the past two semesters.

I later discussed the show with another friend who is majoring in Theatre. She had seen it a year previously ; the creators are from the same theatre program in Victoria. I'm dying to see the piece: not surprisingly, it is not coming through Winnipeg. As a result, I'm limited to the following reviews and visuals that were published on the University of Victoria's Phoenix Theatre Program's website. The full article can be found here.

The show is a collection of short pieces which represent the collected death scenes from a (fictional) canon of famous puppet shows through history; each one is presented as if it is a scene from a real show, radically expurgated, so that we are seeing only the last moment of a main or sub-character. The broader plot of the shows from which they have been derived is left up to the imagination of the audience; the effect, we hope, is like viewing a painting in a gallery, finding an old photograph, or being parachuted into a four hour long opera, just at the climactic bit.

In any case, I want one of these puppets.

2007-02-24T14:08:00.000-08:00

(above: beginning stages of drafted fence segment, point douglas)

the mechanized unknown

Again, it's been too long since I've posted. Mid-term break put work on a bit of a hiatus, and since then I have been drawing - proper scans to come.

The installation for Point Douglas has changed in nature. I'm now proposing to create a mechanized collage, by building my impressions of the mechanisms that are seen through the viewports on the site.

Acting as a sort of corps esquisse exercise, the visible planes of the mechanisms will serve as one layer of the drawing. The rest will be filled in without knowing the actual physical nature of the machine.

The following two images show the beginning phases of this process. The drafted image is a composition that was determined from the geometry of the one visible side (the yellow machine in the following photograph).

The geometries will then begin to inform new functions for the mechanized collage. For example, a round grate that was found on the site could be used (at a smaller scale) to create sound, to project directional light, to move and actuate another machine, etc.

arduino + H-Bridge for DC motor control

Kyle and I worked out the above schematic to control a DC motor with Arduino, and an H-Bridge chip. The schematic is a little sketchy, as are the images in the tutorial. The photos are missing two key wires; I assume they have been omitted to make the photo easier to read. Hovering one's cursor over the image brings a pop up that describes the missing wires.

Once we discovered this, the process was relatively easy. The motors can be programmed to control a variety of the mechanical devices that will become a part of my mechanized collage/site analysis/mapping exercise.

2007-02-05T12:40:00.000-08:00

(Antonin Artaud, "Le théâtre de la cruauté," 1946. Graphite and wax crayon. Musée National d'Art Moderne--Centre de Création Industrielle, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris. Bequest of Paule Thévenin, 1993. Photo: Courtesy Museum of Modern Art, New York.)

Antonin Artaud: Le Théâtre et Son Double

'The human face
is an empty power, a
field of death ...
... after countless thousands of years
that the human face has spoken
and breathed
one still has the impression
that it hasn't even begun to
say what it is and what it knows.'
-Antonin Artaud
(from a text to introduce an exhibition of his portraits and drawings, Galerie Pierre, July 1947)

Antonin Artaud: brief bibliography

(note: all information sourced from wikipedia will be marked as such. all other information concerning Artaud's life has been taken from www.theatrehistory.com - and sources text by Wallace Fowlie - see below)

"Antonin Artaud's name is associated with a fundamental revolt against insincerity, and especially against insincerity in literature, where the written word corresponds to an attitude or a prejudice." -Wallace Fowlie

At the age of 18, Artaud was "briefly" cared for in a mental sanitarium for a disorder, which included self-induced sleepwalking (he was later discharged from the military for this problem). He spent some time in clinics, and published his first book of poetry in the early 1920s.
He spent some time with the surrealists, but severed his ties. Wikipedia states that he was expelled from the surrealists, for two reasons: firstly, he refused to denounce theatre as an art form that catered to the bourgeoisie, and secondly, because he refused to join the French Communist Party, which many of them had.
After witnessing the work of the Balinese theatre at the Colonial Exposition in 1931, he was inspired to write his major oeuvre, Le Théâtre et Son Double.
He spent some time in Mexico - Wikipedia's bibliography includes some information concerning Artaud's study of the Tarahumaran Natives, which included experimentation with peyote. This visit would greatly influence Artaud's perception of Western Civilization, and further fuel is argument for the necessity of Theatre of Cruelty.
Artaud died in 1948.

philosophies of the theatre of cruelty

"Of major importance in the evolution of Artaud's thought was the Colonial Exposition of 1931, where he was able to observe performances of the Balinese theater. These were the immediate origins of his conception of the Theater of Cruelty for which he wrote the First Manifesto in 1932 and the Second Manifesto in 1933." -Wallace Fowlie

Artaud's distaste for dominance of traditional French theatre stemmed from the structure of the plays themselves: "as...art which states a problem at the beginning of a play, and solves it by the end. It is an art form, he says, that presents a character at the beginning and then proceeds to analyze the character during the remainder of the play." He criticized this method heavily, arguing that the theatre was not created to "elucidate a charater and solve a conflict." He continued to argue that at the time, a new form of theatre was beginning to emerge, "one...characterized by freedom, by the surreal, and by mystery."
His "most cherished dream" would be the foundation of a new French teatre that would abandon the artistic spectacle of tradition. He desired theatre to become a communion between the audience and the players: "As in primitive societies it would be a theatre of magic, a mass participation in which the entire culture would find its vitality and its truest expression."
These primitive societies were integral to Artaud's deconstruction of western civilization. His analysis of theatre included a division of humanity in two: "the primitive or pre-logical group and the civilized or logical group. The roots of the real theater are to be found in the first group." The un-logical group were more in tune with the basic urges of the human, including incest, cannibalism, and deicide - these were accepted, and not determined as negatives, as in Western civilization.

"A dramatic presentation should be an act of initiation during which the spectator will be awed and even terrified--and to such a degree that he will lose control of his reason. During that experience of terror or frenzy, instigated by the dramatic action, the spectator will be in a position to understand a new set of truths, superhuman in quality." -Wallace Fowlie

Artaud used spiritual terms to define theatre: the "sacred goal...is to communicate delirium whereby the spectators will experience trances and inspiration. Dramatic art induces as strong a delirium as a plague does." (note: the beginning of The Theatre and Its Double describes in lengthy detail the plague, delirium, and the effect on Europe.)
Theatre in the Round was a technique employed to establish a close connection between the players and the audience. His production of Les Cenci (adaptation of the texts by Shelley and Stendhal) was an experiment in his theories:
"In this production mechanical devices were used to create a visible and audible frenzy: strident and dissonant sound effects, whirling stage sets, the effects of storms by means of light, unusual speech effects."
The failure of Les Cenci established Artaud as a true prophet of his cause. His mental illness was perceived by some as a revolt, and he frequently protested morality and rationality, becoming a "martyr of illogicality."

"To be an actor for Artaud is equivalent to suppressing in oneself traits that make one distinct from other men. It is therefore equivalent to a kind of suicide. The last long internment of Artaud was interpreted by the surrealists as purely arbitrary, as a sign of the persecution that society is constantly imposing on revolutionaries and dissidents. However one interprets the terrifying obsessions of Artaud, they allowed him to see into unusual depths of the human mind, where he claimed the eternal questions on life and death are clearly visible." -Wallace Fowlie

Theatre is not to copy reality, as traditional French theatre, but was another reality where "the principles of life are always just disappearing from beyond our vision" (this is the 'double' in the title of the text). This reality is not comprehensible to Westernized man. Theatre can therefore be used to lead man to his primitive instincts, bewitching them into a trance.

"Artaud wanted to see stage gesticulations elevated to the rank of exorcisms. In keeping with the principal tenets of surrealism, Artaud would claim that art is a real experience that goes far beyond human understanding and attempts to reach a metaphysical truth. The artist is always a man inspired who reveals a new aspect of the world." -Wallace Fowlie

"The Theatre of Cruelty has been created in order to restore to the theatre a passionate and convulsive conception of life, and it is in this sense of violent rigour and extreme condensation of scenic elements that the cruelty on which it is based must be understood. This cruelty, which will be bloody when necessary but not systematically so, can thus be identified with a kind of severe moral purity which is not afraid to pay life the price it must be paid."
– Antonin Artaud, The Theatre of Cruelty, in The Theory of the Modern Stage (ed. Eric Bentley), Penguin, 1968, p.66

overview of the theatre of cruelty

Note: Although this information comes directly from the Wikipedia website, I have included this segment because it greatly simplifies the above text. Please be aware that, as with everything taken from Wikipedia, the sources may not have been verified, and to use care when dealing with such material.

Artaud had a pessimistic view of the world, but he believed that theatre could affect change.
Remove the audience from the everyday, and use symbolic objects to work with the emotions and soul of the audience.
Attack the audience's senses through an array of technical methods and acting so that the audience would be brought out of their desensitization and have to confront themselves.
Use the grotesque, the ugly and pain in order to confront an audience.

There is no difference, in Artaud's mind, between imagination and reality. Thoughts and delusions are very real; if an audience accepts this as reality upon viewing theatre, they are able to understand that what they are seeing is actually real, and not simply theatrics.

My Notes

-Artaud's philosophies are pointing towards Sigmund Freud's concepts of the Id, Ego, and SuperEgo - the theory of the Id seems to coincide with Artaud's reverence for the urges of primitive society. The Ego and Super Ego could be applied to the state of Western civilization; defined by societal norms, the Ego and Super Ego take precedence over the basic urges of the Id. In this sense, theatre could be used to evoke the primitive nature of man: "a play that contains the repressed forces of man will liberate him from them."

Sources:

Artaud, Antonin. Le Théâtre et son double. France: editions de Gallimard. 1964.

Wikipedia's Entry on Antonin Artaud

Antonin Artaud, (1895-1948) on theatrehistory.com
This document was originally published in Dionysus in Paris. Wallace Fowlie. New York: Meridian Books, Inc., 1960. p. 203-209.

The Antonin Artaud Official Website incorporates a series of good articles about the author - check them out here.

2007-02-03T13:45:00.000-08:00

Impressions D'Afrique and the theatre of the Mechanized Grotesque

"It is true that I am indepted to Raymond Roussel for having enabled me, from 1912, to think of something else instead of retinal painting."
-Marcel Ducamp

Supporting Information: The Rube Goldberg Machine

Some of the machines/attractions created in Raymond Roussel's novel (and the theatrical adaptation) have been likened to the Rube Goldberg Machine.

n. a comically involved, complicated invention, laboriously contrived to perform a simple operation.
- Webster's New World Dictionary

Raymond Roussel's story culminates around a series of machines/attractions that could easily be defined by the same definition. They differ, however, in Roussel's use of the machines; they are much more grotesque in nature - one machine in particular being an instrument for death.
More indepth information on the Rube Goldberg Machine can be located on the official website.

Supporting Information: Punch and Judy - Pulcinella, Commedia dell'Arte

Another note: Roussel is said to have been particularly fascinated with the Punch and Judy stage (the architect in the story builds a similar stage as a space for the attractions in the contest). The stage shown above is a particularly minimalist version; traditionally, the Punch and Judy stage is red and white striped.
Punch and Judy are standardized characters, easily recognizable to all audiences. Punch is a character that is derived from the commedia dell'arte character Pulcinella. The characters in commedia dell'arte were also standardized, allowing Italian audiences to understand their nuances, and to allow for the actors to legally parody the politics of the time.

Raymond Roussel: a brief overview

Raymond Roussel's life was unique. The following notes are taken from Theatre of the Mechanized Grotesque, sourced below.
Raymond Roussel was born into a wealthy French family: his sister became the princess of Moscow, and he was particularly proud with his familial ties to royalty. After fighting in WWI, he took a keen interest in travel; he built what could be defined as the first mobile home - a lavish cart with comfortable living quarters.
His companion, a Mme Dufrene (who had been hired by Roussel's family as a cover for his homosexuality), traveled with him.
Roussel's confidence in his own work was shattered when there was little positive response to his first major oeuvre, "La Doublure." He sank into a deep depression, and began to see Dr. Janet, a neurologist. The doctor later went on to write a book, detailing Roussel's case: he refers to the patient as Martial Canterel, the main character from Roussel's book, Locus Solus.
The doctor diagnoses Roussel with a series of phobias, including fears of dirt, pain, cheapening (i.e. the display of breasts in music halls), disparagement, and rule-omania.
Roussel is known for his intense description of details. He became interested in theatre as a means to reach a greater audience. He spent a great deal of his personal wealth to stage his plays.

The Play vs. The Novel

There are several differences between the original novel, and the theatrical adaptation:

the order of events in the play are reversed: in the novel, executions are carried out at the beginning of the story.
some plot/characters/machines that were richly described in the novel are completely absent from the theatrical text.
completely new characters are added to the play, and they are important players in the production.

Roussel felt that theatre should never be static; as a result, he made changes to the performances on a daily basis, and encouraged his actors to do the same.
Circus-like posters were created to advertise the play, showing some of the attractions in the play. These posters shifted the attention from the original story line, and changed the public's perception of the play. The attractions became the focus of the production; spectators often came to the play just to see the advertised machines present in the third and fourth acts.

Characters + Plot Overview (Based on the Theatrical Version)

A brief summary of Impressions of Africa is not easy; a quick overview of the events in the story are outlined here, and detailed descriptions of the attractions will follow. It is equally important to describe the characters in the play, as they are completely integral to the absurdism of the piece. Note that the descriptions of the characters, while taken from the text of Theatre of Mechanized Grotesque, are likely to be true to Roussel's original descriptions.

Characters:

Baia (an African fool)
Talou VII (Emperor of the African tribe)
Sirdah (The blind daughter of Talou)
Rul (Empress of the tribe)
Yaour (witchdoctor - head of the opposing tribe)
Djizme (young woman)
Nair (Djizme's lover)
Mossem (a minister, Djizme's husband, Rul's lover)

Juillard (a historian, and the leader of the Europeans)
Carmichael (a male soprano who performs carabet songs in drag)
Dodor (a European fool)
Soureau (Actor)
Jenn (Circus Ringmaster)
Bedu (an Inventor)
Chenevillot (Architect)
Bex (Chemist, Inventor of strange machines)
Adinolfa (Actress)
Skarioffeszky (Musician with a "special" zither)
Olga Chernonenkova (Fat Latvian ballet dancer with a mustache who previously rode an elk)

Prologue:
On a stormy night, a ship of Europeans is marooned on an African island. The ship carries with it a strange mix of individuals, including performers, musicians, inventors, scientists, and freaks.

Act 1 ("A Site in Equatorial Africa")
The Europeans survey their surroundings. Talou takes the Europeans hostage, and then tells the story of civil unrest on the island. His daughter, Sirdah, is introduced.
Juillard suggests that the Europeans hold a contest to keep themselves occupied on the otherwise uneventful island. They name themselves the "Incomparibles Club." Each contestant is to create an event/machine/attraction, that will be judged by the others. The winner will receive a medal that Juillard designs.

Act 2 Scene 1
The story of Djizme and Nair: because of their affair, Djizme is condemned to an adultress' death.

Act 2 Scene 2
The story of Rul: jealous of her daughter, Rul and her lover Mossem attempts to make her blind (this is unclear - wasn't she blind to begin with?)
Talou catches Rul - she is condemned to death. He then takes his daughter to Yaour, the witchdoctor, to cure her blindness. He refuses, unless Talou allows him to marry his daughter. Talou refuses, and leaves.
Chenevilliot, the architect, builds a Punch and Judy stage to stage the activities of the "Incomparibles Club."

Act 2 Scenes 3-5
Juillard greets Sirdah, but she wishes to be alone. Yaour sends a convoy to invade and kill Talou - the plot is abandoned. The Europeans, sensing conflict and approaching fight, choose to group together as a team.

Act 2 Scene 6
Sirdah tells Juillard that she has forseen a day of public executions, and wishes to remain blind rather than witness these events.
Talou enters the scene in drag. Yaour enters the scene, and demands his own set of woman's clothing. He is given the costume for the character "Marguerite" in Faust. They argue dressed as women, and then derobe, and battle. Talou defeats Yaour.

Act 3 ("The Behuliphruem, a special area in the Jungle")
The acts of the "Incomparables Club" are held. Medals of Delta and Beta will be awarded. 8 of the 12 attractions from the circus poster occur during this act.

The Giant Beta is awarded to the boy with the cats.

Act 4 ("Backdrop shows the square of the trophies")
4 of the 12 attractions occur here:

#1 of Act 4: Norbert + Louise Montalescot's attraction

Seil-Kor's hypnotism occurs: Mad due to the loss of his love, the European doctor hypnotizes him with vine-arbor garnished with a certain hypno-genetic plant. He shows him (in his mind?) images (in the theatrical production, projection/slides) of his love, and he is at peace.
Carmichael sings an epic hymnn written by Talou called "Jeroukka"

Public torture + punishments commence.

Attractions #2, 3, 4 of Act 4 are carried out.

Sirdah dances, Talou gives the Europeans their freedom.

CURTAIN.

The Attractions

(note: attractions 1-8 occur in Act 3, and attractions 9-12 occur in Act 4)

The Earthworm Zither Player: a giant earthworm crawls across the top of the inside of a glass case, releasing drops of heavy, mercury-like water that strike the cords of the instrument. Conducted by Skarioffszky, who built the machine and trained the worm to play. Costume: red, tight-fitting Tzigane Outfit
The Dwarf Filipino whose normally developed head equals in height the rest of his body: the head of the Filipino is on a platter, the body below. This is handed to the audience by Jenn, the ringmaster. The body is presumably hidden by a second disk.
The one-legged lelgoualch playing the flute made of his own tibia: Lelgovalch's leg was previously broken and amputated. He plays a flute made of his tibia. Costume: traditional folk
The wall of dominos evoking priests: Whirligig (a clown) uses dominos, coins, cards to construct three images portraying "a group of revered gentlemen leaving the tower of an old cloister to visit the parish priest in his rectory." This was made by piecing together dominos, and creates an unsupported wall.
The thermo-mechanic orchestra made of bexium: Bex's invention is a "new metal, chemically endowed...with prodigious thermal sensitivity. It is a new music machine that works through the application of heat and cold.
The wind clock of Never-Never land: A clock face is cut in thirds, and is run by constant and predictable daily wind currents: "At each horizontal end of the dial are the words 'noon,' in the centre bottom rim 'midnight.' Accordingly, the breeze would blow the solitary hand across the dial, indicateing the time, the east wind changing the west each noon and midnight."
Cats playing the game of "Prisoners:" Cats are trained by Marius Bucharessas (10 years old). His collection of cats are maked with green or red ribbons on their necks, and they play a game of Prisoner's base in the boundaries established by the boy's foot. Costume: Standard Vaudeville. (note: prisoner's base is a game where two teams capture opposing players by tagging them, and taking them to their own base.)
Echoing chests of the Alcott brothers: Stephen, the father, yells his own name in 4 syllables: Ste/phen/Al/Cott. This is repeated 6 times at 6 points along a zigzag without any of the participants moving their lips. The voice echoes through the zigzag. This was reportedly made possible due to extreme emaciation, carefully maintained by a rigorous diet: bone-hard surfaces reverberate sound.
The statue of whale bones from a corset, on rails made from a calf's lung: Norbert and Louise Montalescot are siblings that were previously captured by Talou - to gain their freedom, they must build a body that can run on a rail made by a calf's lung, without breaking it. They construct the body of whale bones from found corsets, as they are light enough to glide over the tracks. The dummy is actuated by Louise's pet crow. Costume: Louise is dressed in military outfit - an officer's pelisse with gold shoulder knots. Hollow surgical needles penetrate her right lung and give rise to a peculiar kind of automatic music upon each effort she makes to breathe.
Djizme Voluntarily Electrocuted by Lightning: Invented by Bex, the "humane scientist," the machine is an electric bed-table, or a bed lightning-conductor. He was "counting on the rarety of storms in [the region], thereby preventing an execution, Bex places a lighting rod at the head of a copper cradle." As Djizme stretches out, she places her head in the iron cap and feet in metal shoes. Unfortunately, as she does this, a storm approaches.
Punishment of Pins: Rul is tortured to death for her affair, and her attack on Sirdah. Golden hairpins from her hair are pressed through the eyelets of a red knotted and frayed corset that she wears.
The Body of the Black King Yaour IX at the foot of a decaying tree, costumed classically as Marguerite in Faust: This is a great celebration of Talou's victory: "supreme humiliation causes Talou's women to frantically undulate." They perform a victory dance while belching (they just ate).

Paris, and The Public Reaction

Roussel's play was heavily criticized; critiques claimed that the play was mainly a bag of tricks, with no substance. Spectators came to see a play that was put on by an alleged "madman," and did not see the play as a worthwhile for other reasons. For this reason, it fared well in Paris, but terribly abroad - one show had only one spectator in the audience.

Letters of protest were common, and audience members pelted the actors with coins. Mini riots were common. Strangely, this was not uncommon to Parisian theatrical culture - Salvidor Dali's film, Chien Andalou, was another instance where people were incapable of dealing with the subject matter.

Roussel did have a group of followers among the surrealists and dadaists.

Crit Notes - taking this further

Michel Fuqueau (Sp?) Death and the Labyrinth
Ballet Mechanique: according the Patrick, this was a staged event - this is also a short experimental film (return to old class notes, and check this out)

Surrealism and the crises of symbolism and meaning - symbolism had become so embedded into architectural and art history, that the surrealists sought something more meaningful - symbolism that was absurd, but that could be found through nonsensical activities.
(explore this more)
this influenced the rise of Carl Jung (collective unconsciousness) and Sigmund Freud (the egos)

Antoine Arteau - read "le theatre et son double" - theatre of cruelty

Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound: dream sequence set design by Salvidor Dali

Other Names:
Dali
LeGrite
DuChamp

Sources:
Roussel, Raymond. Impressions D'Afrique. France: Jean-Jacques Pauvert Editeur. 1963.

Cherniack-Tzuriel, Abba. "Theatre of the Mechanized Grotesque: Roussel's Impressions of Africa" The Drama Review Vol 20, no.2 (June 1976): 108-123.

Amiot, A.-M. Un Mythe Moderne: Impressions D'Afrique de Raymond Roussel: etudes de critique et d'histoire litteraire. France: Archives des Lettres Modernes. 1977.

www.theatrehistory.com

2007-02-03T13:44:00.000-08:00

site photos

(above: proposed site: west wall, point douglas, winnipeg. photo by c. grant)

The west wall of the proposed site is perhaps the most interesting. Weathered wood, graf tagging and missing boards allow for some visual obstruction into the equipment beyond the fence, while providing enough opportunities for pedestrians to momentarily glimpse the space beyond.

(above: proposed site: south wall, point douglas, winnipeg. photo by c. grant)

The east wall is almost three times longer than the west wall. Unlike the other wall, it has not been tagged, and is does not have the viewports through into the space beyond. The material properties of the wall are still intriguing; alternating between grey weathered wood (the same is used on the west side) and what seems to be newer ply, the wall is visually divided into four uneven segments. There are many areas of the wall that are standard 4'-0" ply segments, and others that have been patched together using scraps of wood, breaking the pattern and repetition of standardized building materials.

(above: snow, trees and debris seen through the west viewport, point douglas, winnipeg. photo by c. grant)

By climbing through the viewports on the west side of the fence, a completely unique space is revealed. Machinery, trees, and debris are quietly blanketed by thick layers of snow. The space has an uneasy quality about it; it is eerily quiet, and the visual barriers created by the masses of equipment, trees, and snow make it difficult to see where one is stepping, or what may be lying around a corner.

(above: debris and machinery seen through the west viewport, point douglas, winnipeg. photos by c. grant)

The machinery inside the space provides for an opportunity to development of their stories - where did these pieces come from? I'm currently less concerned with what they do, and more interested in the idea that these machines have a history, a past, a life.

Siting: lot of machinery by the underpass on Higgins towards the Louise Bridge
Site Measurements: Approximately 45-'8" (west side) x 120'-0" (south side)

2007-01-22T12:27:00.000-08:00

(above: able wholesale building, point douglas, winnipeg. photo by c. grant)

strategic substrates: view ports + theatrics in Point Douglas

The past weekend was spent assembling a photo essay of potential sites in Point Douglas - the following images are samples from this endeavor. After touring the site during the past couple of weeks, it was a good start to begin to look at the neighborhood at a more concentrated scale. I was looking primarily for sites that were intimate, but that had potential for development in a theatrical sense; ultimately viewports and visual boundaries that can serve as a potential stage for an installation. As the installation itself has not yet been defined in type or scale, allowing for a broad range of sites to be explored.

(above: fire-opened view port into the the able wholesale building, point douglas, winnipeg. photo by c. grant)

A series of view ports in the most traditional sense, the Able Wholesale building has been forcefully opened by fire. It is ultimately composed of a series of square openings where walls have been knocked out - and embodies a feel that one could liken to the imagery in Locus Solus; one could imagine a series of reanimated corpses living in these spaces.

(above: semi-trailer on the able wholesale lot, point douglas, winnipeg. photo by c. grant)

Peering through the fence into the lot at Able Wholesale, one can see the accumulation of pieces that represent years of collecting. The semi truck trailer, pictured above, creates its own boundaries and stage through the perspectival position of the viewer.

(above: mural at the plumbers + pipefitters building, point douglas, winnipeg. photo by c. grant)

Given the conversation on the main studio blog concerning public murals, I started to become inspired by these modern architectural "grotesques." While the representation of the human body is over exaggerated (see below) and perfected, it is the mural itself that becomes grotesque through our own interpretation of public art. Those of us educated in art appreciation may initially see these as "safe" and poor forms of graf art, thus establishing the similar distaste and deformity as any classical grotesque character. Pathos is created through the opposing viewpoint; the condescending nature of educated opinion, especially in a neighborhood such as this, is something to be pitied. Art is meant to create a reaction; and there are undoubtedly some residents of the community that enjoy these pieces.

(above: detail of the mural, plumbers + pipefitters building, point douglas, winnipeg. photo by c. grant)

It's also worthwhile mentioning the soviet constructivist aesthetic of this mural - largely evocative of "Man with a Movie Camera."

(above: view port, underpass to louise bridge on higgins, point douglas, winnipeg. photo by c. grant)

Another view port, open alongside the underpass towards the Louise Bridge (on Higgins), provides another opportunity for theatrical speculation. These openings are randomly located along many walkways; where the views have been boarded away and closed off, pedestrians are offered an opportunity to peer into the unknown spaces beyond.

(above: the barber house, point douglas, winnipeg. photo by c. grant)

The Barber house has become particularly fascinating, particularly because of its history. As one of the only remaining Red River constructed houses, it is a historical gem for Winnipeg; strangely each time it is restored, arson sets it back to its current state. The result is a small boarded house, surrounded by chain-link fence. The fence is speckled with children's paintings, which strangely leaves the building resembling something more terrifying than innocent.

(above: gentlemen's trailer, point douglas, winnipeg. photo by c. grant)

The gentlemen's trailer, pictured above and below, is located just outside the tip of Point Douglas on the outskirts of Gateway Industries' property. The trailer itself has been treated as a grotesque of Gateway's larger system: it has been cast outside of the fenced-in, visually blocked Gateway warehouses. It seems almost sad that the "Gentlemen" would be forced to change and use the outhouses in a structure that does not belong to the greater whole - especially when the acts that occur within this space are among the most intimate of human activity.

(above: detail of the gentlemen's trailer, point douglas, winnipeg. photo by c. grant)

The base of the trailer is rusted, and sits on a lot of overgrown grass. Smaller sub-spaces, defined by the base of the trailer and the geometry of the mechanisms and suspension below, are interesting and discreet. Spaces are further composed by the nature of the area: the grasses, taller in some areas than some, provide a variety of shelter.

Installation concepts have thus far included work with projection, and mechanics. Initial thoughts led to work that could possibly add moving, life, animation to existing murals.
It's likely that the installation will be composed of a series of mechanical bits, inspired by the previous stage of the studio, that could work with light to project shadow onto the face of a building. The smaller the scale of these mechanisms will be easier for projection, but more importantly would add to the discreet nature of the installation.

2007-01-15T10:48:00.001-08:00

been awhile...

I've managed to get away from the blog for over a month. In the interim both the final project and the portfolio have been completed, and I will post select images from both here.

As for the stop animation that was completed: I need to downsize the file further before I can get it up on youtube. It'll come when that gets done.

From the portfolio:
animation here
The animation created to show the construction process and to demonstrate the story of this project, "The Personal Strife of the Humiliated Lusus Naturae," is an integral component of this project. Influenced firstly by the Brothers Quay, but also by the dismemberments of my childhood dolls, the animation pays homage to the mysticism and curiosity prevalent in 19th century science, but also traveling showmanship of the same era. "Lusus Naturae" translates loosely to contemporary terminologies as "freak," a term often used to describe those that were not of the conventional physical descriptions.

(above: the final project - "the personal strife of the humiliated lusus naturae")
From the portfolio:
Strangely, as "normal" as some of the toys initially look, each toy had its own contribution to the notion of "freak." Some, like the boobah, the teletubby, and even Elmo, are described as monsters from the beginning; to the contrart, their personalities are happy, friendly...
To the other extreme, the stretchy doll and the princess are seemingly both "normal" physically... abnormalities arise from one doll's positive reactions to being stretched (in an almost torturous masochistic way) to the complete passive aggressive personality from the princess. This in many ways is almost more frightening than physical deformities, and is certainly more dangerous, as this doll is likely to inspire a whole new generation of little-girls-come-beauty-queens.

Other images:
(above: the lusus naturae. legs constructed from found mechanisms, fur from existing doll skin + acrylic paint, rotating film is original film + acrylic paint)

(above: lusus naturae details)

(above: disjointed legs - found leg joints + electronic wire and LED)

(above: found head, mechanisms + acrylic)

(above: acrylic on dismembered ear)

2006-12-03T18:11:00.000-08:00

nurturing the sutures part one

the seemingly violent first stages have begun. Before I can start to set up pieces in the theatre and start the animation process, I need some basics completed - first on the docket is the head. I am trying to suture together as many pieces from the toys that I have; after all, they are of the same species and therefore should be relatively compatible.

After getting the Cinderella mechanisms back up and running (I unfortunately melted her casing and had to solder a new battery back to her pieces), I determined that the response to sound through vocals, light, and movement could tie in well with the head of the object. The next step was then to start to assemble pieces that could compose the head. As seen above - I started by carefully pulling apart the ear of the teletubby.

I was hesitant to use the entire head of the boobah - I've sectioned it apart, and plan on building up the other side of the head with wiring.

The geometry of the Cinderella mechanism (on the left) is starting to inform the connections between the mechanism itself and the shell of the head. Cinderella incorporates a small motor, a microphone, and a speaker. Within the circuitry should be a comparator, as it can determine the volume and responds vocally based on the comparison.

Finally, the face of the teletubby is being fused into that of the boobah.

2006-12-03T17:35:00.000-08:00

theatre box part three - completed

I've made some changes to the original theatre:

The stage now reads more as a stage...the newly added legs at the sides worked to enclose the viewport, but are flexible and allow me to work from three sides of the theatre, rather than just one. Two braces were added to the top corners for stability, and two dowels were added below these to suspend the velveteen. A cross brace was then added between the two at the top, mostly to allow for a wider range of suspension below. It also allows for a more diverse range of lighting.

Small battery-powered LED swivel lights were an amazing find (thanks again to Princess Auto). Typical stage lighting incorporates back, middle and front angles, and this has been mimicked to provide an (almost) even wash across the stage. Fortunately these can be adjusted readily, expanded upon, etc.

2006-11-30T13:33:00.000-08:00

theatre box part two

the stage
Here's an image (straight on) of the nearly-completed theatre for the project. Two more dowels/rods will be added to the top; to hold possibly two more curtains (on the right and left) and lighting. Currently, the main curtain is held up by a clamp - the new rods will support this too. They will also serve to allow for pieces of the automata to be suspended.

stage, side view

detail
The stage has been constructed of an old frame, some maply ply, and bass wood - all stained.

inside floor boards, storage
I've left the top three floorboards detached so that they can be easily drilled and removed, to store whatever is needed below.

2006-11-29T12:56:00.000-08:00

theatre box part one

the framework/stage for the marionette is underway - right now the pieces are being stained...which is a much slower process than i had anticipated. i'm hoping to get everything assembled tonight, but somehow i think it might be tomorrow morning...

2006-11-28T17:35:00.000-08:00

excerpts; Staging the Savage God: the grotesque in performance

image: da Vinci's "study of grotesque heads"

Raft Remshardt's thesis on the grotesque in classical and modern history has a few interesting points; the following quotes are taken directly from his text.

defining grotesque

Supposing a painter chose to put a human head on a horse's neck, or to spread feathers of various colours over the limbs of several different creatures, or to make what in the upper part is a beautiful woman tail off into a hideous fish, could you help laughing when he showed you his efforts?
This is how Horace opens his Art of Poetry, urging the neophyte artist to steer clear of "sick man's dreams" and "idle fancies." The type of laughable incongruity Horace hopes his adherents can avoid is the composition of verse - one to which we might attach, avant la lettre, the term "grotesque" - is poignantly invoked as a series of disjointed images focussing on the disturbed integrity of the body and on the impermissible amalgamation of human and beast.

Vitruvius and the grotesque:

Vitruvius, in his De Architectura, grimly castigates what he perceives as flagrant decorated aberations, complaining of a plethora of odd formations "without rhyme or reason." He sees strangely shaped leaves and columns grow into animal heads and figures, mingling the organic with the architectural with the previously unimaginable license, and exclaims:
"Such things....never existed, do not now exist, and shall never come into being. For how can the stem of a flower support a roof, or a candelabrum pedimental sculpture? How can a tender shoot carry a human figure, and how can bastard forms composed of flowers and human bodies grow out of roots of tendrils?"

the grotesque and metaphor:

The grotesque...is serious about metaphor; it takes what is essentially a sophisticated trope - so sophisticated, indeed, that cognitive psychology has only a vague understanding of its functioning - and deliberately regards it naively, or incorrectly, or primitively, in hopes perhaps of traversing the graveyard of commonplace metaphor and restoring its onomathic origins. The grotesque takes metaphor literally.

2006-11-27T15:38:00.000-08:00

velveteen curtain

I've begun the construction of the stage/box in which the marionette should be suspended. The backdrop curtain is nearly complete, except for the rod, and appropriate adjustments that can happen once the stage has been built.

dark red/purple/burgundy/etc. velveteen fabric, and bunching The sides were hand-hemmed, and roman shade rings were used to secure back portions of the fabric together to create the effect.

grid of rings these rings were removed from traditional roman shade strips and hand stitched to the back of the fabric, largely to avoid thread showing through the velveteen on the front side.

ring attachmentrings were tied together with basic string: while this may change once the piece is all together, this side won't be see.

2006-11-26T14:23:00.000-08:00

grotesque theatre

The framework for the theatre is in progress - essentially the new scheme is along the lines of an automated marionette, that should (attempt) to move in response to the sounds from the surrounding projects.

Aesthetically, I find myself still seduced by the imagery of the body as illustrated by Henry Gray. This has started to bleed into influences by the brothers Quay (see previous post) and 19th to early 20th century circus/carnivals. There's something inherently tragic about the deterioration of material, velvet curtains, the harlequin...and the freak show.

The grotesque itself is starting to materialize more and more in the construction of of the theatre, and in the preparation to build the automata marionette. In yet another instance where previous research starts to fall into place, Wikipedia's definition of "grotesque" begins to shed new (and old) light on the project as it unfolds:

In fiction, a character is usually considered a grotesque if he induces both empathy and disgust. (A character who inspires disgust alone is simply a villain or a monster.) Obvious examples would include the physically deformed and the mentally deficient, but people with cringe-worthy social traits are also included. The reader becomes piqued by the grotesque's positive side, and continues reading to see if the character can conquer his darker side.

Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of the most celebrated grotesques in literature. Dr. Frankenstein's monster can also be considered a grotesque.

The project therefore needs to as much represent empathy as it should the monstrous. Looking back at notes from Tuesday's intermediary critique, this was mentioned: while the aesthetic may already by monstrous in our interpretations (teletubby, boobah) - the movement itself also becomes monstrous.

Finally, brief research of the grotesque in theatre has led me to numerous hits, dating back even to Commedia Dell'Arte, Italian theatre that used a series of predetermined (and often grotesque) characters in order to parody society's upper echelons. This is especially important, as this would have been severely punished if executed in any other way. Finally, the characters were standardized so as to be familiar to Italian spectators (ie: Pulcinella is a character that typically was shown with a long nose, and was generally a negative instigator to the shows, often beating other characters).

And now just for humour's sake, here's a scene from Mel Brooks' film Young Frankenstein:

Young Dr. Frankenstein and His Monster Get It On

2006-11-19T11:44:00.000-08:00

grotesque surrealism - hermanos quay

i'm not sure why, but the idea of identical twins making these films is even more unnerving than the grotesque imagery in the following clips. it might be because twins scare me. it might be because in my head, the creators of such imagery could be frightening themselves...so imagining two of them is creepy. but then again, so are suburban housewives.

Demo Reel - Remarkably relevant to this project

Drug Awareness and AIDS advertisement

2006-11-17T13:17:00.000-08:00

Unveiling the user as the Modern Prometheus

I'm attempting to accurately convey the images that I want to appear within the torso of the apparatus - ideally, it should emphasize the mechanical but also embody imagery that is more organic. I am completely seduced by the images from Gray's Anatomy, and the amazing juxtaposition that arises from these drawings placed alongside the mechanical. What is so amazing is that while these are essentially technical drawings, they are so well executed that they become art in their own sense.
Materially, the whole installation should work within the idea of old + new...old body, new technology; conventional materials, technological breakthroughs; varying view ports reveal information as one becomes more engaged with the piece - much like the pursuit of knowledge...but when it reveals itself, does the user feel relieved, or fearful?

here are the boards from the intermediary review, completed:

2006-11-17T09:35:00.000-08:00

Work thus far...

After further research into the geometry and composition of the human body (thanks to the Illustrations of Gray's Anatomy - not the TV show, either), I've decided to use these guidelines as a means to organize this installation.
i've split my corps esquisse into three (possibly four, time permitting) concepts surrounding the body of the automata: the eye, the torso, and the ear/mouth. the fourth piece would be an appendage that could further interact with the other installations, or that could draw.

ear/mouth - sound input/output

The ear/mouth is a piece that can be used to cause a reaction to the sound input and output from other projects. The princess doll compares sound levels, and outputs movement and specific sounds. A piece could therefore be built to intake sound and trigger reactions within the projector. The motor in the toy could allow the creation of a "talking" mouth. In the spirit of the corps esquisse, I've allowed the geometry of the ear to become the mouth, combining these pieces into one housing unit.

eye - projection unit

The projection unit will be constructed of lens retrieved from a projector, and the mechanisms of the teletubby (either the toy itself, or a recreation of the original - depending on what is used in the torso for mechanisms). By using the same circuitry of the teletubby to rotate through a series of images, a variety of imagery can be projected. To do this, the lenses from the original projector will need to be combined with the mechanisms of the toy into new housing - providing an opportunity to work with sight lines and transparencies into the piece. A light sensor in the torso provides an opportunity to actuate movement within.

torso - scrim theatre
The projection unit will project onto the torso, which will be built of a skeleton/frame, covered with scrim. The advantages of using scrim include the ability to work with projection from one side, but also backlighting to reveal the inside of the torso. Scrim can also be constructed of flexible fabrics, and therefore the mechanisms inside could push against the fabric - when the mechanism is not backlit, it would therefore create a moving canvas for the projection. This notion fits with the corps esquisse; the torso, presented as "typical" could be visually opened to reveal the inner workings that are mechanical, but also theatrical. For example, the heart could visually beat, gears could move imagery back and forth - the torso therefore becomes a mechanism for movement. While the whole composition may initially be presented as conventional, the inner workings become a means for creating a moving image.

The heart, as the center of the being both physically, but also rooted in culture spiritually as the core of our souls, will be housing that instigates most of the movement within the torso - a small motor turning gears will be located here, and should create a variety of movement.
The lungs of the torso, constructed of flexible latex or plastic, have two opportunities - firstly, air could be harnessed from another project to create slight fluctuations (ie - a split tube from Carl or Przemek's instruments could add breath) OR, powered air from the torso could in turn feed one of the aforementioned projects. Finally, the breathing lungs could trigger microswitches that in turn could create movement within the torso.

At the base of the torso is the reproduction center - a component that is included in the scientific basis for determining life. While this may not reproduce another installation, it can be stimulated, and it is possible that this area could act as a drawing machine, or simply as an actuator for starting movement. In this sense, the torso spawns it's own progeny, in the form of reaction or thoughts.
The backlight is easily built - either by switching sound output from one of the circuits to light energy, or by using the sound signal to trigger a relay that will turn the light on or off.

Questions

While I am not thrilled with the way the previous two images have scanned, they do begin to show how I will be compiling the inner workings of the torso - which is pretty complex. I'm wondering if I should stick to fewer components - is there too much happening right now?
I'm a little confused as to what is required for Tuesday's review - is it the developed concept of where we are going with this, built work, everything and anything...I am sure that things will develop further as I begin to construct pieces, and it will be a work in progress always. Can you elaborate further on what 30% completion means? Secondly, the outline describes the portfolio; are layouts now a part of Tuesday's deadline?

Ultimately I look forward to critiques and criticisms before I take this any further- it's been a remarkably frustrating week and it will be good to get some feedback.

2006-11-09T07:40:00.000-08:00

new acquisitions

based on the guidelines that i had previously set for myself, i have gathered three new toys to pull to pieces. fortunately many of the toys that i checked out yesterday are limited to their use, so it allows a more natural corps esquisse to occur - esssentially the best parts are picked for their individual qualities, and how they fit into the composition as a whole will determine the programme of the final piece:

super elasti luffy - kyle picked this up at BJ Supertoys, because he looked like someone we know. although he is primarily sound-based with no moving parts, i felt that as the toy required direct interaction with the body in order to speak, that he counted. the long arms and legs of the toy include elastic thread and stretchy plastic; when pulled, the toy makes a number of strange noises. although the box says that the toy "hable en ingles," he isn't very clear.
magic mates voice activated cinderella - another amazing find at BJ Supertoys, the cinderella doll responds to the volume of a child's voice. she responds to sound, but often inappropriately and nonsensically. when a noise is too loud, she will ask you to "speak softly, please." another disney attempt and teaching little girls that they should be seen and not heard?
thrift-store boobah (pictured above) - these guys came out after teletubbies. the first coincidence is that a lower-end version was at bj supertoys, but it only had sound qualities, and therefore was out of my framework (i wanted the body to play a role in the toy's use). a few steps to the thrift store next door allowed me to find this thing - two microswitches (buttons) make the toy sing and dance. the second strange coincidence is that i used to set many of these puppies off simultaneously in superstore when they were commercially available.

2006-11-08T12:36:00.000-08:00

My Own Hideous Progeny

My current goal, to create some form of automata, stems from fusing ideas of the corps esquisse and the research gained through the study of Frankenstein/Hephaestus/Prometheus. I feel that it could be compelling to create an autonomous being, fully capable of reacting/responding to its stimuli. While it is unlikely that the 'feeling' that I'm interested in might not be achievable through any means other than fiction, the piece could function much in the same way as the project completed in Montreal - the autonomous whale that responded to its environment and created its opus through the external conditions that were present.
The challenge in fusing this project with the theory of the corps esquisse lies in keeping the piece free of my current preconceptions of "what" is a body, mind, heart, eye, etc. I have therefore established a framework for keeping "body pieces" randomized:

at this point, I am trying to maintain that all objects used are found objects.
all major components should come from beings that are of the same "species" as the elmo circuit that I'm starting with - namely toys.
right now, I am restricting all major components to pieces that are composed as bodies. I think that it would be excellent to see how things can fit together, especially in ways that are alien to the current construction of the pieces (namely, the arm is an arm in the casing, but can it act as an ear?)

More restrictions will be added if I find that I need to restrict this further.

Le Corps Esquisse

Le corps esquisse, defined as "The exquisite corpse" (esquisse can also be translated to 'sketch') is a surrealist game that involves different people composing one "body" - being drawing or text. In drawing form, the game begins with one person composing the head of a being, and then folding the drawing to keep it hidden. The next then composes the torso of the being, ignorant to the head; the next draws the legs with no knowledge of the previous drawings. While the result is an absurd image, the exercise breaks preconceived ideas about the form of a "body."

History Timeline

The text is similar, as are the images, but I felt that it was appropriate to post the graphic timeline of my research thus far. It has been broken down into a literary timeline, and spiritual - linking the findings from Frankenstein, to Hephaestus, to Prometheus, and back.

2006-11-02T12:52:00.000-08:00

Prometheus (un)Bound: everything in its right place

The (abridged) Myth of Prometheus

Prometheus, in Greek myth, is credited with the creation of mankind (his brother with the creation of animals). Modeled in the likeness of the gods, and brought to life by Athena, man worshiped Prometheus.
This angered Zeus, who in turn forbade Prometheus to teach man the ways of civilization. Crossing Zeus, Prometheus not only taught man about civilization, but also committed the ultimate sin in stealing fire from Mount Olympus to give to his creations. For this, Zeus punished him severely: Prometheus was chained to a rock, and an eagle (Ethon) was sent to peck out his liver each day.

Man From Clay: "My form is a filthy type of yours."

The creation of man and some stories of the creation of automata are strikingly similar:

In Greek myth, Prometheus creates man in the shape/image of the gods, from clay.
In Biblical myth, God creates man in the shape/image of himself, from clay. The story of Adam and Eve is referenced in the beginning of Shelley's novel,

Regardless of any influence that existing myth may have had on the writing of Genesis in the old testament, the similarities are striking. In both the Old Testament and Greek mythology, humans are brought into the world, and in both texts there is talk of an afterlife; a place where one's soul resides (namely Heaven/Hell, or the Underworld ruled by the god Hades).
Now, when juxtaposed with stories of the creation of automata:

Jewish folklore describes the story of "Golem" - the automaton created by Rabbi Leow. The story has similarities of Shelley's Frankenstein monster, especially when examining the representations of the being in pop culture (which are different than the being portrayed in the novel.) While the Golem is responsible for destruction, he differs in that he was created as a means of protection of the Jewish community in Prague. Again, the Golem is created from clay.
Frankenstein's monster is the only being of all the aforementioned 'creation' stories that is not made of clay. He is, however, made of decaying human parts - and as organic elements decompose, they are reduced to dust.

Does the composition of , or does the "soul" depend on a divine creator?

"Frankenstein is the picture of a finite and flawed god at war with, and eventually overcome by, his creation." -Joyce Carol Oates

The Frankenstein monster is tragically similar to Adam and to Prometheus's man: in all stories, the creations express emotion, feeling, and desire companionship. And, as a higher power breathes life into their "man," so do Dr. Frankenstein and Rabbi Leow. Differences between the Golem and Shelley's Monster lie in the aid of the devine - God helps Leow to create the Golem, while Dr. Frankenstein relies primarily on scientific means. Shelley's commentary on the pursuit of (divine) knowledge as a dangerous one comes full circle.

"Frankenstein breaks through the barrier that separates man from God and gives apparent life, but in doing so gives only death-in-life...Frankenstein's desperate creature attains the state of pure spirit through his extraordinary situation and is racked by a consciousness in which every thought is a fresh disease" -Harold Bloom

Frankenstein to Prometheus, Prometheus to Hephaestus

Dr. Frankenstein as the modern Prometheus is overcome by his creature, but suffers for his creations in the same way as his Greek counterpart. The creation of woman, in Prometheus's case, differs in that the female form was crafted by another - Hephaestus. (Strangely, the woman - Pandora - was sent to unleash the horrors of the world upon mankind...a story that may be likened to the story of Eve, the apple, and the sub-sequential expulsion from Eden.)
Frankenstein's fear to create a female companion for his monster must stem from his unwillingness to create a pair capable of reproduction - the beginning of a new race. While the notion of a self-propagating race of monsters (or even automata) is terrifying, it is not unlike the stories surrounding the creation of man. Furthermore, the monster experiences many of the same emotions and feelings as mankind...
So where does the soul of an automaton reside, if not alongside ours?

Readings:

Bloom, Harold, edt. Frakenstein: Modern Critical Interpretations New York: Chelsea House Publishers. 1987.

Oates, Joyce Carol. "Frankenstein's Fallen Angel" Frakenstein: Modern Critical Interpretations. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. 1987. 67-80 numbers.

Images:
"Prometheus," by Gustave Moreau

2006-11-02T11:50:00.000-08:00

The Soul of the Machine

Notes from Hephaestus, or, The Soul of the Machine
I've returned to the reading about the soul of the machine as a result of my research concerning Frankenstein (see previous post).

Hephaestus as Myth

Hephaestus, in Greek myth, is the son of Hera. The reading speculates that while it is "inappropriate" to assume that the matron goddess has borne a son through parthenogenesis, it is a necessary retaliation to the birth of Athena from Zeus's head.
In the myth, Hera is ashamed of the physical appearance of her son, and throws him away from Mount Olympus. He is raised by sea-goddesses, but upon his return to Olympus, is welcomed by Hera.
Hephaestus becomes the patron god of the blacksmith, craftsmen and fire. He creates several Automatons to aid him with his work - arguable one of the first references to mechanical robotics/automata in history.
Note: Parallels are easily drawn here between the story of Hephaestus, and the story of Frankenstein. Both are the creation of one parent, both are seen as "hideous progeny."
It's easy to wonder how different history would be if Hera had denied Hephaestus a second time, just as Frankenstein in Shelley's novel. Would the god of fire, blacksmithing and the machine still exist with the same reverence as today? How would this change our perceptions of technology?

The Human Body, Represented as Machine

Experimentation with automata in the 1700s by Jacques de Vaucanson led him to believe that any part of the human body could essentially be replaced with mechanism: his most famous invention was an automated duck that could move, quack, and flap its wings. Interestingly, the duck was capable of swallowing and digesting food.
A closer look at biomechanics allows us to see that while our body performs many tasks at a chemical level, mechanically it is composed of many familiar, simple machines:

"As most of the 400 Voluntary muscles of the human body are attached to the bones in a manner which diminishes the force exerted below the actual tension of the muscles, the adoption of machinery constitutes a reversal of the 'natural' use of the system of levers which we call our skeleton."

The joints in our skeletal system are largely Levers of the Third Order. Force is applied between the fulcrum (pivot point) and the load; joints acting as the fulcrum, the muscles along the arm performing the effort, and the load resting at the end.

The Soul of the Machine

D'Albe's text furthers the notions of the soul of the machine; the following passage is a strong argument towards the affirmative:

"Now, a weapon in a man's hand, so long as it is in active use as a weapon, is a part of the man himself. It is true that he can lose it without perishing himself, but he can also lose an arm or a leg and still survive. The mere fact that the man's blood circulates in his natural leg and not in a wooden leg he may substitute for it makes no essential difference. And we know that a man's leg, like all the cells of his body, is largely compound of inert matter such as food products and waste products, besides nine-tenths water - an inorganic substance. A wooden leg, or any weapon which a man may use, may therefore be regarded as a limb of the man's body, so long, that is, as it is in active use. And if a "soul" animates that man's body and drives it to perform deeds of valor, the same soul will animate his weapon. The soul of the weapon is the soul of the man who uses it.
There is an increasing tendency in modern thought to abolish the distinction bertween soul and body and to regard them as one and indivisible. Adopting that view, we may assert that the use ofhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif a weapon means the enlargement of a man's body and the simultaneous expansion of his soul. Every weapon, every tool, every machine is the embodiment of a human thought and purpose. The user adopts that thought and purpose, and behold - the machine has found its soul!"

The argument, that any machine or tool that is created by man embodies not only the soul of the creator, but also that of the user.

Reading:
D'Albe, E.E. Fournier. Hephaestus, or, The Soul of the Machine New York: E.P. Dutton & Company. 1925.

Images:
Hephaestus
Third Order Lever
Bicep as Third Order Lever

2006-10-30T13:06:00.000-08:00

aberrant being: Frankenstein's monster + the nature of automata

(image retrieved from the national library of medicine)

Frankenstein in context

When studying Mary Shelley's Frankenstein:, especially in the context of electronics, mechanics, and architecture, it is important to note a few contextual aspects. Shelley's husband Percy outlines several important points in the novel's preface; among the most important are references to scientific and technological In achievements of her time.

The event on which this fiction is founded has been supposed, byu Dr. Darwin, and some of the physiological writers of Germany, as not of impossible occurrence.

According to numerous sources, including Digital People and Mechanical Bodies, Computational Minds, the Darwin noted above does not refer to Charles, but rather his grandfather Erasmus. Erasmus developed the early theories of evolution, which were later (and more famously) elaborated upon by Charles.
There is also reference to the Italian scientist Galvani's experiments with electrical currents that was passed through frog's legs, causing them to convulse. Later, Galvani's nephew was given a scientific award for similar experiments; by passing currents through the body of a hanged convict, the convulsions of the body convinced others that he had restored life to the man.
Around the same time, electricity was thought to restore those who had died from drowning. This was a technique that was close to the Shelley household - Percy's first wife died from drowning, and according to sources it is possible that physicians attempted to revive her in this way.

Textual Notes

The original title of Shelley's book, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Promethus likens Dr. Frankenstein (not his monster) to the Greek myth of Prometheus. In the myth, Prometheus creates humans from mud and water. His search to better humankind compels him to steal fire from the gods, and he is punished cruelly for this act. In the same sense, Dr. Frankenstein's experiments and creation lead to the destruction of his family and himself.
(source: Mechanical Bodies,Computational Minds page 184)
The context, text summaries, symbolism and more can be found in Wikipedia's notes on Frankenstein (despite the somewhat skepticism that surrounds Wikipedia, I find this passage to be interesting):

"Behind Frankenstein's experiments is the search for ultimate power or godhood: what greater power could there be than that found in the act of creating life? Frankenstein and his utter disregard for the human and animal remains gathered in his pursuit of power can be taken as symbolic of the rampant forces of laissez-faire capitalism extant at the time and their basic disregard for human dignity. Moreover, the creation rebels against its creator: a clear message that irresponsible uses of technologies can have unconsidered consequences."

Shelley makes a clear statement about Frankenstein's experiments with life; the creation of life from any means other than biological reproduction to this point had been reserved for the divine. Frankenstein's thirst for this knowledge is his undoing: he in unable to manage the responsibilities, and immediately is terrified of his creation.
Despite popular imagery of the monster, Frankenstein's being is intelligent and strong; he eventually becomes enraged with Frankenstein's inability to provide him with what he desires - companionship, respect - that he destroys his master's life.The notion of the creator-creation struggle is interesting; when Frankenstein dies, the monster states that he can now too rest. Does this imply that the automata has developed some sort of psychological bond with his creator...the creature exudes feeling, emotion. Does this now mean that despite being created by man, from decaying animal and human parts, that the creature has a soul?
This lends a completely different take on life, and concepts about automated feeling, spirituality, and meaning.

As a treat...Thomas Edison's 1910 short film "Frankenstein"

Readings:

Hunter, J. Paul, edt. Mary Shelley Frankenstein: The Norton Critical Edition. New York: W.W. Nortan & Co. 1996.

Bloom, Harold, edt. Frakenstein: Modern Critical Interpretations New York: Chelsea House Publishers. 1987.

Franchi, Stefano and Guven Guzeldere, edt. Mechanical Bodies, Computational Minds: Artificial Intelligence from Automata to Cyborgs London: MIT Press. 2005.

Perkowitz, Sidney. Digital People: From Bionic Humans to Androids Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press. 2004

2006-10-29T17:25:00.000-08:00

Montreal Trip #3: More Images

Here are some more indepth images that describe the nature of our installation:

This is the setup of the projection system:
a small analogue camera was set to the electric typewriter, as well as the magnetic tape head. This then projected to the wall at the end of the installation.

Elmo and the theremin were mounted to the inside of one of the chambers in the pneumatic. The optical sensors of the theremin were attached to the openings in elmo's motors, creating an oscillating sound.

The view through the pneumatic wall to people on the other side.

(photographs by kyle janzen)

2006-10-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

Montreal Trip #2: The Pneumatic/Electronic Installation

I've posted some images of the installation, as well as our conceptual ideas for the project. It sounds like there will be video footage of the group presentation available - maybe I'll post some clips once I get my hands on some.

The project was officially started on Thursday, October 19th, and ran until Saturday the 20th. It combined the pneumatic structures conceived by the students of RPI in New York, and our studio's electronics.

(photograph and video by carl drohomereski)

Conceptual Ramble:

The pneumatic wall that the RPI group brought from NY had a strong sense of progression, and we decided early on that we should use this to our advantage. The space that we were working in at Concordia was a room typically used for blue screen filming and effects; the stark white walls and curved corners allowed for a more interesting niche at the end of our wall. As the pneumatic wall was curved on various planes, the walls of the room complemented this greatly.

The structure and the electrical components changed throughout the workshop, and this evolution informed our overall concept. The wall was therefore seen as an autonomous, living entity.

The pneumatic itself consisted of two separate air chambers, which allowed for the wall to curve in one of two directions, depending on the which side was inflated. An optical sensor and relay were connected to two vacuums, and as the projected light changed, the relay switched on one or the other vacuum. Each hose was connected to one of the separate air systems; when one air source was off and the other on, the wall gently curved.

As the wall curved, it set of a variety of sensors - some of which were connected to the elmonic-theramin creation, and others to the keys of the electronic typewriter. As elmo's sensors were set off, the motor rotated, and the sound of the theramin oscillated accordingly. A voice-distortion kit was wired into elmo to abstract his words, allowing for only a few distinguishable words each time he spoke.

The key sensors of the electronic typewriter served to record the movement of the wall, but also as the opus of the entity. The magnetic tape head and tape were connected to the typewriter, and played distorted music as the machine completed a line and returned to the beginning.

A video camera was set to record the typing, and projected in real-time the footage. We worked with some basic computer-programming to switch the footage from it's original black and white state to the inverse (negative) - ultimately white background with black text, to a black background with white text. The optical sensor connected to the relay was positioned to sense the light output from the projector, and informed the vacuums that inflated each side.

Ultimately, the electronics were used so that they could interact with the pneumatic, and conceptually come full circle to allow the installation to act as one, autonomous piece.

(video by carl drohomereski)

2006-10-26T08:20:00.000-07:00

Montreal Trip #1!!!

I've decided to post this in installments of events - starting with the drive to Montreal through the beautiful mid-western United States, Montreal itself, and then the installation work we completed at Concordia.
So here goes:

SPACE ALIENS!
Firstly, check out the awesome menu. Maybe try a huge baked potato. Actually don't.

And after the announcement that a space ship had crashed landed, the visitor from Planet X arrives...unfortunately he can't join us for our huge potatoes, as he has to return to his job as a line cook.

2006-10-11T17:49:00.000-07:00

Pneu-Ideas #1...

We've met as a group, and we've fired of a few questions to those of you at RPI. The structure itself is interesting in that it seems to move as it breathes. We want to use this movement as the basis for our installation. By looking at this as a "dance" or as a stage for movement, there are multiple ways that we can integrate our electronics/machines to create rhythm, sound/music, even mechanical dance. We can pinpont ways in which the building can not only instigate reactions, but be fully integrated in that is responds to the stimuli that we are discussing.

Specifically elmo:
We are going to rewire some of the sensors to respond to the movements of the building has it expands, contracts. I've picked up a series of microswitches that can replace the existing sensors, which are too specific to the casing and difficult to work with. We're hoping to maintain elmo has a "body" - using the motor and the existing mechanical connections to respond to the building's shape. It's likely that in order to take advantage to the full range of elmo's responses, the gravity sensor will need to be moved and attached to the inflating/deflating wall.
So:
The building moves, creating sound and triggering certain sensors. Depending on the particular sensors triggered, elmo reacts, dancing in the space. As our other group ideas trigger the inflation and deflation OR produce sound, the building acts as a mediator between the electronics.
As for elmo's vocal reactions, we've discussed altering them to create a more abstracted sound, to correlate with Dana's tapeheads, Kyle's theramin, and possibly Carl's accordion.

2006-10-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

ideas for elmo:

i'm looking further into what i can and can't change on elmo - namely sensors and microswitches. this may redefine the piece, and make it more adaptable for pneumatics.

2006-10-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

i've cut down on the images posted on the blog yesterday, due largely to how long it took for them to load. if you want to check out anything, download the pdf or check out the images on my website.

here are some notes/thoughts from our phone conversation yesterday:

1- the valves prove to be an interesting contact/connection between projects. although patrick touched on this, this was the first thing that came to mind when i was watching the ppt presentation, specifically because of any twisting movement, push/pull, etc. elmo's arms work in a way that could be condusive to many types of valves.
2- using foil tape - do tapes exist that could carry a current? i don't even know.
3 - i loved the woven tower proposed by RPI - the potential for movement with that structure makes it compatible with the micro switches and sensors in many of our projects.
4 - the inner tube project was interesting, and i like the idea of seperating the skin from the structure, but maintaining pneumatic elements throughout. the flexibility of this structure is great, and could be integrated with electronics easily.
5 - projection - the skew that the structure provided to the projected image was great, and i appreciate that both strategies were explored (clear/out of focus). this is something that also could be highly integrated with our group's ideas.

2006-10-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

the vivisection is nearly complete. i've attached images of the 11x17 document that was produced to accompany this portion of the work.

a complete pdf version of the images is available here
the text included in the images may be hard to read. so, for accessibility's sake, i will reiterate some portions of the included text alongside the images.

elmonic vivisection part two:

"Let’s pretend Elmo" is a toy designed for children 18 months of age and older. It is a complex automated design that responds to various positions and poses. The machine includes a series of mechanical and electrical parts, including circuit boards, micro-switches, a motor, various sensors, and a processor. The toy is programmed to respond to five specific positions, with two programmed reactions for each. These reactions include movement as well as a variety of noises and words.

As the machine is comprised of a multitude of electronic parts that respond to specific cues, the toy can therefore be manipulated to suit an architectural scale. Although it is unlikely that the sound can be specifically changed, it is possible that it could be manipulated or altered in numerous ways. The micro switches and sensors not only prompt sound, but also movement. The toy could therefore be used to create a variety of complex movements and noise. It could likely be integrated into wall systems, door and window systems, or any installation where the user could instigate a series of movements and responses by triggering an initial sensor.

2006-10-02T08:47:00.000-07:00

teletubby vivisection part three:

The teletubby doll is very simple: a child pushes the sensor in it’s hand, and it sings. A light then turns on, revealing the image of a child in the television in its stomach. The legs then twist, and the film inside the stomach rotates to show another child.

Electronically the machine is simple, and mechanically it is comprised of a number of gears and switches that allow the mechanism to recognize when to turn its legs in a particular direction. The light and rotating film is also another interesting component of the toy. Both of these allow for the possible exploration of projection. The sounds are already obscure and irrelevant, and could easily be manipulated and distorted. The moving pieces and the push sensor may add further potential, allowing for the movement of objects at an architectural scale.

2006-09-29T18:21:00.000-07:00

elmo vivisection part one

i felt that it was firstly important to document what elmo was capable of doing, especially beyond notes. i've posted the following video on you tube.

currently elmo is slowly (nervously) being pulled apart, and i will post more info when that is completed.

teletubby vivisection part two

the vivisection of the teletubby is mostly complete. after fully pulling him apart, it was easy to tell how everything worked. i've attached images and an electrical schematic of the wiring.

pulled apart, it looks like a mess.
what's most interesting to me are the correlations between the mechanical systems (mostly gears) and the electronic switches. what i found is that some of the gears inside the mechanism have parts that are designed to set off one of three sensors. two of the sensors dictate the direction of motor, and one turns it off. this is how the mechanism responds to the spool of children on the inside.

2006-09-28T19:38:00.000-07:00

teletubby vivisection part one
or - how i learned to stop worrying and love the elmo.

after getting the stripped screws out of the teletubby's back, i've uncovered the interior which looks like this:

the interior of the teletubby is a combination of electronics and mechanical gears. when the sensor (originally located in the hand of the teletubby) is pushed, it sends a signal to the circuit board which:
a) lights up the image being projected
b) makes an awful sound

a signal is then sent to the motor, which is connected to a very small gear mechanism. this in turn sets off a series of larger gears to slow the movement, and then passes along to the hooks on the bottom which make the legs of the thing move in circles. these gears are also connected to another series of gears that work upwards along the body to turn the spools that contain the film of those lovely babies.

the piece on the side is the light mechanism - it snaps into two sensors, and is easily removed from the casing in case the light needs to be replaced. overall it's pretty simple.

i'll take more pictures of the interior mechanisms tomorrow - i do have most of it mapped out in my journal. the doodles below show the overall schematic layering of how it is all put together. by locating key screws, it was easy to strip the whole thing apart by each specific layer.

by numbering screws and parts schematically i have a pretty good understanding of how this thing all works together. it was dropped on the floor this afternoon, and once we found all the gears that had escaped it was quite easy to put back together. it's worth mentioning that the wires are very tight in the packaging, but most of the mechanisms are not fixed inside the casing, they are set inside holes and can be taken out.

the next step is to solder in additional wire between connections so that i can really pull the thing apart, as the wires are pretty restricted. it should give me a better idea of electronic schemactic.

History:
for my historical research I am starting to look into the history of robotics and automata, especially in folklore and pop culture. i've found references of robots in stories about Hephaestus - "golden servants" were constructed out of gold. there are more references in egyptian mythology and history, and the idea of automata continues steadily though history (even during the dark ages) to current time, including Prague's Golem, the automata in France during Louis IVX's reign, and Mary Shelley's Frakenstein.
what i'm personally most interested in is the relationship of the machine to the human body. in the 1700s, Jacques de Vaucanson made a series of automata that ate, flew, and deficated. he also likened the human body to the machine, and felt that any part of the body could ultimately be replaced by a machine.
i started looking at some references of 'robots' in our pop culture. they are representational in the most unusual ways - would a robot need another of the opposite sex with which to procreate? what would be the purpose? and if not, what is the purpose of recreating a robot in the likeness of ourselves, specifically "female" robots that are complete with curves and breasts?

it's something i will be pursuing much more vigoriously in the next little while. i should be getting some books in soon.

2006-09-26T12:26:00.000-07:00

(got it working!)i felt this needed to be added, more so for interest sake. hot chip makes some pretty awesome electronic music - although conventional instruments are used, there are many points throughout their albums where they create very strange and complex sounds using the synth. what i love is that this video pokes fun at compy-gen overhaul of the industry. kitty kats girls rolling in fire, anyone?

Over and Over by Hot Chip

2006-09-25T10:51:00.000-07:00

vivisect this!
it's been narrowed down to the "let's pretend elmo," and the child-lovin' teletubby. unfortunately for everyone else, the mechanisms are loud and annoying. i'm going to start researching the history of robotics, starting with greek myth and running through to the 18th century. A lot has been written of the subject, so amazing discoveries will be posted here soon.

2006-09-24T15:11:00.000-07:00

The compilation machine is together:

-the parallel relationships between the two swinging bars in the artobolevsky machine have been attached to the circular pulleys from the second machine, maintaining the constraints that were necessary from the original machine.
-adding the arms to the circles actually helped to draw the pedal of the parabola more effectively, and as the second circle is dropped lower, it does start to draw the lower portion of the pedal.

new points have been attached to all swinging arms, which varied from the original two designs. this visually charts the swing of the two arms, drawing archs.

the machine is constucted primarily of wood, which adds much more lateral stability than the original paper machine. furthermore, it was possible to assemble the machine largely with friction fits - so it can be taken apart to accomodate any new mechanisms in further assignments.

2006-09-23T18:38:00.000-07:00

more v-v boutique finds...stranger + uncut.

1) a baby's piano that not only plays the standard twinkle-twinkle junk, but individual notes and barn noises
2) poseable elmo that pretends he is a dog or on fire or something
3) a teletubby doll with pictures of children in it's stomach that rotate when the legs move. i don't feel i really need to elaborate on this one further. it's mostly weird.

the children's section is full of magical, magical things. it's like christmas all over again...1964.

2006-09-23T18:33:00.000-07:00

the combination machine has begun. both machines have been assembled based largely on the geometrical similarities found between both machines. to maintain the parallel lines that were so difficult in the original drawing machine, the new arms will be attached to circles - and this ties into the wheels in the second machine.

2006-09-22T21:45:00.000-07:00

junkyard wars!!!!

drawings aside (posted tomorrow upon further completion) - the collection of junk from the v-v boutique has begun, starting with an old slide projector. The case inside is marked christmas 1964 - unfortunately it didn't contain slides. apparently whomever donated the piece considered the fact that some nut-job architecture student would find this all too golden an opportunity.
maybe a different day. and what a glorious day that will be.

2006-09-21T08:41:00.000-07:00

the construction of the artobolevsky machines has begun, images follow.

the not so final product - two strange machines (one that doesn't really work) and one that makes some pretty interesting movements. to incorporate the two should be interesting, and it should be nice to work with the parameters of some better materials. more importantly, it should be an interesting creative process that may be somewhat more liberating.

the original mechanism for creating the pedal of a parabola. if anyone can tell me specifically what part of the parabola this is, please let me know - it would be pretty helpful. i've posted what jae from korea has to say about it:

the mechanism draws the bottom portion, but not the complete parabola. it doesn't say it draws parabolas. mysterious.

2006-09-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

welcome to the first posting of my blog. here is a rabbit ambulance - more of relevance to come as work progresses, or maybe when my harddrive is fixed.