DAVID BRUCE STUDIOS

New Work : Cognitive Landscape V2.0

2011-05-28T15:39:00.002-04:00

New Work : Thesis Exhibition & Reception @ Temple Gallery

2011-05-16T10:00:00.002-04:00

New Site @ www.davidchristopherbruce.com

2011-05-09T23:34:00.001-04:00

http://www.davidchristopherbruce.com

The Cognitive Landscape Project

2011-03-26T14:30:00.000-04:00

The Cognitive Landscape Project (TCLP) is a curatorial project exploring the combined affects of technology and systems for the representation of knowledge on environmental perception, cognition and the development of hybrid ecologies.

The tumblr site functions as the “aggregate space” for related media, text and ideas.

Cognitive Landscape: (approaching a definition)
- noun
1. A mental image representing or resembling a real or imagined environment.
2. The anatomical/physiological make up of the brain and its cognitive agents.
3. Real world environments and their virtual or electronic analogues that together create hybrid ecological spaces and infrastructures in which data, information and knowledge is embedded and communicated through various user interfaces and processing systems.

More to come...

Studio Update: 03.06.11 : Adjustments

2011-03-06T13:15:00.001-05:00

I am in the process of readjusting. David Bruce Studios will remain the umbrella for my efforts however I will be using other platforms to better organize and provide access to those things I find interesting and to focus the writing and research on various projects. Projects will be given there own site/blog/tumblr... presence with all relevant info posting as necessary to respective sites. DBS will channel all broader efforts. The details will work itself out over time. Sorry if it gets confusing for a bit.

Simply put... I think. A brief breakdown....

Tumblr: Will be used for random daily(ish) general sources of inspiration.
Twitter: Will basically cover what tumblr does and do what twitter does also.
Pearltrees: Will cover the network of efforts.
Reader: Will cover shared blogposts of interest from my google reader.
Blogger: Will be cover broader full spectrum of my practice.
DavidBruceStudios: Will be a hub but is going to get a major overhaul after graduation.
DavidChristopherBruce: Breaking off soon..Will be solely focused on the portfolio and exhibitions. Site will open at the end of the summer.

Future project sites will open as necessary.

David Bruce Studios @ Pearl Trees & Tumblr

2011-03-04T15:29:00.008-05:00

DavidBrucesStudios

Studio Update: 02.04.11 : Early work in progress

2011-02-03T15:28:00.002-05:00

Studio Update : Video Drawing : 10.27.10

2010-10-27T09:46:00.000-04:00

Cognitive Landscape : Drawings from David Bruce on Vimeo.

Guest Post @ Urban Tick : An Ecology of Space : Periplastic

2010-10-10T14:49:00.003-04:00

(Gordon Matta-Clark; Building Cuts; 1970's)

In light of a recent publication by Harvard's Graduate School of Design a second series of discussions surrounding Ecological Urbanism is currently underway. Having been asked to contribute to this discussion I am happy to say that I will be sharing a few posts here over the next few weeks that fall outside of the scope of our current focus on space in the city. These extras are the result of my wanderings through ideas related to urbanism while I was developing the main post.

My initial contribution to urbanTick; one of host sites for the series. It can be found here: Periplastic.

"The second series is hosted by Annick Labeca, DPR-Barcelona, Taneha Bacchin and urbanTick. The posts will rotate between the three platforms of Urban Lab Global City, DPR-Barcelona and urbanTick."

Paul McCarthy: Three Sculptures / Inaugural Exhibition at L&M Arts Gallery, Los Angeles

2010-10-06T12:07:00.000-04:00

More photos from the Venice Biennale

2010-09-21T23:11:00.000-04:00

More photos from the Venice Biennale: "

A couple of weeks ago we showed you some photos of the Biennale by Marco Zanta. Today, photographer Patricia Parinejad sent us more pictures from different installations at the Venice Biennale. Check them after the break.

More photos from the Venice Biennale originally appeared on ArchDaily, the most visited architecture website on 15 Sep 2010.

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Studio Update : New Work : 09.03.10

2010-09-03T12:37:00.000-04:00

Studio Update : New Work : 08.23.10

2010-08-23T14:49:00.003-04:00

Cloud Cities : Yang Yongliang

2010-08-14T14:17:00.001-04:00

Transcendent City

2010-08-02T17:00:00.000-04:00

Transcendent City: "

Richard Hardy, a recent graduate from the Bartlett School of Architecture in London, produced this eye-popping video—exploring an all-encompassing machine-forest populated with mechanical flowers and fluttering urban biotechnologies, with architectural sponges perched high atop masts—for Nic Clear's Unit 15.

Called The Transcendent City, the film documents what Hardy describes as 'an autonomous artificial machine that extends across the earth adapting to the natural eco-systems it encounters while deriving its energy from the renewable resources available at each particular site. The systems desire is to maintain homeostasis within itself whilst maintaining homeostasis within the greater system, Gaia. Its processes are engineered on the molecular scale by nano technologies controlled by molecular computers that monitor and analyse the environment.'

You can see a handful of Dr. Seussian stills from the film over on Hardy's Flickr stream.

Conversations: Continued / PRAXIS + PS1 MoMA Symposium

2010-06-18T12:11:00.001-04:00

Conversations: Continued / PRAXIS + PS1 MoMA Symposium: "

The symposium marks the release of the 11 Architects + 12 Conversations issue of PRAXIS: a journal of writing and building. The moderated discussion will invite audience participation in an open dialogue that explores shared and contested territory among this emerging generation of practices.

The symposium, “Conversations: Continued”, brings together 10 Young Architectural Practices: MOS, NArchitects, WORKac, PATTERNS, Aranda/Lasch, Productora, FAR, Ciro Najle, The Living, and Howeler +Yoon with two critics, Timothy Hyde and Lucia Allais. The event continues the more formal discussion begun in PRAXIS 11, 11 Architects/12 Conversations, by bringing the firms together in a shared conversation, broadening the issues at stake, and sharing the material with a wider architectural and public audience.

The symposium will take place next Friday, June 25, from 12:30 till 6 pm at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in Queens. For further information and schedule, go to http://www.praxisjournal.net/home.htm.

Ephemicropolis - A city scape all stapled

2010-06-14T11:53:00.001-04:00

Ephemicropolis - A city scape all stapled: "THe city scape of Ephemicropolis was an installation y the artist Peter Root made from around 100'000 staples. The installation shown here took about 40 hours to set up, see 'the making of' below. Root graduated from the Fine Art BA Hons at University College Falmouth in 2000. Its amazing how this models the way we perceive the city and the building structure as a sort of abstraction. From the stationary cupboard to the Streets of the world.

Image by Peter Root / Detail Ephemicropolis.

Found via Urban Tick

Why there's no art without architecture | Jonathan Jones

2010-06-09T14:39:00.001-04:00

Why there's no art without architecture | Jonathan Jones: "

Contemporary visual art amounts to little without the architecture that surrounds it. Maybe we art critics have been looking at the wrong stuff
Is there any difference between art and architecture? I'm wondering this after writing a feature that was as much about architecture as 'art' – and in envy of architectural critics off to Rome to see Zaha Hadid's latest wonder, the Maxxi. It is impossible to conceive of the history of art in exclusion from that of architecture. If you were writing about the Baroque style, or the Arts and Crafts movement, or any other major cultural era: just to write about paintings and sculpture and ignore the buildings they were created for would be to trivialise the subject. It's the same today.
What will future cultural historians say about the arts in our time? They will almost certainly see architecture as the backbone of visual culture in the early 2000s. A brilliant moment in museum architecture (they will write), from Frank Gehry's Guggenheim to Zaha Hadid's Roman gallery, was a significant event in early 21st-century art. Visiting a museum became an enjoyment of grand space, a cubist exploration of architectural complexity.
It might have been a great moment in serious visual culture – but it was one that produced few artistic masterpieces in the conventional sense. The best art – from Martin Creed's The Lights Going On and Off to Richard Wright's elusive wall paintings – simply and eloquently comment on the architecture it graces.
Just as 17th-century Baroque paintings are most moving in the context of the architectural and decorative ensembles of southern Italian churches, so the cultural historians of tomorrow will see the art of our day as inseparable from its settings. Art critics might look a bit silly, always reviewing 'art' in an age when visual art is so architectural. Art may not be where art is at. All too often, we are reviewing the carpets, and saying nothing about the construction of the house.

Jonathan Jones

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Tales of the City – Tagging Shoreditch and Beyond

2010-06-09T11:00:00.001-04:00

Tales of the City – Tagging Shoreditch and Beyond: "Via the project talesofthings.com we have been capturing people’s memories of objects and playing them back via small readable and writeable QR codes and RFID tags. As part of the London Festival of Architecture 2010, Tales of the City extends the concept into the urban realm with the architecture of the city able to replay memories and its history.

The project will enable participants to add their own tales to buildings and view stories that other people have left. The project has been tagging architecture since its launch in April 2010, most notably Broadcasting House in Portland Place and a wall in Chalk Farm which when scanned replays how the wall used to look with a Banksy Stencil in place.

Tales of the City starts off with a pre-placed tag at the historic heart of Shoreditch, St Leonard's Church. From there you will be able to spot tags (QR codes) on Shoreditch High Street which you can add your own stories to, contributing to the growing network of tagged architecture.

This will enable people to form a personalised tour of London’s contemporary history through architecture. If you have an iPhone or an Android handset be sure to download our free app - talesofthings to enable you to leave comments on the QR codes, or create your own codes to put on your favourite buildings.

You can become a follower of the project over at the London Festival of Architecture page.

We will have more on Tales of the City next week...

The Archigram Archival Project

2010-06-08T21:09:00.001-04:00

The Archigram Archival Project: "

The Archigram Archival Project makes the work of the seminal architectural group Archigram available free online for public viewing and academic study. The project was run by EXP, an architectural research group at the University of Westminster. Archigram Began Life as a Magazine produced at home by the members of the group, showing experimental work to a growing, global audience. Nine (and a half) seminal, individually designed, hugely influential, and now very rare magazines were produced between 1961 and 1974. The last ‘half’ was an update on the group’s office work rather than a ‘full’ Archigram magazine. The Six Members of Archigram are Peter Cook, David Greene, Mike Webb, Ron Herron, Warren Chalk and Dennis Crompton. Cook, Greene and Webb met in 1961, collaborated on the first Archigram magazine, later inviting Herron, Chalk and Crompton to join them, and the magazine name stuck to them as a group.

More Than 200 Projects are included in the Archigram Archival Project. The AAP uses the group’s mainly chronological numbering system and includes everything given an Archigram project number. This comprises projects done by members before they met, the Archigram magazines (grouped together at no. 100), the projects done by Archigram as a group between 1961 and 1974, and some later projects.

"

Common Boston Common Build Competition

2010-06-08T21:05:00.001-04:00

Common Boston Common Build Competition: "

The Common Boston Common Build (CBCB) is a design competition that challenges participants to design and implement a project in response to real community needs. Held over 3 days during the Common Boston Community and Architecture Festival, the CBCB is open to teams and individuals from ALL disciplines and experience levels. Common Boston and LostInBoston have partnered to host this year’s event, focused to raise awareness of the built environment, improve wayfinding and inspire connections across Boston’s urban fabric.

Competitors will be asked to work with preselected sites as well as vocal neighborhood members to develop design solutions that address the specific physical and social needs of that community. The CBCB aims to prove that even when created in less than 3 days and with a capped budget, an innovative and influential response to a real problem can alter the way we interact with and understand the built environment of a community while seeking tangible benefits for its inhabitants.

For more information, go to the competition’s official website.
"

Cognitive Landscape 1 : Updated Documentation

2010-05-25T15:10:00.001-04:00

Cognitive Landscape 1 : Updated Documentation from David Bruce on Vimeo.

Intersitial Experiment (1)

2010-04-17T13:12:00.002-04:00

Touchable Holograms

2010-02-22T11:48:00.001-05:00

See More At: www.itv.com

N Building : Augmented Architectural Surfaces

2010-02-13T12:54:00.002-05:00

N Building from Alexander Reeder on Vimeo.

N Building is a commercial structure located near Tachikawa station amidst a shopping district. Being a commercial building signs or billboards are typically attached to its facade which we feel undermines the structures’ identity. As a solution we thought to use a QR Code as the facade itself. By reading the QR Code with your mobile device you will be taken to a site which includes up to date shop information. In this manner we envision a cityscape unhindered by ubiquitous signage and also an improvement to the quality and accuracy of the information itself.

Box Animation

2010-02-12T16:31:00.001-05:00

Box Animation from Jordan Clarke on Vimeo.

Cognitive Landscape 1 : Video Documentation

2009-12-21T19:47:00.002-05:00

Studio Update : New Work : Cognitive Landscape 1 : 12.20.09

2009-12-21T16:06:00.005-05:00

Sound Sculptures & Installation Compilation

2009-11-02T14:40:00.001-05:00

Zimoun : Sound Sculptures & Installations | Compilation Video V1.2 from [ ] on Vimeo.

Chris O'Shea : Audience

2009-10-19T20:23:00.002-04:00

Audience - rAndom International from Chris O'Shea on Vimeo.

Site : ChrisO'Shea

Drift : Fragile Future : Lighting & Dandylions

2009-10-16T12:12:00.003-04:00

Check out more @ Drift

Sketch

2009-10-09T13:01:00.001-04:00

Sketch for future work. More info coming soon through studio update post.

Bibi Tanga - Talking Nigga Brothaz

2009-09-29T10:00:00.001-04:00

Architectural Mountain Ranges : Bjarke Ingels : TED

2009-09-22T19:25:00.002-04:00

Studio Update : 09.13.09

2009-09-14T20:46:00.003-04:00

It has been a busy few weeks. Most of the recent posts have been holding space while I collect images, rummage through ideas and experiment with some new work in the studio. Last week I was charged with presenting images of past work and describing various interests that float upon the horizon. I did so, but for this blog, seeing as how many images of past work are already plugged into old blogposts as well as covered on my website, I thought it necessary to share only images that I showed that cannot be found elsewhere related to my work.

First off, the above images were gathered from my journals which are covered in sketches and writings. They also occasionally hold the remnants of leaves and small pebbles picked up along the way. But because my work often excludes figurative imagery I found it interesting and necessary to show. The making of marks upon paper, the gesture and the expression that can be found between the pages of my notebooks are in a very subtle way related to certain aspects of my work.

But moving on, I decided to bring together images that I find inspiring and expressive; images that relay imagined, mythic and fictitious projections of the urban environment while suggesting the future of the urban landscape . I have particularly chosen images that emphasize the growing trend of vegetated urbanism and architecture. I should give due credit to Jason King who authors a great blog, two now, from which I have sourced many of my current images. (see. Landscape+Urbanism or Veg.itecture).

From there I moved into some of the images, topographic in nature, that represent a variety of data and methods being employed by various professional practices to visualize such data. This topography is of interest to me particularly because while much of it is shown in 2d still images, some these topographies model, in real time, information that changes rapidly, much more so than a real landscape under the pressure of erosion and natural process. These topographies flux more frequently and dynamically with rapid changes in the information they reflect. Information like cell phone use depicted in a spatial context, pedestrian density over the course of a day, or wireless data sent from one point to another. My interest here is in the use of a contour map, once relegated to static 2d images on paper, into a virtual as well as three dimensional space, over time and in response to dynamic information.

Finally there I showed a collection of images taken from the studio, which are rapidly becoming outdated as the work progresses.

I am currently working in several directions, experimenting and exploring, so this post in itself is somewhat mono-dimensional, focused upon one aspect of the past few weeks of work. I will begin to cover other projects as they move farther along.

Kultnation & Echolab :Solid Form to Air

2009-09-12T18:58:00.003-04:00

All that is solid melts into the air. from Sooz on Vimeo.

For More:
Echolab
Kultnation

Small Life in Cologne

2009-09-07T16:32:00.001-04:00

Small Life in Cologne from Christoph Schaarschmidt on Vimeo.

Analog glory-hole door

2009-09-03T08:59:00.001-04:00

Power of 8 : Experimenting with Imagined Urban Fabrics

2009-08-21T15:12:00.016-04:00

Power of 8 is a collaborative project developed by Anab Jain, a designer whose work investigates intersections between digital, biological and sociological fields. Her current efforts investigate design alternatives that impact present development practices and experiment with the collective expression of imaginative urban forms. In this project "8 people from different walks of life work together to build a public conversation about their individual aspirations for a desirable future."

Power of 8 blurs overlapping space between the public and private sphere and carries my interest for a variety of reasons. In part it is open source and participatory in nature, it makes use a variety of cognitive mapping techniques and explores the development and social expression of urban form in relation to fantasy. Beginning with a series of workshops the crew of eight share their ideas and formulate imaginative visions of the future.

The project is of particular interest because it has manifest as a part of the art world. It is funded by the Arts Council England, presented within the gallery environment, and extends traditional roles for artists, designers, and other professionals; emphasizing transdiciplinary approaches to the development of the urban fabric.

The approach taken is one that begins exclusively and unfolds in the public realm. While typical design-build projects dictate urban morphology from the top down this project is inclusive, moving from the ideas of its eight original participants to the public, facilitating in the process of imagining alternatives to the existing urban fabric. While public participation did not occur from the onset, the shift from private to public practice was planned and implemented at an early stage in the life of the project. Preliminary results of the project workshops were presented to the public during a gallery opening and a large abstracted map of Brentford, the area surrounding the gallery, became a central interactive component to the exhibition. The idea was to "engage with the local people by situating some of our imagined scenarios over the map, and inviting them to do the same."

The incubation period, during which the professional crew initiated the process and developed individual and collective visions, could very well have provided a successful way to show that images of the future need not be limited in scope. Ideas that emerged from the workshops appear to have included a wealth of creative proposals and initiated a creative response from the public.

"Over the course of two days we had a steady stream of participants ranging from the radically activist to the playfully naive populated this map of their local area of Brentford with walking houses, snow stimulators, solar powered airships, public free boxes, trees that could talk to one another, new wireless connectivity, new species of underwater organisms and human spinning tops. The table was transformed into a landscape of fantasy and possibility in what appears to be a distant edge suburb of London."

Following the exhibition ideas generated through the Power of 8 project are intended to move freely through the public realm. "After October, the work will discursively enter the public domain, and each collaborator will be able to have equal ownership over the material and disseminate it in a way that suits him/her best." In this way the project will have seeded the landscape with ideas of the future, opening the local community to the creative potential of collectively imagined landscapes and inspiring new visions for the future.

In essence this project exemplifies an optimistic and inclusive approach to the development of our shared habitat. It combines the creative potential of forward thinking professionals with that of everyday citizens, those who share in the lived experience of the city and its infrastructure, to produce a collective expression of the future.

to see more visit: The Power of 8

Surface & Depth : 1

2009-08-06T22:50:00.004-04:00

Kuroshio Sea - 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world - (song is Please don't go by Barcelona) from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.

May I suggest that when you watch the above video, you view it in full screen and relax for a moment from whatever it is that you are supposed to be doing. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

This post is the short version of an extensive network of thoughts oriented around the development of surface technologies emerging in the urban fabric. I am thinking of surfaces that have been transformed from rigid physical boundaries into large scale widows through advancements in digital LED screens. But what is above is not one of these surfaces. This is a view of a very real environment. The aquatic life seen here is not artificial and aside from the fact that we currently experience it from a computer screen, these are not merely images. My concern here is with the very real environment captured in this video and artificial images presented on emerging multimedia surfaces (like the one below).

555 KUBIK | facade projection | from urbanscreen on Vimeo.

I have an array of thoughts related to this topic. How is the urban fabric going to change as more and more surfaces become augmented through technology? How will these changes affect human behavior and psychology? What images will we experience? Surely not all of these screens will run artistic projects like the one above. What will happen if and when these surfaces become interactive, like the producers of the next video imagine? And what will it be like when we can interact with the same surfaces that for centuries have functioned as physical and psychological boundaries? Needless to say these are only a few of the questions I have related to this type of change in rigid urban surfaces.

Map/Territory from timo on Vimeo.

Seeing as how this is supposed to be the short version of my thoughts I will move on to why I chose to emphasis the first video in this post. For one, I was moved by this video. I am attracted to aquatic life like many other people in the world and have great memories of time spent off the coast of Belize studying reef ecology. But, returning from such a digression, the video of the aquarium is a real (although designed by human) environment. After seeing all of these videos and others like them I am drawn to question the differences between seeing a high definition image on a screen the size of a building, capable of mimicking real environments and the experience of real environments. One cannot physically move through the images presented on the screen nor can one move through the glass that contains the artificial sea of the aquarium. So to the viewer what is the difference? Perhaps in my case the difference appears in my memory. The memory of seeing creatures like these in their real habitat. The memory of the weightlessness and the feeling of being surrounded by water, literally immersed in a new world, one I am able to explore through all of my senses, in a very human way. A way that I believe is common to all of us and one that, in the world of surfaces, boundaries and images, decays without the depth added by memory and real experience.

My intention here is not to relegate technology to some benign status. It is to applaud the experience of being human, and the ability to explore the world around us. It is also to realize that technology, paired with the wonder of very real environments, real experiences and the imagination of creative men and women, can give depth to everyday surfaces, making them extraordinary.

Nonbeing : Michel Mazza

2009-07-29T21:47:00.001-04:00

NONBEING from MICHEL MAZZA on Vimeo.

Studio Update : Tyler 1 : 07.28.09

2009-07-28T12:11:00.005-04:00

I am finally settling into the new studio at Tyler. In short this means that I am finally able to begin new work and in turn give the first studio update since moving to Philadelphia. I have much to say related to this work but will hold most of the content back for future posts. Much of what I present here is in preparation for an increase in scale and developing complexities of form and content. My thoughts float around the idea of cognitive landscapes, strata, contours and topography. That however is about as far as will go in describing sources of my thought processes related to this work. What I am willing to share are images of the first rudimentary drawings, scans, and maquettes. All products of incubation and results of the ongoing investigation that lends itself to the development of new work. Below are images gathered from the two walls of my studio that I use for reflecting upon the work.

With such a small amount of information related to the work I hope that I will retain some sense of curiosity in the viewer. While I enjoy revealing work in progress I often question the effect of releasing such information. But at this stage in the process, such an early point, I think it is safe to share a slice of my studio practice.

Future posts will be tagged as studio updates and cognitive landscapes lest the work takes a major turn.

Tiago & Gabriel Primo : Climbing & Living as an Intallation

2009-07-23T14:29:00.006-04:00

Climbing brothers Tiago and Gabriel Primo have been living on display since May of this year. Their vision for the exterior wall of a local gallery in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil has literally taken on the life of these two artists/climbers.

Apparently images of big wall climbing and the bivy ledges that climbers use to camp out on these, often multi-day vertical expeditions have creeped into the art scene of Brazil. But this time there is no big wall, just an urban niche now filled with the amenities that you would usually find in the comfort of your own home.

This is not the first time the art scene has taken a page from the journals of the climbing community. Artist Matthew Barney, in one of his 'Creamaster' films put his rigging and construction man T.J. Davey to work as a stand in, climbing the proscenium of an opera house in Budapest. There is also the moving structural mass of 2000 bamboo supports "Big Bamboo" by the Starn brothers making its way through the old Tallix foundry in Beacon, NY.

Perhaps these two have brought a new edge to the use of climbing equipment and techniques in art, by publicising their life 14 hours a day for nearly four months. Apparently Taigo and Gabriel spend the majority of their time interacting with the public. Which renders some questions related to my current interests. Through the publicity of their lifestyle, that which is typically private, are these brothers blurring the distinction between the private and public spheres? And could this be called public art? Perhaps not, but I am inclined to wonder, if they began dialogues related to housing issues, which they have been asked "How much is the rent?" by a passerby, and if they then opened a public dialogue related to such a topic in the streets of Rio, would it then become public art? While this may not be the purpose of their work, and it seems as though activism is the last thing on the minds of these two, their actions do generate questions and blur the divisions of public/private domains. What can be seen, and is probably more important than the questions I am posing, is simply how much fun it would be if there were more vertical access and exposure in the Urban landscape. Sure it presents liability issues and would probably incur serious legal ramifications if not authorized by the art world, but perhaps that is one of the best things about the art world. It's diverse, experimental, and has enough authority to provide spaces and legitimacy for the otherwise irrational but all to human forms of expression and acts of freedom.

Brothers Taigo and Gabrial plan to continue this exhibition and lifestyle through mid August. After which the home on a rope will come down and another, perhaps more grounded exhibition will take place.

Brothers Taigo and Gabriel Primo as their installation.
image via: associated press

Making Public Places : Afterthoughs on Technology, Public Space & The Augmented Forum

2009-07-21T11:04:00.004-04:00

On Monday of last week Balmori Associates, Inc. held a design forum called Making Public Places. I had hoped to attend personally but instead was able to take part in the discussion thanks to their efforts to expand the audience, interactively, using twitter, video feeds and a chat service.

I had two reasons for participating in this forum. The first is centered around interests in design, planning and public space as these items relate to current research elucidating changes in public space and the role of artists working in the public realm. The second of my reasons was based upon a need for direct experience with what presents itself as a new means of discursive practice charged with the task of generating feedback on the making of public spaces. Through this practice the publicness of real time dialogue is extended through technology and social networking, augmenting the real space assumed by participants with a complementary virtual space. By and large this post is focused, roughly, around my experience from a relative distance through technology, the benefits of such technology and the current drawbacks encountered during this experience.

While I am not an expert in the fields of technology or design, my perspective comes from a place that can and should be valued. Public space, after all, is intended to be accessible and open to anyone. Without unearthing the breadth of positions and history of critical research related to public spaces I though it necessary to emphasis the focal point of this discussion, making public space. I will however leave my research objectives to another post and present what I found relevant to this experience, namely the virtual augmentation of public space.

Giving this forum an online presence generated an opportunity for individuals around the world to listen in on the dialogue as well as respond and ask questions. While most likely not the first of its kind, this was the first time I have experienced a forum over the web, particularly one that connects with a physical setting and real time dialogue. This experience was intriguing, welcomed, and forward thinking. The video that appears in this post is an unedited copy of the feed presented online. For anyone interested in the discussion that took place as well as trying to connect the twitter feeds to the physical dialogue I would suggest taking a look. I have provided links to information available at the bottom of this post.

Among the dialogue topics related to material use, behavior, vegetation, shared space, community involvement, funding and private/public ownership were covered. This made for an engaging discussion and participants hailed from Denmark, Sweden and the United States to mention only a few. I am however going to leave the reader to investigate the dialogue for his or herself and move on to highlight the extent of my experience as an online participant.

It is argued that public space in inherently democratic, concerned with the commons, and political. Balmori, by the very nature of opening this dialogue, a dialogue about public space to a wider audience, created a temporal form of just such a space. Their experimentation with emerging technology and social networking applications as a tool for creating an interactive sphere was a step towards the future of platforms that will extend the physical reality of public spaces and potentially reengage aspects of discursive democracy. I find this movement intriguing and yet problematic. Though I am going to bypass the problematic for a moment to discuss the potential of this methodology.

One highlight of this experience was the potential for interacting with a group of people discussing ideas that are important to me. And because of the use of technology, I, while not being in physical attendance was able to participate. While my participation, due to the dissonancy between the online community and those in physical attendance, was limited, without this two-way interaction I would have been relegated to consumer status, disenfranchised in a way, from the ability to thoughtfully articulate my ideas related to the way public spaces are produced. The opportunity to provide feedback, and have that feedback heard, reestablished my dignity as a producer, citizen and integral part of my environment. This two-way interaction is what stands out from traditional approaches to forums aired after the fact. It is an intriguing step away from consumer-oriented production of space, towards discursive practices that preserve the value of individuals not only as consumers but also as producers, active participants in life and the production of the spaces they inhabit. This reflects the potential to empower citizens through technology and in turn, thought listening and discursive practices related to the production of public spaces, invest in civic coherence and infrastructure that emerges from the bottom up.

To be sure that I not present the reader with a fluffy notion of this experience and an overtly optimistic view of this technology, I must insert into this post some of the drawbacks encountered during my experience. Not being there, physically, has presented several issues the most prevalent of which was the dissonance of the virtual experience with that of the real. To be clear, before I move on, I would first like to thank Balmori Associates for extending this forum and experimenting with new ways to increase the publicity efforts on the part of design professionals. This experience is a lead in to more coordinated, comprehensive coverage of such events that through technological means will increase the quality of future dialogue for those who wish to participate but cannot be in physical attendance. This was a seed in need of cultivation.

With any new technology or application there will be a time of rapid growth, potentially uncoordinated developments and rough edges. In this situation the rapid growth of a social networking application, Twitter, used by millions and made use of by Balmori to extend the dialogue to the public, brought about great opportunity along with the uncoordinated and rough edges.

Choosing Twitter meant that all feedback from the online community had to be limited to less than 140 characters. Which in turn meant questions and short answers. This in theory is good and keeps the dialogue moving, but not everyone can say what he or she wishes in less that 140 characters. Maybe they should be able to, maybe not. What is certain is that those in physical attendance were able to articulate complete thoughts without such limitations and few if any did so in less than 140 characters. This produced one of the first weak points leading to the dissonance between the two communities (online/physical).

The second weak point was the use of Tiny Chat. Tiny Chat was where the original video feed was posted, this was good, but broadcasting video was limited to those paying for the Tiny Chat service which was no one but Balmori. It would have been nice to see broadcasts of anyone who wished to participate and have the ability to see as well as hear online participants rather than limiting the online experience to text. With enough online presence this could of course lead to noise, but so can text and this is a greater problem associated with opening a forum to the world. Social interaction is not always regulated and pretty.

Probably the most inefficient hurdle was the use of multiple uncoordinated platforms. Tiny Chat, while allowing for longer messages and bypassing the 140-character issue, is not linked to twitter. So anyone posting on twitter did not see the tiny chat dialogue and vice versa. Lest of course, and this is what inevitably had to happen, the online user opened two separate windows, one for tiny chat and one for twitter.

Compounding the issues related to the cumbersome arrangement of windows, Twitter, in order to see the feeds as they are posted, must be refreshed or, yes another window must be opened and Twitterfall or some other real-time application for displaying twitter feeds must be opened.

The essential experience for the online participant thus involved, three open windows to view the video feed, post on the chat, and drop twitter comments/questions. This made for a disparate experience that certainly calls for the development of an application that can merge the strengths of each into one easy to use graphic interface. This is not the fault of balmori, as a matter of fact I believe they have done an excellent job trying to coordinate all of this and I applaud their effort. Case in point, when the Tiny Chat session was hacked, it took only a few minutes before the video was reestablished and the online community was notified of the new stream located on Ustream.

The dissonance was thus attributed to cumbersome new technologies that have yet to be integrated into easy to use tools that lend themselves to mass forums that combine real and virtual populations. I am sure it will only be a matter of time before fully integrated applications that provide user-friendly interfaces and elegant mashups appear on the peripheral and become absorbed by the masses. This will be an interesting time for public space and public practice.

A final note on the dissonance of this forum, and this one will most likely take a little more time to get over, is the difficulty combining two very different approaches to a forum. The first being a real forum in which participants can feel comfortable acting, listening, asking questions and generally functioning the way human beings do, in realty, physical space and with a group of real people. The second being a virtual forum, potentially muddied through mass communication, distant from all of things that make us human, but none the less here, and now a valuable tool employed all over the world. So how do we blend the two, without having them simply run in parallel or series? How do we integrate the two worlds seamlessly in a way that is comfortable for everyday human citizens so that everyone can participate in discursive practices that help to shape and form public spaces? How do these two worlds exist mutually and in a symbiotic fashion? And, what will be the public space remembered by history, of the twenty first century?

All this being said I think the future of public space is up to active and engaged individuals interested in developing the quality of urban fabrics and the role discursive democratic practices. Public space is an integral part of any democratic society and indeed an integral part of any society. The making of public space, its design, production, and reproduction is the responsibility of every citizen who takes a vested interest in the quality of their environment. I am happy to know that I live in a world where I can play an active role and articulate freely my thoughts related to our shared spaces. I hope that the future of public spaces proceeds towards a more inclusive set of practices exemplified by open forums and that everyday men and women have a place among the urban fabric to share in leisure, democracy and social engagement.

Thanks again to Balmori Associates, Inc. for hosing such a great dialogue. Please visit their site for more information related to the topic of their discussion, Making Public Places.

Links:

Balmori Associates, Inc.
Twitter : Balmori : #mpplaces
Ustream video:

Reburbia : Design Competition

2009-07-19T17:41:00.002-04:00

ANNOUNCING THE REBURBIA DESIGN COMPETITION!

Dwell Magazine and Inhabitat.com are pleased to announce the first ever Reburbia competition: a design competition dedicated to re-envisioning the suburbs.

With the current housing crisis, the sub-prime mortgage meltdown, and rising energy costs, the future of suburbia looks bleak. Suburban communities in central California, Arizona and Florida are desolate and decaying, with for sale and foreclosure signs dotting many lawns. According to the US Census, about 90% of all metropolitan growth occurred in suburban communities in the last ten years. Urbanites who loathe the freeways, big box stores and bland aesthetics stereotypical of suburbia may secretly root for the end of sprawl, but demographic trends indicate that exurban growth is still on the rise.

In a future where limited natural resources will force us to find better solutions for density and efficiency, what will become of the cul-de-sacs, cookie-cutter tract houses and generic strip malls that have long upheld the diffuse infrastructure of suburbia? How can we redirect these existing spaces to promote sustainability, walkability, and community? It’s a problem that demands a visionary design solution and we want you to create the vision!

Calling all future-forward architects, urban designers, renegade planners and imaginative engineers:
Show us how you would re-invent the suburbs! What would a McMansion become if it weren’t a single-family dwelling? How could a vacant big box store be retrofitted for agriculture? What sort of design solutions can you come up with to facilitate car-free mobility, ‘burb-grown food, and local, renewable energy generation? We want to see how you’d design future-proof spaces and systems using the suburban structures of the present, from small-scale retrofits to large-scale restoration—the wilder the better!

HOW TO ENTER THE REBURBIA COMPETITION

Enter the Inhabitat / Dwell REBURBIA competition, by sending up to 5 images and a statement about your design proposal. You can submit as many entries as you like, but each individual entry should be focused on one singular design problem/solution (i.e. a McMansion farm rehab, a bicycle transportation hub, a piezoelectric, energy-generating freeway paving system). Entries will be judged on clarity of idea, usefulness of design, and visual/aesthetic appeal of renderings.

Weekend Sound : From a Tree : Diego Stocco

2009-07-19T12:08:00.003-04:00

Diego Stocco - Music From A Tree from Diego Stocco on Vimeo.

Leisurely day of research... I bumped into this and thought it was worth sharing.

Turbo 2088

2009-07-18T16:22:00.002-04:00

TURBO2088 from Piedlabiche on Vimeo.

Olafur Eliasson: Playing w/ Space and Light : TED

2009-07-17T13:39:00.002-04:00

Augmented Surfaces : Mapping

2009-07-16T11:37:00.004-04:00

Map/Territory from timo on Vimeo.

For some time now I have been thinking about the relationship between technology and everyday surfaces encountered in cities. I have been particularly interested in how our relationship to these surfaces can change as walls, floors and ceilings, things that were once boundaries, become portals to information and essentially no longer existing as pure boundaries. These surfaces take on a hybrid reality as the phsycial infrastructure of the urban fabric is augmented. While not elaborating further I thought it interesting when I stumbled upon this video exhibiting a crude exploration of this idea. It was worth sharing. Enjoy.

Anthill

2009-07-15T17:29:00.000-04:00

California Considers Closing Park Systems

2009-07-14T17:34:00.003-04:00

Apparently Governor Schwarzenegger, in an attempt to mitigate budgeting shortfalls, is ramping up his effort to shut down California Park Systems. This push to close state parks has brought about reactions from conservationist as well as the federal government. The Guardian UK, The Huffington Post and The Dirt have all written articles covering this issue.

Clay Shirky : Transforming Media Landscape : TED

2009-07-12T16:55:00.002-04:00

David Bruce Studios : Twitter

2009-07-12T14:53:00.003-04:00

In light of new research and the need to directly experience certain aspects of inquiries I am making into the nature of public space and the public sphere I have joined Twitter.

Real-time updates will be posted on the right under "Recent Activity"

goto: DavidBruceStudios on Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/DBruceStudios

Dumpster Diving: Guerrilla Design Project

2009-07-10T09:31:00.004-04:00

12 Days, filling the seams, a liner, some sand for a great bottom, water of course and now you have it; a truly fantastic spot to cool down on those hot summer days.

Designers: Jocko Weyland, David Belt, and Alix Feinkind = Macro|Sea.

See more: Inhabitat

On : Making Public Spaces : Timely

2009-07-09T20:44:00.003-04:00

Since moving to Philadelphia I have been excited about settling into a new segment of research surround public spaces, urban design and art. Over the past few weeks I have been reviewing a swath of readings that support, contend, investigate, denigrate and all together poke and prod at the apparently dead body of a physical manifestation of space that is typically characterized by its connections to democratic activity, politicized dialogues, open access and a long list of other words. But for a moment, to side step the needed task of elaborating on this wealth of content and to ensure that I do not prematurely exude the products of my research, I will restrain myself and simply point to an interesting forum that has just come to my attention. A timely opportunity that I hope not to miss (come on financial aid, make that deposit).

Two things that I will mention.

1. Is physical public space an illusion of the public sphere, perhaps even... not really public at all?

2. If the public sphere exists today, where is it? And what role does twitter, social networking, geospatial data, mashups.... and the extended family of emerging technology play in its existence and proliferation?

Please note.. It is late. I am going to stop now before the great critics open to view these statements can get me, before I have a chance to clearly state what my interests are here.

And now.... the reason for my impromptu post.

Timely... Yes... Timely

see more on: Inhabitat

digital water pavilion

2009-07-09T16:51:00.001-04:00

Vito Acconci : Interview on Design Boom

2009-06-24T15:11:00.001-04:00

Vito Acconci in Conversation at Acconci Studio, New York
Uploaded by microcinema. - Arts and animation videos.

Check out the Interview @ : Design Boom

Air Forest :

2009-06-19T10:27:00.001-04:00

Air Forest by Mass Studies from ArchDaily on Vimeo.

via: Architecture Daily

Studio Update : Transition : 06.07.09

2009-06-06T10:25:00.003-04:00

With a recent acceptance to Tyler School of Art comes another time of change and transition. The studio at Cub Creek is packed and I am taking this month to tie up loose ends and sift through the challenges, thoughts and projects that have been occupying my mind. While this blog will continue, updates will be farther apart as I begin writing for other feeds and perhaps, focus on a new site.

Recent Exhibition:
The work at J Fergeson Gallery came down recently. Opening night went well and I thank everyone involved. Several pieces remain at the gallery and will be present in the space downstairs. Small groupings of this work will now move on to other galleries including Quirk in Richmond Va. and Mayer Fine Art in Norfolk Va.

Tyler School of Art, Temple University:
I am entering graduate school this fall at Tyler in Philadelphia Pa. After a recent visit I have set up my curriculum and found a place to live. I will be moving on July 1st and once there will be certain to post some images and provide links to any projects I take on.

The Work & Seizing the Opportunity:
Up to this date I have been developing bodies of work that explore a sense of being in relation to spaces, materials and ideas. I have been challenged to make work under the restrictions of resource and space. Graduate school will afford a valuable opportunity to experiment on a larger scale, work with adjacent disciplines and make use of facilities designed around the object of making. My work is going to change as I push the limits of my own ability while focusing on projects that I have been interested in but have yet to implement. Over the next two years I am going to construct larger works that explore the role of art and expression in relation to the urban environment. I will continue to work on smaller bodies of work that are more personal in scope, however my challenge will be to expand the boundaries of my work and ability while integrating my interests in urban design, ecology and expression.

Opening Night Reception : New Work & Installation

2009-05-05T23:02:00.005-04:00

Opening night at J Fergeson Gallery is coming up:

Saturday : May 9th : 5:00 - 8:00pm

311 N. Main St. Farmville VA
434.391.1066

More on this exhibition can be found at the following sites:
www.davidbrucestudios.com
www.jfergesongallery.com

RVA Magazine Interview

2009-05-01T01:02:00.005-04:00

RVA Magazine's new website is looking great and I had the recent pleasure of answering a few questions from Anthony Harris. The interview is currently front page but will certainly migrate down the as they continue to publish posts on Richmond's thriving culture.

Links are below.
Big thanks to the RVA crew for such a great spotlight.
Be sure to keep tabs on this site as they continue to cover the Richmond scene.

www.rvamag.com
direct link to the article click here.

Studio Update : Wood Firing : 04.20.09

2009-04-21T08:14:00.005-04:00

Studio Update : Object+ : 04.17.09 (2)

2009-04-17T20:23:00.000-04:00

Studio Update : Object+ : 04.17.09

2009-04-17T17:46:00.005-04:00

The wood kiln has been stacked and we will begin firing in a few hours. I am afforded a moment of rest and can now begin to move into a 5 day schedule of stoking and welding in preparation for the upcoming installation. The images above are of the stacked stones in the first chamber of the kiln. Below, the largest of the stones has been wadded and transferred from the second cradle to a stretcher that will ease the transition into the kiln. This piece is going to be once fired in the second chamber to slow the heating rate that could otherwise crack the work.

Wind Chill Factory : Opening @ Red Door : 04.16.09

2009-04-14T16:07:00.006-04:00

The Red Door Gallery will open this Friday with new work by Matt Lively. "Home" features his most recent work on the Wind Chill Factory. To see more poke through the label "Wind Chill Factory on this blog" you can also visit some of the following links:

Matt Lively : official site : www.mattlively.com
The Red Door Gallery
NotCot

"Home" @ Red Door Gallery

Opening Night Reception : Friday : April 17th , 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Red Door Gallery
1607 West Main Street
Richmond, VA 23220
804-358-0211

Studio Update: Object+ : 04.10.09

2009-04-09T23:27:00.006-04:00

It is late. I am in the process of transition. The construction of each object is complete and they are being fired in gas and wood burning kilns.

I am moving from a focus on the poetic object, intimacy, and individuation towards culture, species and network.

I think of both, it is only natural that I attend to each through this body of work; moving through the expanse of an idea, from a point of focus through its atmosphere and the space between.

Big Bamboo

2009-04-07T15:49:00.012-04:00

Play, Art, Installation... It all comes together when you get a glimpse of work like the Big Bamboo Project of Mike and Doug Starn. Recently featured in the New York Times this installation emerges from the stochastic action of climbers articulating the artists' vision. Mike and Doug are brothers who have been active in the New York scene for nearly three decades. Their studio is currently located in what used to be the Tallix foundry in Beacon, NY.

The Starns have chosen a non-linear approach to construction allowing for evolution of form. A prominent emphasis on emergent structure eases the rigor typically involved with such a large architectural mass. The work is composed of roughly 2000 bamboo poles lashed together with nylon rope. It is generated through a multitude of incremental decisions decentralized through loosely coordinated behavior of eight to fifteen climbers roughly governed body the Starn brothers. Charged with the movement of its laborers the piece will begin to crawl through the space as the makers remove bamboo supports from the far end and replace them in the front. Such a dynamic approach to construction and structure alludes to living systems. Ongoing reviews point towards these organic reflections and ideas noted by the artists take into account self healing, adaptive and chaotic properties.

Inviting a playful response and an active role for viewers the Starn brothers encourage visitors to climb through the mass to reach a platform constructed some 50 feet above the floor, framing the work from above.

On a personal note. I hope to get up to Beacon and climb Big Bamboo on my next trip up north. Ive got to thank Robin Sedgwick and her son for passing this one along. It appers that some of my past work quickly came to mind when they got a glimpse of this in the NY Times. Big thanks!

Big Bamboo will be open to visitors from May 15 - 18 from 11am - 4pm.

Be sure to check out more via the following:
Starn Studio - Website

Reviews:
New York Times article
Vernissage TV
MAYKR
New Space New Focus @ Art Miami

Studio Update : Object+ : 04.05.09

2009-04-05T15:12:00.003-04:00

Competition : Urban SOS

2009-03-25T11:52:00.003-04:00

Call for creative response:

Urban SOS, an open ideas competition, is challenging students from around the world. This call is open to individual designers or teams of up to four graduate and undergraduate students. Its aim is to illicit innovative responses to stressed urban areas that have the potential for lasting improvement.

There's cash involved for those who need a little more motivation. 20,000 usd in prize money gets the ball moving.

For more info visit:
Urban SOS
EDAW/AECOM

Get the PDF: download

Studio Update : Object+ : 03.20.09

2009-03-20T12:53:00.010-04:00

Studio Update: Object+ : 03.14.09

2009-03-14T11:03:00.003-04:00

New Tea Bowls

2009-03-06T14:44:00.005-05:00

Update: Object+ : 03.03.09

2009-03-04T13:23:00.009-05:00

Recent Wood Firing : New Stones Excavated

Upcoming Exhibition:

This is small preview focused on the object portion of this project. The body of work will manifest as an installation. Objects will find their place among an environment that I will leave as undisclosed for the time being. Work will be on exhibit @ J Fergeson Gallery beginning May 1 to May 30, 2009.

Opening reception : Saturday, May 9th from 5pm to 8pm.

Who needs stairs? : Carsten Holler @ Tate

2009-03-01T13:14:00.006-05:00

I mean really, what fan of art who loves taking a minute from the hustle of the world would pass this is up? I have written a little on the idea of urban play and this pretty much pegs its union with art. As part of The Unilever Series the Tate exhibited the work of Carsten Holler from October 2006 to April 2007. This work is one that could certainly be appreciated at a distance. I'm sure you get the impression and if you have a great imagination you could probably day dream about sliding down these tubes. But, the best part is that you can. These works are perhaps only fully experienced by actually taking them up on their offer. The aesthetic is in the motion and act of sliding down these spiraling conduits.

Intersections: Grand Concourse Beyond 100

2009-02-28T11:42:00.004-05:00

The Bronx Museum has teamed up with Design Trust to host a design competition aimed at gathering ideas for the future of the Grand Concourse. Exemplifying how organizations are taking on the task of improving urban environments. This is an open call to anyone who can come up with a vision of the future for this portion of Bronx's urban fabric.

"This international ideas competition solicits bold visions that describe how the Bronx and the Grand Concourse can evolve in coming decades to cope with pressing needs for housing, green space, and transportation. Winning proposals will be exhibited at The Bronx Museum of the Arts starting in November 2009. Honorable mentions will be on display at the exhibition and on this website." www.grandconcourse100.org

What makes this so interesting?

Partnership between the Bronx Museum and Design Trust:

This project not only bridges public and private practice, engaging local governments and private companies, it expands the role of the museum and the artist. Traditionally, in a very brief and narrow sense, museums exhibit works of art as end products and artists make them. But the exhibition that will be presented in the Bronx Museum is different. Selected proposals will be on show and while these may not be complete plans for urban design they may very well influence the future urban environment of the Grand Concourse. They are images, representations of what could very well become a tangible infrastructure. On that note the exhibition opens an intriguing path for public feedback, putting the big ideas up for all to see means that those who do catch a glimpse can respond. Is the museum going to be recording public response? I doubt it, but it is certainly a interesting shift in the role of the museum and I am sure the images of Grand Concourse's future will prompt an interesting dialogue.

An expanded role for artists interested in the Urban Environment.

Art is often retro fitted onto the existing urban fabric. It takes a side seat, if any, to the design and planning role. This project opens the door for artists. It takes into account the value of art, innovation and creative vision. This competition challenges traditional design and development practices engaging diverse professions, providing a venue for exhibition that places the products of the competition in the domain of art, and opens the door to artists. This elucidates evolving processes in urban design and marks emergent inclusions of art, a valued role for the artist, and the sifting landscape of design professions. Urban design becomes art and the scope of the artist's influence acquires a new lens.

The Jury:

The jury here epitomizes the diversity of this project and its potential. Comprised of architects, planners, artists, a sociologist and an editor this jury covers a great spectrum of professionals.

Some notable Jurors just to get the picture:

Susan Szenasy : Editor-in-Chief of Metropolis
TATS CRU : Bronz based professional muralists
Wilhelm Ronda : Director of Planning and Development for the Office of Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión.
Tim Rollins : Artist, Founder of Art and Knowledge Workshop
Dr. Clara E. Rodríguez : Professor of Sociology at Fordham University’s College at Lincoln Center.
Walter Hood : Professor and former Chair of the Landscape Architecture Department at the University of California, Berkeley.
Stan Allen : Dean of the School of Architecture at Princeton University.

It is great to see the explosion of design competitions in recent years. All are bringing imaginative ideas to the front of urban design and I look forward to charting this evolution of urban environment. I am certainly pleased to see the inclusion of art and the expansion of the artists role from a passive to active one.

To see more visit:

Intersections : Grand Concourse Beyond 100

Impress: possiblities, extentsions and implications

2009-02-24T10:56:00.008-05:00

Typically the human-technology relationship carries an air of physical rigidity. Computer displays, digitizers and other devices used by designers and artists are constructed of materials that are all too often cold and stiff. While devices that respond to touch and input through specialized sensors do exist these links between the real and virtual yield little to the tactile presence and provide practically no feedback to users extending beyond the visual domain. This sets up a one way street for input that limits the relationship between the tool and the user.

Artists working with materials like clay, metal, wood and plastics rely on the feedback provided by these materials. Each material, weather worked by hand or tool, responds to the presence of the maker on a physical and sensible level. This responsiveness enriches the human-material relationship. At the level of the designer and artist, creating tools that provide sensory feedback beyond the visual domain enriches the human-technology relationship; making way for a more engaging and inviting experience while affording opportunities for new interactive scenarios related to the design and creation of objects and environments.

This all comes to mind when I encounter technology like the Impress display unit. Combining a force sensitive display with an array of applications, this technology presents a unit that begins to provide a more interactive environment. Though it appears a rough model, having an almost toy-like quality, it does establish in crude form a two way path for feedback between users and technology. The foam bed harboring force sensors responds the touch of a user with about a 4" threshold. This display has a few immediate uses based on sound, topography, and browsing.

What I find most interesting is its potential. Increase the size, perhaps the shape and form, develop a method for changing the threshold, elastic response and sensitivity, connect it to specialized software like GIS or Autocad and there you have it, a modeling tool that works with human touch. Enriched interfaces like this could be used to shape and form surfaces and infrastructure in the virtual domain. Integrate this display with real time software application and the products of this combination may very well be the architectural landscapes of future cities. The possibilities go beyond topographic modeling but I will leave the imagination to do the rest.

Impress:

impress - flexible display from Sillenet on Vimeo.

Images via: Dis.play

Huaxi City Center

2009-02-21T13:16:00.006-05:00

Cycles, consistent ebbs and flows in my interests, form the boundaries of my work and research. A pliable delineation of art, design and environment defines the region of my inquiry. Fascinated with the entirety of the inhabited, yet bypassing the broader scope of this interest, I often focus on images of urban infrastructure that invite poetic impressions and engage my imagination through daydreams and an aesthetic sensibility. Emerging from increased ecological pressures combined with broad planning and design efforts of development professionals is a growing trend in competitions and proposals aimed at creating fully articulated urban centers. While many of these proposals remain imaginary they contribute to the mass of renderings and images available to the public, alluding to cities of the future. These plans look to make use of lessons learned over centuries of monumental construction practices; they merge programs for living and working while paying heed to growing demands for urban agriculture and ecological integration. Images of these projects inspire my work and afford countless niches for the role of artists.

Huaxi City Center:

Recent coverage of the Huaxi city center design contest, organized by Mad exposes some great images that bridge the domains of art, design and environment. Architects, engineers and planners are composing this master plan, working to bring this urban environment to life.

images via : design boom

There is a grand dialogue between environment and man, maintained through the imagination, that invests life into the spaces we encounter. With any project like the Huaxi city center there is a exploration of the unknown, imaginary and immaterial. Exploring the chaos of that which is unrecognized, bringing life to the ideas and images of the imagination through material manifestation is art. The dreamer, encountering images that afford raw impetus for creativity, becomes the artist.

Object+ : 1.1

2009-02-07T15:12:00.012-05:00

As I move through this life the relationship I have with my environment develops. I have always been captivated by this idea. I am refreshed at times by the relatively simple form of stones and other objects that I encounter on a daily basis. There is something intriguing about the sensibility of objects. Stones that were once part of larger bodies, rigid and rugged, shaped by the elements have a particular presence in my life. Objects can act as vehicles for the poetry of life, channeling ideas and emotions. If I move slowly and shift the way in which I perceive my environment, life opens like the seed watered and nourished by the sun. Ideas of being, the passage of time, movement through space and translation of energy take on new meaning. I am opened to a dialogue with my environment, and the relationship I maintain is enriched.

I am currently using these open forms to communicate ideas and sentiments through the physical act of creating objects as well as through completed forms, compounded works and large compositions. This post is a written sketch. I am exposing some the central tendencies of my relationship to environment, stones and my resulting expression.

- Freedom, becoming, expression and being
- Object image as poetic image.
- Conception; Becoming through action and expression.
- Object as vessel for imagination, both habitat and body of the creative
- Object as landmark
- Object as micro-macro environment
- Object in relation the the physical environment and cognitive landscape

With me these objects have a rich existence, with each viewer they are opened and free to have another.

These objects are direct expression of my own being.
They exist as the body and habitat of my own being; an extension of my self.
They are landmarks used to navigate my own presence.
When opened to the public, into the realm of the viewer, they flux.
They become both empty and full, they retain the resonance of my experience and my being, and yet they are open, vessels to be filled by the experiences of each viewer.
Objects; Infinite degrees of freedom.
They are plastic forms transmuted and informed by the individual viewer.
They are in a constant state of becoming, acts of freedom that embrace the sentiments and evolve with each encounter.
Poetic Object Image.

Studio Update : Object+ : 01.31.09

2009-01-31T15:46:00.005-05:00

I have returned to my studio in Cub Creek and after some downtime I am returning to my most recent project work. My work over the summer led to an intensified investigation of the object and I am now exploring several tangents related to my original inquiry. The above image is of a growing collection of sketches, thoughts, and small clay maquettes created since last night. This is part of my studio process that has evolved out of my recent object oriented work.

I will continue to post my thoughts related to this work as it develops under the Object+ label until this mass of ideas begin to diverge into individual paths that can be further articulated.

Commission: Windchill Factory: Update 01.24.09

2009-01-25T17:42:00.002-05:00

I delivered the glass domes for the Windchill Factory project today. These are a few images of the houses under the domes.

To keep up with the progress stay tuned and check the Windchill Factory label.

Commission: Windchill Factory: Update 01.23.09

2009-01-23T18:47:00.003-05:00

The Windchill Factory Commission moves forward after a short break. All is well and after the past two sessions in the hot shop the 20 domes are nearly complete. I will be cold working tomorrow to get them down to size and ready for delivery. The above image shows one of the 10 with one hole for the piping Matt is working on. The remaining domes all have 3 -5 holes and look great.

To see more you can visit Matt Lively and the Windchill Factory on facebook. I will also be updating this blog as I get images from him covering the progress on the work as well as the short film.

Update: 01.15.09

2009-01-15T14:17:00.003-05:00

New year, fresh energy. I have put the majority of my work on hold while the push to complete graduate school applications continues. All is well, transcripts and fees add up and my funds dwindle, this will be over soon. I will get back to work and ramp up the energy on a few new projects. I am excited to get back into the studio.

While preparing the portfolio for graduate programs I took a minute to get a new shot of Reverence. Time to get update the website, but this will do for a preview.

More to come...! But I gotta finish these applications.

Event : Urban Play : Droog Design

2008-12-02T14:15:00.019-05:00

The IJ-Riverfront in Amsterdam became the creative turf of international artists and designers exploring the intersection of art and the urban landscape. Urban Play is a project by Droog Design and was presented as a component of ExperimentaDesign Amsterdam 2008. The exhibition was created and curated by creative strategist Scott Burnham.

"The Urban Play exhibition provides a global overview of urban design interventions done outside of the formal channels of institutions, commissions and urban planning in cities around the world. Some refer to it as guerrilla design or “3D Graffiti”, but this surge of urban creativity – from billboards that are visually remixed, to streetscapes which are morphed into theatrical areas in the middle of the night – is where creative expression in the city becomes physical, literally transforming cities around the world."
(Scott Burnham, www.scottburnham.com)

Urban Play explores the interactive domain of art, design and environment at the pedestrian level. The exhibition encourages public interaction and marks a notable change in the presence of art and play in urban environment as well as a shift in the perception of public space and infrastructure. Artists and designers working in 3 dimensions are doing here what graffiti artists have been doing for decades; marking territory and injecting their creative will into the channels of the urban infrastructure. "Done without permission or commissions, the vast range of work on display represents the intersection of the latest genre of street art and the beginnings of open source urban design." (Scott Burnham, www.scottburnham.com)

The concept of open source urban design reflects that of contemporary programming and software development. An open source model is a development methodology that allows access to and the manipulation of a system of information and its inherent infrastructure. It is typically applied in the field of computer programming. The implications of applying this concept to urban design remain to be fully expressed through this exhibition. However, it hints at a public reclamation of control in the decision making and development processes for the urban landscape as well as its phenotypic expression.

Allowing open manipulation of interstitial space and the related public infrastructure found among the urban landscape surely opens the door for criticism as well as possibility. But one thing is certain, this concept presents a vast field for practice, research and discussion. I expect the coming generations will see artists, planners, architects, and all around citizens becoming more involved with their environment as the pendulum sways between homogeneity and the draw of diversity within the evolving urban ecology.

Artists as artists, as well as those playing the role of scientist, designer, and architect have explored the regions of commonly unknown patterns and chaotic behavior to share with the masses new and innovative modes of expression. These changes in the commonly applied and accepted motifs of urban design enrich the pedestrian experience. Urban Play is a project intended to explore the next phase of urban art, it exhibits the surge of unofficial 3d work in the infrastructure of our cities. We have the artists of the street to thank for the emergence of such expression as well as creative thinkers like Scott Burnham who see the potential in their application and work to broaden their acceptance.

-DB

Urban Play:

Exhibiting Artists:

Arno Piroud
CutUp Collective
Gilberto Esparza
Graffiti Research Lab
Jason Eppink
Ji Lee
Joshua Allen Harris
Leon Reid IV
Mark Jenkins
Office for Subversive Architecture
Posterchild
Rebar
Roadsworth
SpY
TheGreenEyl
Till Bay (Windowzoo)
Truthtag
You are Beautiful

For more:
Urban Play
Droog Design Amsterdam
ExperimentaDesign Amsterdam 2008
Scott Burnham

Comission : Matt Lively's Wind Chill Factory

2008-12-01T14:02:00.005-05:00

I just completed the prototype glass dome for Matt Lively's "Wind Chill Factory" project. I was asked a few weeks ago if I could create glass domes with several holes in them. The holes are orifices for pipes that will maintain the atmosphere of each property. With the prototype completed it is now time to move on to the remaining 20 pieces for the project. I will post more images as the work develops.

Update: 11.30.08

2008-11-30T16:11:00.006-05:00

Taking the holiday for what its worth I stepped far enough away from the computer to spend some much needed time giving thanks for family, friends and good meals. I hadn't quite realized how much I needed the downtime. My thoughts have consumed me over the past few months. However this is no bad thing, much good has come of it. I selected five graduate programs that compliment my work, applied for the VMFA fellowship, set up commission work for the next two months, and outlined a few projects that I have been considering for some time now.

Graduate School:
I take the idea of graduate school very seriously. This is a time, a short two years typically, during which one is supposed to focus and prepare for entry into the professional community. It should be a rewarding experience, one in which the student gains valuable experience and hones the skills they have invested in while preparing for a professional path. Approaches to graduate education vary from person to person, program to program, university to university. For artists, those seeking an MFA in studio practice, there is a strong emphasis on experimentation, conceptual development, and professional practice.

I have spent many years now watching the changes in my interests, noticing the recurrent patterns of my own intrigue. Since my youth I knew that I would in some way continue to be creative while working with materials and spaces. My studies crossed traditional boundaries, weaving a fabric of diverse lines of thought, all of which related to man and environment. Finding or creating the proper path has been a dynamic process. I realized my interests would be best served by approaching them through the lens of art; an open, dynamic, and creative profession. Over the past three years I have been experimenting with my work as an artist. I have been working through my own creative will to synthesize my convergent interests in environment, design, and art.

Choosing the right program, the academic compliment to my work, is important to me. I have made my decision to move forward with my education based on my commitment to this path. And I am applying to programs that value diversity and synthesis while carrying a progressive outlook towards the practice on art. My goal is to grow into a position where I can make my work, participate in projects that enhance the pedestrian experience, and teach at the university level.

Commission:
I was able to get back into the hot shop for a few hours to begin working on a commission for Matt Lively. I am creating glass domes for his Wind Chill Factory project. I just completed and delivered a prototype. He has kindly sent images of how this work is coming along. I will detail in a future post.

VMFA Fellowship:
I have applied to the VMFA Fellowship in hopes of gaining some funds to continue work on the Cognitive Landscape project. I hope to get a video camera and the required software to produce the video content of this work. I will put the funds to good use for the materials required to create the installation once the work gains steam.

Project List:
I am working on several projects that will contribute to my greater body of work related to the relationship between man and environment.

Projects of particular importance: (titles are informal)
- Cognitive Landscape Project
- P-Space
- Site-Response

Meeting Mark Zirpel

2008-11-19T14:24:00.007-05:00

I have been researching graduate programs in an effort to find the best fit for my work. University of Washington's developing 3D4M program has been tossed to the forefront of my mind on many occasions. The acceptance of diverse approaches to making paired with a strong public art background lend the advantage here. While researching the program I devoted a good amount of time to browsing the images on their site, then digging for information on the various faculty members. Akio Takamori, Doug Jeck, John Young, Jamie Walker; their work speaks volumes and the diversity of approaches to creating certainly provides support for my interest in this program. Then I catch the work of Mark Zirpel; intriguing, dynamic, kinetic, intense, and unforgettable. With my recent interests in work by Arthur Ganson, Theo Jansen, and Joe Gilbertson it's now wonder that i am captivated by Mark's work. What is most exciting is the fact that he retains an unbelievable connection to natural phenomenon, and invests this into his work.

Mark's work in recent years has involved the body, patterns in nature, and an edge of sound. It is more often than not kinetic, at times incorporating motion sensors that detect viewers movement initiating a series of responses in the work. He uses many different materials but there appears to be a strong relationship to rusticated metals, glass, conduit and rubber skins. These materials combined perform all sorts of engaging activities from smoking cigarettes and asking for change, to making sounds and measuring weather patterns.

I was informed last week that Mark would be in Richmond to give a lecture and visit the studios of several graduate students in the craft department. And so, of course, I packed my bags and headed back to RVA to try to catch a few moment of his time and undoubtedly his lecture and presentation.

I am far from being a graduate student, but somehow i still get away with a lot on the VCU campus. No need to digress, as the one and only Jack Wax would say, but I guess they still support my awkward methods. What is important is that i am one motivated non-student who works in apparently divergent ways. But its rather simple in my perspective. Im a non-linear thinker and all things being connected will eventually work themselves out. As chance and a touch of commitment would have it i am beginning to gather a great deal of clarity within the greater scope of my work. Thus I have decided that my next major efforts would be best cultivated in a graduate program and I am finally prepared to do the work necessary to make this happen.

I made the lecture yesterday and it was worth every minute. Reading articles, catching quotes, these things are all second hand. They may be interesting but are worth little when you can finally put a personality to the text. Mark keeps a good smile and is a thoughtful, buoyant individual. The work, the videos that expose the workings of his pieces in time, are well done and I found them to be fully worth sitting in the chilled air of the lecture room to experience.

As luck would have it I got moment today to speak with Mark. I have to thank Jack Wax for affording me the opportunity as well as Akiko Jackson for passing up hers. From this I was able to have a great discussion; my past work, chaos, order, scale shifts, perception, play, dreams. Overall it was a fluid discussion punctuated with a few mutual laughs and some great feedback. Mark has an unbelievable energy and his dedication to hard work is a motivation to anyone with like interests. I look forward to traveling to Seattle and visiting the University of Washington and I certainly hope to catch up with Mark again in the future, not to mention see his work in first person.

Universal Everything: Advanced Beauty: DVD

2008-11-17T13:54:00.003-05:00

Advanced Beauty 13 of 18 / Directed by Maxim Zhestkov from Universal Everything on Vimeo.

The work above is a 'sound sculpture'. One of 18 works on the Advanced Beauty DVD, a compilation of such sculptures curated by Matt Pyke. Each piece was created using Processing, an open source programming language and environment. Used in a variety of was, this language came out of the Aesthetics and Computation Group @ the MIT Media Lab. It is an alternative to proprietary software and is being developed openly by individuals from around the world.

For more info you can visit the following links.

- Clips and Interview @ PingMag
- Processing Site o Download Processing!

- Matt Pyke's Universal Everything

- MIT Media Lab

Portable Light Project: Light Emitting Textiles

2008-11-16T12:28:00.006-05:00

I recently came across an image that sparked my interest. Pictured above is a product developed by a company called Portable Light. Combining 21 century technologies to produce products that are innovative as well as beneficial, Portable Light has come up with some fascinating leaps forward.

The portable light project is a nonprofit project organized to deliver decentralized renewable power and light to the developing world. Their illuminating textiles have been used in the Mexican Sierra Madre since 1995 and they have developing projects implemented throughout South and Central America as well as South Africa.

"Each Portable Light unit is a simple, versatile textile with flexible photovoltaics and solid state lighting that can be adapted to local cultures and customized by people using traditional weaving and sewing technologies in an open source model." (portablelight.org)

To find out more please visit the following links.

Portable Light

KVA

i : Ariadnes Thread : i

2008-11-13T11:43:00.005-05:00

I finally got a moment to re-shoot Ariadne's Thread. I created this work in 2007 and it always returns to my thoughts. I have recently been working on methods for investing memory into objects. This work was one of the first steps towards this type of object.

Among the many tales found in Greek mythology, the story of Ariadne and Theseus has always been of great interest to me. In short, Ariadne, daughter of King of Minos, gave Theseus a ball of red thread to use as he navigated his way through the labyrinth of Crete to slay the minotaur. This thread provided for Theseus a physical path that he used to retrace his steps and find passage out of the Labyrinth.

The metaphors here are many, however, those that i have found most intriguing are pointed out in the fifth chapter of Edward O. Wilson's "Consilience; The Unity of Knowledge"(1998). This chapter describes analogies between the search for knowledge and passage through the labyrinth.

In the various fields associated with problem solving, particularly logic, Ariadne's thread provides a metaphor for the search for solutions. In this field there exist Ariadne's thread programs which use algorithms designed to seek out and determine all possible solutions to the given problem, thereby mapping the bifurcating branches of a decision making process and elucidating the infrastructure of the problem analyzed. Through the application of such programs the researcher can expose and map out various solutions and then choose the most effective.

My exploration of the intersections between identity, memory, objects and the cognitive landscape derive several interesting parallels between the mythology presented here and its analogous applications. What i have been doing is working towards exposing the connections between the object and memory. I use these connections to form a mental map of my identity as it is related to the cognitive landscape. These objects mark points among the landscape effectively functioning as landmarks and thereby are used for the navigation of identity and memory. Providing landmarks for memory these objects act in part as vessels for such memory.

What is seen in this work is the object, a third of a real stone which was completed from memory, first in wax and then in glass, leaving a hollow interior space. There is then a quantity of red thread invested into and extending out of this inner space.
This thread is then tied to a cast glass finger, alluding to the moment of remembering and the search into and out of such memory. The stage for this event is provided by a century old Chinese social bench, a place where the story is shared.

New York Times Prank

2008-11-12T16:19:00.000-05:00

New York Times Special Edition Video News Release - Nov. 12, 2008 from H Schweppes on Vimeo.

Joe Gilbertson: Triptych

2008-11-11T13:25:00.001-05:00

U-Ram Choe: Urbanus

2008-11-10T15:20:00.001-05:00

The Anti-Conceptual Object

2008-11-09T11:33:00.021-05:00

I awoke from a dream this morning in which I found myself pointed to text by a friend and teacher. I will not elaborate on the sequence that led up to this moment, nor will I discuss the importance of dream in my work. I will leave that for another post.

In this text I was referred to one sentence in particular. This statement came to me clearly, as something of interest. "To create, simply, an aesthetically pleasing object." Analysis of this statement, and its implied meaning by way of a formal approach, is not my specific challenge, so I will not begin by segregating its component words and addressing each; simple, aesthetic, pleasure, object. Nor will I rummage into the abundance of tangential inquiry associated with it. Suffice it is to say that it carries with it a character of simplicity as well as complexity, difficulty and yet ease. It is more important for me to address this in the scope of my recent inquiries and my past, current and perhaps future work.

To better explain the immediate associations that this phrase brought to mind, I will reinterpret it, assuming the meaning and title "anti-conceptual object", this is a divergence from from the original statement, however it has appeared to me as intriguing, and have decided to elaborate on my thoughts related to this statement. My reasoning here is based upon my immediate and subjective response to such a statement. The feeling that I encountered from this phrase was anti-intellectual, not to be assumed as negative, simply lacking, or devoid of any intellectual or conceptual content. I am thus led to question weather it is possible to create such an object?

Mans perception of reality appears rooted in the presence of physical phenomenon; the matter of our visible and intelligible world. There is no established capacity for man to perceive any object without some type of mental activity. Perception, at its most fundamental level, involves cognition and the interpretation of sensory stimuli that are transmitted to, received, and interpreted by the mind or some extension of the neurological system. The conscious experience of man is thus derived from the dynamic and interdependent actions of the mind-body-environment complex and therefore, any and all experience can be said to involve some form of mental activity. The emotional, instinctual, or intuitive responses to objects are thus, is some way, subjects of cognition and involve some aspect of the concept. This would appear to negate any possible existence of the anti-conceptual object.

If there is such thing as the anti-conceptual object, on an absolute scale, and with very strict definition, it must effectively not exist in relation to human perception. It must be completely removed from physical or conceptual existence and be elusive to perception, Perhaps the closest one can get to such object is through metaphor or the antithetical.

And so, how can one approach the anti-conceptual object. There is an interesting region of crossover between what i describe here and the development of the matter-antimatter paradigm. Modern physics has proven the existence of antimatter and scientists at CERN have successfully created antimatter particles in laboratory experiments. These particles cannot encounter their material counterparts or the resulting effect is annihilation. However, these particles do exist and were once considered science fiction, and today, they can be created under controlled conditions.

I find this interesting, and it is worth considering the implied meaning when applied metaphorically to the conceptual-anticonceptual paradigm. Perhaps, there is such a thing as the anti-conceptual object. Assuming a similar approach as that of the matter-antimatter paradigm, if one encountered its antithesis the pair would be annihilated, that is to say that in order to approach the anti-conceptual object, a prerequisite of such encounter would be a complete removal of conceptual content. This at minimum would increase the probability of such encounter.

The issue of the matter-antimatter paradigm is potentially very different than that of the conceptual-anticonceptual object. My purpose of exposing the reader to such information is simply to open the mind to possibility and explore options.

I have also found the term "anti-conceptual" within the domain of philosophy and theory. However, my intention here is not to connect this term to past theory, though connotation is unavoidable, and i am sure the associated information would raise in my mind other questions. What I am doing here is simple using the tools of language to explore my understanding of reality and more specifically, currently, the existence of objects. Thus i have come to the term; anti-conceptual object.

It is worth noting that I consider variations in the general approach to the making of an object as modes of making. I find value in each, and do not consider any one as having any more validity than any other. In this post, I am referencing two modes of making; that which ends in the conceptual object, and the focus of this post, that which could possibly end in the anti-conceptual object. Once again, I should note that this method of categorization is not intended to be a concrete taxonomy, it is simply a tool which I find useful, at certain stages of my inquiry, in elucidating new thought and information to be considered and contemplated.

When making, Much of my mental effort is exerted while considering the vast spectrum of possibility, and exploring the uncharted, diving for what is beyond, and from such inquiry, my work changes. I have recently begun to circumscribe some form of what I recognize as the intellectual or conceptual aesthetic. That is, the dimension of aesthetic experience that is rooted in the mental-emotional activity associated with the load of such work; the conceptual content that is invested or attached to that which is made.

The conceptual aesthetic can be more readily approached by considering concept art, the ‘beauty’ of the mathematical proof, and the enrichment of the aesthetic experience by way of information associated with works of art. I will elaborate on this at a later date, and have begun to expose my interest in this region of aesthetic theory and philosophy in previous posts; notes to conceptual aesthetics. For now I should return to my present inquiry, as it becomes a requirement for my inquiry of the conceptual object: the anti-conceptual object.

Setting aside, for the remainder of this post, the need for some absolute definition and the impossibility of creating a strict physical anti-conceptual object. I am moved to imagine the results of loosening my definition, for now, and begin considering the possibilities that may present themselves. What types of objects, through this loose lens, could be considered anti-conceptual? This is perhaps where i am able to return to the simple, aesthetically pleasing object. What things exist in this world, or perhaps can be created, that involve a critical reduction in the region of intellectuality and highly participatory conscious cognition. Through this lens I become aware of those simple objects that cause a subtle, emotional, or empathetic response in the viewer.

The approach to the making of an anti-conceptual object thus presents itself as having a much different methodology than that of the conceptual. Its challenge is perhaps not to become overtly involved in thought, not to conceptualize, and certainly not to intellectualize. It is an effort to reduce to an absolute minimum, if not eliminate as far a possible, all of the mind-stuff that can be invested into an object, all of the conceptual load. The task here is to react instinctively, intuitively and emotionally to the object during its development; to create an object that is, simply, aesthetically engaging, perhaps emotionally absorbing or sub/supra-intellectually engaging. I say this because I have postulated in passing the existence of, among the greater scope of the aesthetic experience, a place for the response, emotional or not, experienced by the mind; that which involves conceptual processing and the intellectual engagement of a man. However there is also an area of the aesthetic experience that involves perceiving something that does not require knowledge to be appreciated, that need not be exclusively interpreted by the intellect; it is appreciated by other faculties of the being and thereby captivates its viewer. Is this a characteristic of the anti-conceptual object in its loosely interpreted form? Perhaps? Though if the definition is tightened, becoming more conservative, i would think not. I am however, currently considering the possibilities, if the definition is liberal.

This then brings me to my work and the potential development of such simple, aesthetically pleasing objects: anti-conceptual objects. In the past much of my work has been conceptually invested. My objectives did not rely on the communication of this conceptual content; it was simply a part of my process and of the work. My objective was simply to be, and act as I find most natural to my own being at any given point in time. And due to a sometimes overwhelming involvement in mental activity, my work often involved a desire to synthesize the experience of conceptual content, the material, and the form of the work; an investment into the body of the work of some data-information-knowledge content. Though I should emphasize again that I do not consider the transmission of such content imperative to the aesthetic experience.

My work, when related to the viewer, on some level, is intended to provide a plastic, polymorphic, and multi-modal experience for the viewer, wherein if something more, in the way of conceptual content was desired, such experience could be accessed. That is to say, for he or she whose approach is focused upon the perception of formal qualities such as form, texture and composition, the physical qualities that comprise the work could initiate the aesthetic experience. However, I also work to consider the viewer whose aesthetic experience is enriched by something aside from the physical qualities of the work. The individual who desires the conceptual experience can then find in the work another dimension. My attempt has been to provide for possibility, to account for the subjective experience by considering, and attending to, the methods of perception with which I am familiar. In this way my work is rarely simple.

But the making of the loosely interpreted anti-conceptual object involves a very different approach. This mode of making, relies not on the conjuring of associated data-information-knowledge, but on its opposite, that which is unnameable and simply experienced, perhaps the region of the emotional and spiritual. In its most liberal form, the anti-conceptual object could perhaps exist as those relatively simple forms, possibly exhibiting some nature of being universally accessible to the aesthetic experience of mankind. This type of object would simply rely on the absolute minimization of any intellectual or conceptual content which could be readily engaged by the perceptive viewer. The approach of the viewer, and his or her cognitive process would then be of vast importance to the consideration of such an object/experience. This however, will have to wait for another post. For now, i will attempt to exemplify some of the most simple of objects that could be thought of as anti-conceptual. I present to the reader for inquiry, those objects that are raw, natural, simple and yet pleasing to the senses: stones, pieces of wood and metal, water, and fire. These raw, elemental materials have been known to initiate aesthetic responses in man that are linked to the aesthetic experience, and have thus been portrayed in art since the beginning of mans relationship with nature. If there exist, thorough the loose definition, any such anti-conceptual object, it is here where I am prompted to extend my investigation.

There are several other regions of inquiry to which i could turn this exploration and will consider doing so in future posts. In closing I should state that I have, in the course of writing this post, become more concerned with a conservative definition of the term anti-conceptual object. This is more likely to be my next region of inquiry. I will leave the reader to his or her own thoughts regarding the issue.

Dony Permedi: Kiwi

2008-11-07T13:04:00.001-05:00

i : order & chaos : i

2008-11-07T10:49:00.007-05:00

I am, a continuous state of becoming, that when viewed at any point in time is an affected state of being; a scene much like that exposed by the double slit experiment of quantum mechanics, in which an electron is confirmed as having dual wave/particle existence. The wave state successfully passes through all openings in a barrier presented, producing interference, yet when observed at a given point in time, manifests ‘physically’ as a particle.

The creative act emerges, out of the unfathomable depths of uncertainty, the feared chaos of the sea, perceived by the ordered consciousness of man whose feet are planted firmly upon the land. But that which is beneath his feet, providing for him the stable surface upon which to build his shelter, those mountains were once beneath the sea, they too move, just as the waves upon the surface of the ocean. Here lay the elusive thread in the visible net of order; all things, depending upon perception, relegate themselves to one state or another; static or dynamic, particle or wave, order or chaos. Change and uncertainty are the region from which new form and new order arise. And order, provides for man, that which is capable of being recognized. In life all things will be given time of such order and will again be claimed by the sea of chaos, just as the great mountains will one day travel back into the depths of the ocean. The power and vision of the artist lay in his ability to dance between the state of order and chaos, and manifest that which was once unrecognizable.

This is my way, and in the dance of making, I conjure moments of order only to smile as they are swallowed up again by chaos.

And so it is, that when caught at one moment my thoughts will be sturdy and cohesive, an ordered bounty of my action, brought out by a desire to know the language and forms able to be perceived by mankind and share in this experience. Though at another moment, that order will dissolve like crystals of salt into the sea of chaos, the place where I dive for stones found deep beneath its surface, my well and source, from which the rapture of life is invested in me, and I return with my bounty to share that which I have found and manifest it into form that can be perceived through the order of a conscious moment, shared among all things.

i am i

MoMa : Home Delivery

2008-11-06T16:23:00.005-05:00

What is the possibility for a home to be delivered; prefabricated and placed onto a site, ready to inhabit. Many of the ideas, presented in short among the frames of this youtube video, claim to be working for these very goals and certainly they are. But, we do already have some instances of this. Many of them actually.

What is the implication of superimposing a prefabricated home onto its landscape? What environmental considerations are overlooked when approaching the idea of habitation in this way? Can you keep is from looking like this when the storm comes?

Can we change the patten of the neighborhood? Can we keep it from looking like this?

In this day and age with rising energy concerns and projected populations reaching the tens of billions, one can be sure that addressing housing is of critical importance. The challenge here as it appears to me, and as it is framed in this short video, is to generate housing that is low cost, low energy, self-sustaining, durable, portable, perhaps even modular, and to top it off preserve the diverse nature of our individuality while integrating as a unit into the greater ecology. Can this be done with today's technology and imagination? Yes, but meeting all of these demands takes more than swank marketing and catch phrases. It takes a genuine interest in humanity, imagination and capital. Perhaps the architects and designers in the video have just that. Perhaps the future of housing as we know it, is truly changing. You buy it, they deliver it, you live in it, you love it!

And if your as creative as these guys maybe the new verision.21c will give you some room for experimentation.

kosukebando: kinetic architecture

2008-11-06T16:16:00.001-05:00

sony bravia; bunnies

2008-11-06T16:09:00.001-05:00

Christian Benefiel: Inflatables

2008-11-04T18:56:00.001-05:00

Theo Jansen: Kenetic Creatures

2008-11-03T19:14:00.004-05:00

The following excerpts have been sourced form Theo Jansen's website: www.strandbeest.com

Since 1990 I have been occupied creating new forms of life.

Not pollen or seeds but plastic yellow tubes are used as the basic material of this new nature. I make skeletons that are able to walk on the wind, so they don’t have to eat.

Over time, these skeletons have become increasingly better at surviving the elements such as storms and water and eventually I want to put these animals out in herds on the beaches, so they will live their own lives.

Self-propelling beach animals like Animaris Percipiere have a stomach . This consists of recycled plastic bottles containing air that can be pumped up to a high pressure by the wind. This is done using a variety of bicycle pump, needless to say of plastic tubing. Several of these little pumps are driven by wings up at the front of the animal that flap in the breeze. It takes a few hours, but then the bottles are full. They contain a supply of potential wind. Take off the cap and the wind will emerge from the bottle at high speed. The trick is to get that untamed wind under control and use it to move the animal. For this, muscles are required. Beach animals have pushing muscles which get longer when told to do so. These consist of a tube containing another that is able to move in and out. There is a rubber ring on the end of the inner tube so that this acts as a piston. When the air runs from the bottles through a small pipe in the tube it pushes the piston outwards and the muscle lengthens. The beach animal's muscle can best be likened to a bone that gets longer. Muscles can open taps to activate other muscles that open other taps, and so on. This creates control centres that can be compared to brains.

source: Theo Jansen's website: www.strandbeest.com