Annabella Rail Bridge

View from railway tracks facing west towards Watkins building + Disraeli bridge.

Railway track on bridge.

Potential opening for housing drawing device; open above to railway + below to pedestrian walkway and street, multilayers of movement.

Opening + connection point of bridge.

Underpass @ Annabella Ave.

Point Douglas - Underpass @ Annabella - Areas surrounding the Watkins building + underpass.

Watkins Building + Underpass

The site I am focusing on is the area surrounding the Watkins building + the railway + underpass. The intent is to use the air movements, vibrations, sounds, + forces of passing trains to activate drawing bots. There appears to be numerous suitable locations for placing devices + housings. At this point, I need to develop what these drawing bots are going to be, how they are going to operate + be housed by the site, what aspects of the site will influence the process of drawing, can on-site materials by used as drawing media (rust, gravel, stone, ice, water, etc.) I am also exploring means to cast graphite parts + components for the devices; with the idea that the bot will eventually wear itself away. A major concern about achieving this is access to a 1800 F (1000 C) oven for firing the graphite, clay, and water composition.

Solar Engine Components

2V - 200 mA Solar Cell

Capacitor

3904 Transistor + 3906 Transistor + 1381 Voltage Trigger

2.2k Resistor

Solar Cells + Solar Engines

Solar engines collect + store electric charge temporary until a capacitor is filled (ranges in time based on capacitor size); once full, the capacitor dumps the charge powering the device for a given amount of time. This process repeats itself with varying time frames, for charging + discharging, in relation to sunlight levels.

Freeform schematic

Circuit Schematic

Template for PCB board

Info + Images: 1381 Solar Engine

Point Douglas

A variety of potential housing sites for drawing devices...

Railway bridge crossing Annabelle
Connection opening for potential sensors + device
Railway bridge crossing Higgins
Opening to above + drainage pipe
Disraeli Bridge North: opening + ice
Potential post for mounting device + sensors
Remaining hydro poles: potentially mounting location
Potential post for mounting device + sensor
King Motel on Higgins: possible roof location
Transformer structure: potential electrical fields to control devices

Drawing Machines One + Two

Drawing Machine One w/switching + sound device

Drawing Machine Two w/additional motor

Drawing produced by both mahcines

Soundbot

This device is made from a sound-producing keychain + two pieces of piano wire. The piano wire is soldered to the circuit so that when the two pieces connect noise is produced. The intent is to move contacts like these across a graphite drawing, so the graphite completes the circuit.

The topside of the device; the piano wire contacts are kept close to the drawing surface as its is moved.The underside of the device; the speaker.

Here is a video of how it functions + sounds:

Drawing device

Automated drawing device

This device uses a small DC motor to rotate a disc at its center point. A piece of graphite is attached to the plastic so that it is able to make contact with the surface of the paper. When the motor is activated, the graphite and disc spin producing lines on the drawing surface.

The deviceThe drawing surfaceMultiple drawing devices suspended from above onto the vertical drawing surface (or placed on a horizontal surface). The devices are able to move around the surface creating + distrupting circuits.

Drawing + Projection

Here are some projected images of a portion of the painting 'The Confusion of Tongues' - Gustav Dore, 1865.

From the projector...
...to the drafting board.

Fan Activated Switch + The Optical Theremin

Fan Activated Switch

This device uses a fan to turn a propeller which make a wire bounce upward. The bouncing wire makes contact with another wire closing a simple LED circuit momentarily. The LED flickers on/off rapidly; this light is sensed by the phototransistor of the optical theremin creating a pulsing/laser-like sound. The fan will use a magnetic contact as a switch; where the magnet is used to adhere the contact to the drawing surface.

Close-up of switch. (one wire bounces just enough to allow electrons to transfer to the other, at times no physical contact is required to close the circuit)
Here is a video of the preliminary version of the fan in action:

Drawing sound

Drawing sound

The drawing surface + mounting surface is suspending from above leaving approx. 8-12" space between the board + the wall. This space will be used to arrange the sound + movement components. The mounting surface may be metal to allow magnetic contacts to be held in place to control devices/components that produce repetitive beats/sounds, such as a cooling fan, etc. Moving the magnetic contacts from contact point to contact point could activate other similar components The drawing surface will be made of heavy graphite lines acting as resistors for LEDs and other sound operated devices; these devices will be operated by another set of contacts.

I've looked at the lengths of the graphite lines, it seems that the LED will still light slightly even when the line is 22" long. The lines have to be redrawn to build up graphite; the line can still remain quite thin. I plan on using the story of the Tower of Babel to influence the drawing surface (see the images in the previous posts, Tuesday, Novemeber 14th). This weekend I have booked an overhead projector to help transfer specific aspects of the Tower of Babel paintings to the drawing surface.

LED + Photoresistor

The LED triggers the photoresistor. This is what was used in the device from the previous post. What is needed: 1 LED, 1 Photoresistor, and electrical tape.
One LED + One Photoresistor
Add tape
FInished

Graphite Controlled LEDs + The Optical Theremins

The resistance created by the graphite is shared among two LEDs. The greater the resistance the dimmer the light becomes; by placing the contact point closer to one LED makes it brighter and the other dimmer. The light emitted from the LEDs is used to activate the phototransistors of two optical theremins; each produces a tone/sound relative to the quantity of light. These tones begin to vary as the contact is move from place to place. One optical theremin may produced a low pitched tone, while the other produces a high pitched tone. Graphite controlled light is used to produce sound.

Here is a video of the effect:

Confusion of tongues: sample

The intent is to use these images to inform the 'playable' drawing; they will aid in defining areas of interest + significance.
Original image crop
Overexposed to show line
Underexopsed to show mass + void

Babel: Confusion of tongues

The Tower of Babel

Bruehel's Tower of Babel, 1563

"And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. 4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. 5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children builded. 6 And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel (confusion); because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth." - Genesis 11:1-9

A being causes a system to fail by adding complexity + fragmentation; the tower is not completed because its production system (the people) is divided by language + location. Order + understanding change to chaos + complexity.

The confusion of tonuges (confusio linguarum) happened after the collaspe of the Tower of Babel; according to the bible it is thought as the first fragmentation of human languages.'The Confusion of Tongue' Gustave Dore, 1865.

Other accounts suggest that God was responsible for the fall of the tower by using great winds. (Book of Jubilees, Corneluis Alexander (frag. 10), Abydenus (frag. 5-6), Josephus (Antiquities 1.4.3), and the Sibylline Oracles (iii, 117-129)). “When all men were of one language, some of them built a tower, as if they would thereby ascend up to heaven, but the gods sent storms of wind and overthrew the tower, and gave every one his peculiar language; and for this reason it was that the city was called Babylon” - Josephus, (Antiquities 1.4.3)

On/Off + LEDs + Graphite Resistance

Here is a test using graphite as a simple switch + dimmer for a LED. Made with - one LED, one 9-volt, three pieces of wire, base, and graphite.



Video:

Love Arm Series

The Love Arm Series - Ujino + The Rotators

"The idea of making my own tools for artistic expression arose from my desire to give more direct form to the proposition that art is the embodiment of philosophies concerning human behavior. Since the Love Arms are not metaphorical but actual tools with a concrete physical form, they must have volume and weight, decoration, and functions. (As they are musical instruments, they must emit sounds and be attachable to the body, so that a physical and emotional 'performance' can be given.)

To give further emphasis and force to this theme, I came to the conclusion that all the Love Arms should be made to light up using electricity and emit a powerful, electrically amplified sound. This concept evolved through my study of the history of pop music and the electric guitar, one of the great American cultural inventions of the 20th century. From the visual perspective, I regard 'images of America encountered in Japan' is an important theme in the Love Arm series." - the-rotators.com

Love Arm 3
"In the same way as Love Arm 2, install 'Disco Ball Arm' with a special strap. The special feature of it is a pear shaped mirror ball with a diameter of 180 mm. A Makita 9.6 V drill painted with wood grain texture and an Ibanez electric guitar pickup is mounted on a 16 mm silver metal plated steel pipe and out puts 'Real machine sound'. The non-stage transmission model drill, together with movement of the disco ball synchronized to the player's direct emotion, enables free expression. Furthermore, by grabbing onto the rotating part and adding load, it squeaks in high tone creating a melody as if someone is sobbing. It is also possible (manually) to flash lights to go with the music. Connecting Makita drill machine, an item essential to rock music as a symbol of speed and power, with a disco ball symbolic to dance music, it is all brought together in a Mods' decorative scooter technique way." - the-rotators.com

Love Arm 4
"The first Love Arm that can be held in one hand. It weighs approx. 3.5 Kg, equivalent to the normal electric guitar. Rawlings Big Stick baseball bat is used for its basic structure. At the tip is a battery operated flashing light, at the head part a spring unit and battery compartment box, and at the grip end one jack is installed for sound out put. To play Love Arm 4 you can boost up the out-put and just swing, lightly hit the stage or the ceiling, or just throws it when you get on the groove. The vibration of the spring will transform into a sound like crushing rocks or an explosion. It is structured to enjoy feedback sounds different from regular electric guitar sounds by turning up the volume of the amplifier." - the-rotators.com

Artwork - The Rotators - Artwork
Website - Ujino + The Rotators