The Art Outside event at Enchanted Forest is drawing closer, it begins March 6 and runs through the 16, which means I now have about 2 weeks to decorate the plot of land chosen. There’s been discussions of having a projection screen w/ oscilliscopes, Eric is scheming on things to sell, and there might be some other work as well…. The deadlines are approaching!
For the Art Outside event, I decided to create and distribute 10 TV-B-Gone remotes hidden inside everyday objects. The inspiration for the project stems from my personal beliefs and opinions relating to the constant exposure we receive to media and advertising, and is a good way to help spread the word. You wouldn’t believe the amount of satisfaction I get when I turn off a TV at the store, especially when it is an entire wall of TV’s at the electronics store. The original TV-B-Gone was created by Mitch Altman @ Cornfield Electronics, and the original schematic and parts list was provided by Ladyada, but the final version has a few changes to it, with substitution of a few parts and revision of the PCB layout.
Eric found this site describing how to use overhead transparency film as an etch resistant transfer, and we also took their advice to use a 1:2 mix of muriatic acid and hydrogen peroxide (3% solution) for the etching bath. The etching process only took about 5-10 minutes (depending on the temperature of the solution) and the results were quite satisfactory. I decided cigarette boxes and broken cellphones would be the most cost-efficient housing, and its low profile allows you to turn off all the TV’s you’d like without looking too suspicious. I’ll add photos of all the completed units once done. Contact me if interested in purchasing one of the devices.
Last month, I was presented with the opportunity to create the artwork for the electric gong exhibit created by De La Máquina. The tapestries illustrate the relationship between vibration and music. The sound of a gong (or cymbal) is made up of many individual frequencies ringing at the same time. Each of these frequencies comes from a specific vibrational shape. The circular diagrams on the tapestries are actual vibrational shapes of a cymbal, and the musical staff below shows the corresponding pitch. This information is from the book Science of Percussion Instruments by T. D. Rossing, who developed a special technique called television holography in order to see these shapes. If your naked eyes had this power, you would see a different shape for each note that the e-gongs play. The gongs can be played using the touch screen. The exhibit launched January 19th, and is currently on display at the Austin Children’s museum until Sept. 14, 2008. The primary artist of the exhibit is Eric Archer.
