Metal Sculpture Idea

So I have finally settled on my final idea for this semester.

I will create a water powered metal sculpture powered by rain, which will be left outside to rust and return to nature over the course of its life.

I envision a the top looking not unlike a mushroom cap, except on the lower edge a small trough will run around the diameter to channel the water to a single point. That single point will fill cups that sit below it on a sort of ferris wheel looking device. Which will in turn pull a hammer up and release it with enough force to sound the pipe bell's note. Build it correctly with measurements, it can tell you how much it has rained.

However in order to avoid the failing of last kinetic sculpture. I envision this entire piece being not bigger than a half sheet of notebook paper high and wide.

Revenge of the Kinetic Sculpture

So after days and days and days of thinking. I have decided to kinetic sculpture that is powered by a water reserve that stores the potential energy. This would solve my motion problem that I never overcame in my previous attempt. Gravity would provide a reliable and constant power source.

This does mean however that I need to redo my entire design contract. I want to something in the idea of the floating world from Japanese art. Mostly negative space with single simple elements floating in the composition.

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/images/8426s.jpg
http://www.secutor.se/ukiyo-e/umaxi007.jpg
http://www.secutor.se/ukiyo-e/umaxi024.jpg

But I want to use mostly wood and Bamboo to make in the style of Buddhist bamboo fountains.
http://www.jlifeinternational.com/Garden/z12-inch-rocking-fountain.jpg

I would that nice natural tones produced by the rhythmic action

Oh man do I have a lot of research to do

New *ahem* New Idea

So I am considering making a new contract for this term. My first idea involved Balloons suspending knives. To embody the duality of childhood memories, being sweet and innocent but also painful and delicate.
However due the abysmal failure are creating a kinetic sculpture in our Translations campaign. Has inspired me to actually create a working one. Although I do really want to work with metal and the forge more.
So with my newly discovered importance of curves in kinetic sculpture, I am hoping to create a kinectic sculpture from wood and steel.

So this go round.

Small scale to play with humans being large
Self powered or able to conserve energy enough to move of it's own volition
Have a rhythmic and memorizing appearance 

Materials, Wood, Glue and Steel

also this is cool

http://www.lionfishdesign.com/objects3.html

Next Ideas

Hmmmmm...
So currently I am utterly perplexed by what to do for this Spring 2011 term. My kinetic sculpture for the installation is not going as well as I had hoped. Which in an odd way makes me want to attempt another. I would really like to do some work with inflatables and color. http://jansonrobert.blogspot.com/ . Although on the purely practical level, I want to forge a custom blade out of steel. Since art that works is twice as awesome.

Oh also, I got a drawing tablet! so I am attempting on my drawing sketches on it.

First attempt at Space scene creation using layers: The Space part turned out surprisingly well, The Planet I just got cocky.

Seeing how badly this was going made me jump over to the kinetic sculpture ideas

 Which made me jump the color, space and air idea

But then I could't get past a basic concept, so I drew a reoccurring Image From my dreams. A high cliff jutting the night sky as a precipice. And the feeling how easy it would be to fall

Thinking of the sky reminded my of satellites, which lead to the island chain from above

 Which vaguely has iguana outlined in its highlights and shadows

So stream of consciousness hasn't yield the results I wanted yet. Although, I feel either the fluid dynamics with light, or cutlery seem the most compelling.

update:

This one? not as terrible

Installation Origins Final Part 3

In the third installment covering my final installation I will attempt to gather all my sketchs into a cohesive flow that will show how my vague idea developed into a concrete object over time.

I suppose the most important thing to say is that I had to go through dozens of designs and mock ups before I found one that worked and often incorporated parts of "failed" ideas into late iterations.

First Idea Kinetic Stick figures. Fun Idea, but didn't really excite me. (Also using AutoCAD to be all digital, didn't last long) Week 2

Second Idea Kinetic Sine wave. Idea was to recreate a drop of water hitting liquid surface. (Notice the lack of any drive system. Ha ha ha oh dreams) Week 3

Rotating Stick Figure Theatre (I blame too much tom otterness for this obsession) Week 4

Early concepts for Sine wave too digital wave translation. In this case using a screw beneath to drive bars up and down. Week 5

Later Revisons Week 6

First Materials

 Final Design Revisons

Final Design revisions and Drawings

 ... Sucess? We Shall See

Installation Origins Final Part 2

Hello! and Welcome to the second part of my Final Installation Post.
In this one I will discuss my process and the goal of my piece.

   Originally I wanted create a piece on digitization. I realize that it has become so ubiquitous in modernity that it occurs all around us without notice. I mean how many stores do you walk into to be greeted by a screen showing your image from the security cameras. They reproduce a copy of your image, but not perfect duplicate. Luckily for us, imagine a world where digital copies were indistinguishable from their originals? Something is inherently lost when converting from analog to digital.
  Now I personally am acutely aware of this loss having done far too many hours editing and mastering audio for short films and live theatre. The difference between an LP and its MP3 doppelganger  is stagering. Harmonies, subtleties, sometimes entire instruments disappear from the piece. I hate to be an alarmist, but it really is as if it is missing its soul. But in reality it means, Symphonies will always sound better than recordings of them.
  However it planted a seed thought in my mind, I wonder how many people interacting with digital devices everyday consider the inherent lack of humanity in communications through bi-nary code.

Thus in a effort to highlight the inherent flaws when translating analog to digital, I wanted to visualize in a kinetic sculpture an analog input being output as a stepped digital wave.

Beyond that it seemed a bit cold and mechanical, when I wanted my piece to inviting and engaging. So I added a bit of whimsy. I couldn't resist a pun on waves, so I added an aquatic creature to the waves being created.
  

Installation Origins Final Part 1

Oh Hi Blog, Didn't See You There.

So it has been a a busy few weeks, but Art for Art's sake is Art for Grade's sake in this case.
So this blog posting will cover the 3 primary sources for my installation piece.

My three biggest inspirations for this installation are Rueben Margolin, Tom Otterness, and Theo Jansen.
Overall I wanted my piece to be fun, informative, visually interesting and move independently. Easy right?

    Drawing upon broader themes, I like that Theo Jansen's whimsical quality. His works have a life and move on their own.

Super Crazy Theo Jansen Website

 Interesting Video Showing Strandbeest Movement
 Ted Talk from Theo Jansen

He generally uses something called "electricity tubes" in Holland. Light weight tubes and recycled plastic bottles. Wind energy is stored in bands and bottles, which allow it to move.

    I like the duality of Tom Otterness' childlike sculptures dealing with serious topics.

Tom Otterness Super Awesome Website


Life Underground
Metropolitan Transit Authority and Arts for Transit
14th Street and 8th Avenue, New York, NY

The Marriage of real Estate and Money, 1996

    I like the energy and mesmerizing quality of Rueben Margolin's kinetic work.

His primary working principle is that it needs to be light.

Super Awesome Reuben Margolin Website

Yellow Wiggle
2008 - 6' x 18 'x 10' - wood, aluminum, string, electric motors.

Super awesome make interview

and lastly
Awesome Random Kinetic Sculpture Video