October ← 2012 ← JK

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (3/3)

Oct

23

2012

This is the last episode in a series of documentaries by Adam Curtis. It focus on the idea of humans being machines. Adam Curtis – All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace 3/3 – The Monkey in the Machine and the Machine in the Monkey – Subs from avefenix1954 on Vimeo. Notes: Humans are ...

Mind Map

Oct

22

2012

This mind map shows the concepts that I’ve been researching and thinking about so far. Many of these facets are related in interesting ways… I’m trying to curate them into a thesis project that best describes my perspective on the human relationship with things/technology.

Midterm Review

Oct

22

2012

Notes from my review and thoughts from our guest critics: “Dumb objects” are objects in and of themselves Connected vs. plugged in Started of my presentation was about the poetry of objects but ended up in a place about gadgetry Answering machines idea is not as emotional as the alarm clock I ended up in ...

Neomaterialism talk with Noam Yuran

Oct

18

2012

This week I attended a lecture given by Noam Yuran, a research fellow at Tel Aviv University and professor of political economy at Ben-Gurion University. The talk was moderated by Joshua Simon, who is a curator, filmmakers, and writer. Event description from the invitation: “Over the last four decades we have witnessed processes of ...

Howard Odum’s Ecological Modeling

Oct

18

2012

Adam Curtis’ documentary series “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace” mentioned the work of Howard Odum. Odum was an ecologist who is known for making analogies between ecosystems and electrical, mechanical, acoustical, magnetic and electronic systems. I’m interested in the analogy Odum made between ecosystems and Ohm’s law. Odum set up analogies between ...

Carnivorous Domestic Entertainment Robots

Oct

17

2012

These five objects are common domestic furniture or machines. They are designed to be powered by microbial fuel cells. They trap insects or small rodents that are found in the house and convert them into energy that can be used to run the device. Mouse Trap Coffee Table (fueled by mice that go after crumbs) ...

Answering Machine Hack

Oct

17

2012

I’m brainstorming ways to alter a digital answering machine so that it can either be used to engage with more modern technologies, or perform some new function that is valuable/interesting/relevant. Ideas so far: Integrate Siri Make it reply to my voicemail for me Make it alert me when I have a voicemail on my cell ...

Troika– “Electroprobe”

Oct

17

2012

Interesting project by Troika that allows visitors to listen to the electromagnetic noises that come from common household electronics. Items are organized into groups based on their electromagnetic audio output. Viewers use a magnetic microphone/headphone set to listen to the “music.” More details on the Troika website ›

Flow

Oct

17

2012

This is a project that embodies a lot of the things I’ve been researching: mechanical energy, low-tech materials, environmental sensing, and online data aggregation. Here’s a description from the website: “~Flow, by Owl Project and Ed Carter, was a tidemill – a floating building on the River Tyne that generated its own power using a ...

Cassette Tape Adapter Hack

Oct

17

2012

A cassette tape adapter is a way to retrofit new(er) technology such as CDs and MP3s to work with old technology (a tape deck). Simply plug the headphone jack of the adapter into any device that accepts it and one can play music through the tape deck stereo. I’ve been thinking about the way that ...

Subway Grate Bike Pump

Oct

17

2012

This project idea is inspired by Jean Tiguely’s Homage to New York. I will integrate an element of New York City’s environment into a machine that informs or adds value in a way that cannot be done by digital means. I have chosen the subway grate as my New York City element–there’s something mysterious ...

Old/New Tech “Combines”

Oct

17

2012

I’m brainstorming ways to allow people to use new technology with old technology: Bold = old, obsolete thing Italic = new technology/method (parentheses) = combine idea wallets – credit cards, google wallet (google wallet wallet) glasses/contacts – lasik surgery pagers – cell phones (pager that dials phone numbers) carrier pigeons – email printing press – ...

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (2/3)

Oct

16

2012

I’ve been watching these Adam Curtis documentaries for inspiration. They’ve been really thought provoking and given me an interesting perspective on the relationship between humans an machines throughout history. I didn’t take notes during the first episode, but I started jotting things down during the second one. See below: Adam Curtis – All Watched Over ...

Smell-o-Meter

Oct

15

2012

How stinky is too stinky? There’s a machine to measure that, apparently. It’s called the Nasal Ranger.

Mouth as Pinhole Camera

Oct

15

2012

Really awesome work by Ann Hamilton Images via article on PetaPixel