gallery trip 2

Sonic Shadows by Bill Fontana

SF MOMA

This piece was my first experience with a sound installation in as an art piece. I felt this piece was perfectly embodied the idea of experimental sound. The picture on the far right shows the piece with viewers on it. What the viewer experiences while he or she walks across the bridge on the 5^th floor of the MOMA is inanimate objects coming to life via sound. Essentially what is taking place is a live feed of a recreation of the the surrounding area through the medium of sound. Audio beams are shot around the hollowed room via ultra sonic speakers and are played through the speakers set up across the bridge. The sound is haunting, as though the walls are whispering to the viewers.

gallery trip 1

Knowledge Hacking

At UC Berkeley

This was quite the interesting topic to wrap my mind around. The idea of converting the kinetic energy that we produce every day, that normally is just given off as heat, into a harnessable charge was ingenious. The idea itself seems simple however the execution is obviously a tremendous amount of work. I loved how each art piece was strikingly deferent than the next all the while staying on point with the theme. I would say that my favorite piece from the show was the piece that was curtained off and viewers had to step inside. Once inside the viewer had to interact with the piece. The idea was that the viewer places there hands on a device that had various levers that each finger can push. Lights would then light up in accordance to the fingers moved. I really like the idea behind this piece, however I was sad that when I went the piece was not functioning correctly. Overall I would say that this show changed my perspective on art and opened my eyes a little more to what concept art is. Before this show, I was to used to the idea that art was static and untouchable. I found it fun and refreshing that this show called for the audience to be involved.

Geospacial art....with the band OkGo!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTke5h_ENlo&NR=1

Ok world!!!! The band Ok Go has announced a geospacial movement! Get up and dance with your city! Check out this video! This event should have already passed in LA but it doesn't have to stop! The world is our canvas and GPS tracks the strokes!!!

The Curiosity Monument; A Proposal of Impossiblity

The Curiosity Monument will commemorate the curiosity and innocence lost at young adulthood. This seven foot bunny on wheels will invoke the inner child in every one of us. Warming hearts and bringing the a sense of community where ever he will wonder, Curiosity Monument will get viewers involved with the piece as well as their fellow passerbies!

Curiosity Monument came about when Nova and I where having a discussion on the absurdity of a movable monument. The absurdity is what spurred the idea of the greatness of a large movable monument that could be tracked around the city. Paired with the notion that curiosity takes people to unexpected places, the traceable monument became the method by which I would call audiences to not only explore their inner childhood curiosity but also to act as a community. A rabbit would be the central character for this piece due to the curiosity and innocence that rabbits are normally associated with. The push-able, pull-able rabbit would make its way around the park, it's destination fully up to the passerbies whom will push or pull the monument for any length of time for any distance. It is by chance that a passerby will come upon the rabbit and it is this chance that will invoke curiosity. Once a passerby leaves the rabbit, he or she will wonder where the rabbit will be the next time he or she is in the park. The rabbit will be tracked with a GPS device that will be secured inside the base. This device will allow anyone to check the position of the rabbit online or via smart phone.

Here is a link to a GPS that may be used:
http://www.brickhousesecurity.com/livewire-lightninggps-trackingdevice.html


Here is a conceptual sketch:


As stated, this monument is meant to invoke and commemorate curiosity. The white rabbit, the symbol of curiosity, not only is reminiscent of Alice's white rabbit in "Alice in Wonderland" but also of the white rabbits used in children's magic shows. In both cases, the rabbit is meant to create a sense of awe. This is the main purpose of the piece. It's symbolism is meant to capture the audience and transport them to their childhood where the world was big and new.

This seven foot monument will live within Golden Gate Park. It is here that the rabbit will be in its "natural" space. It is here, in the place meant for children and leisure, that the rabbit can be fully appreciated. Children will be drawn to the piece due to its cartoon nature. Adults will be drawn to it due to the monument's size and maneuverability. It is this maneuverability that makes the rabbit's location unpredictable. One day he could be outside the Japanese Tea garden, the next he could be by the dutch windmill. This is possible due to the large piano dolly mounted to the bottom of the rabbits base. This allows movement in any direction. Audiences of children and adults can choose to move this monument by either pushing the rabbit at its behind or by pulling the rope tethered to the base. The greatest, most efficient, way to move the rabbit is to grab another audience member and have one person push while the other pulls, thus creating a sense of teamwork, community and goal accomplishment once the rabbit arrives at the destination desired. Since the rabbit may never be in the same spot twice, finding the monument may become a challenge. However, with the handy GPS device attached to the inside of the base, the rabbit's movement can be tracked via online or by smart phone!

Due to the materials used, the Curiosity Monument is not expensive in the way that most monuments are (although they are awful hard on a student's wallet!!!). The rabbit, in it's entirety, is built from three 8'x4' sheets of plywood, two 2"x4"x8's, two 2"x6"x8's and one large piano dolly. White and black flat matte paints are used to color the piece. Two handles are installed on either side of the base to help with transportation. A long, doubled one inch diameter rope (about 15 feet or so) is used was a pull for the piece. To finish, the rabbit is covered in a flat, water-based, polyurethane varnish and the base is covered in a high gloss, oil-based, polyurethane varnish. The varnishes are meant as a water proof seal. However the oil-based varnish adds an added texture to the base which helps create the look and feel of polished granite. Total costs (including GPS device and subscription) are about $556 plus an extra $40 a month for the GPS tracking. (My out of pocket cost set me back a trip or two to class, costing me about $156 but it was worth it for the feedback of people in the park!)

To build, draw out the rabbit on one of the sheets of plywood. Rabbit should be 4' high and 5' wide. Cut out piece with a jig saw. Next, measure and cut each 2"X6"X8" to 5.5' in length. These two peices will be the sides (length wise) of the base. Nail the newly made 2"x6"x 2.5' (the leftovers from the planks just cut) to the nail them to for the ouside of a rectangular box. Measure and cut the remaining sheets of plywood so that they can be nailed to the rectangular frame. Tadah!!! A box base. Cut the 2"x4"x8" to be 5 foot long. These will create a support for the rabbit to be slid into and then out of for assembling and dissembling purposes. Next paint the base box to look as though it has a granite texture. Paint the rabbit white with a thick, black, cartoony outline. After paint dries, cover the rabbit in the water-based varnish and the base in the high gloss oil-based varnish. Let dry. Attach handles to either side of the base for pulling action. Flip base top down so that the piano dolly can be attached to the underside of the piece. Once attached, flip the base right side up and slip rabbit into the support. Lastly, call up a good friend and beg him for use of his truck so you can get the base to the park!

So the question remains: Being that this piece was actually constructed in reality, how is it in anyway an improbable monument? I believe that this piece counts as an improbable monument on three accounts. 1.) The concept of curiosity and innocence is such a vague and vast concept that no one would commision this piece in the first place. 2.) The notion of movement makes the piece improbable. The weight, even though made from light weight wood, was to great for just one person to move the piece. The piece was also hard to control. If the piece was on a slope, it had a tendency to slid sideways down the slope instead of staying on a straight course. These problems would make the movement aspect of the piece undesirable. No curiosity would spur. No community building would take place. No teamwork would happen. The aspect that makes the piece unique is also the piece's downfall. And 3.) being that the piece is made of wood, the piece is easy to dissemble and destroy thus making it a target for vandalism or material for a homeless persons shelter. The piece would be so easy to steal that no one would be able to leave the piece out of their sight. It would be a costly investment that would be easily destroyed.

To conclude, here are some pictures of the of The Curiosity Monument (aka Cody the Carrot Crusher) in action!

The Process: From Wood to Rabbit

Here are some shots of the work-in-progress

A Work in Progress: A Week in he Life of a Bunny Herder

For the final project I wanted to stay true to my style of art. I believe that innocence and curiosity are a big part of childhood and that these characteristics are lost at the age of young adulthood when reality kicks in. I try to create my art so that adults can, once again, experience the world around then with a child-like wonder. Thus my art is saturated with adorable cartoon critters that explore as a two year old child- with all the goodness and pureness of a heart and head untainted by the coldness of reality.
I played around with big concepts. How does someone capture curiosity? How does one pursued adults to act as children? How can you get this experience from a static object such as a monument? I knew that I wanted to make a monument to childhood curiosity and I wanted the project to ask the viewers to interact with it. But how? In class, Nova and I were talking about our ideas for the project. One of us made the comment that a moving monument would be an awesome idea but it would be so problematic in the real world with it getting lost or stolen. And that's when I was hit with the inspiration for a moving monument to curiosity! How better to capture curiosity's ability to bring people to new and unexpected places then to have a monument that did just that? Explore new places. In theory, a GPS would be attached to the piece and the piece could be tracked on some sort of stationary setup or online.
From this idea I worked out various designs and ideas. I knew that I wanted to physically make a statue because I wanted to be able to work with my hands as well as actually drop the monument into public for instant audience reaction. I thought about which cartoon character that I use that would be the most inviting for the general public. I decided upon the bunny character I draw. This character is innocent, adorable and all around heart warming. After picking the character, I had to decided on the size. I knew that I wanted the rabbit to be big. Bigger than a child for sure but also big enough for an adult to feel as though she or her were a child again surround by a world bigger than her or his own self. I knew that weight would also be a factor so I had to compromise the size to a foot or two smaller than I would have liked. Next mobility. How do I get this rabbit to move? With wheels, but how? Do i make them? Can I find them already made? Do I have to make my own axles? I drew out a couple of designs for the wheel, trying to figure in balance and weight of the rabbit. While designing the mobility aspect of the monument, I also realized that I would have a problem transporting the monument to whatever location I chose. I drew out some designs that included hinges and various slits and slots so that the monument could be assembled and dissembled on site. I was hopping to make it compact enough to fit in my 2 door Hyndai Accent but that was to great a task so I settled with a design that would be able to be transported via my friend,s truck. Lastly, I thought about the location. Where would a giant bunny make the most sense? or at least be the most interesting? At first I pictured him in union square with a mass of people around him. However, I realized that moving the rabbit from the parking structure up onto street level would be to great a task. I then thought about Golden Gate park. I decided that I liked the idea of setting the giant wooden rabbit free in its "natural" habitat.
With my designs in hand I showed my dad the project. Being a carpenter himself he was able to help me finalize the design and set up a list of materials needed. The next day I went out to the store and with the help of my friend, bought and transport plywood, 2x4s and cans of paint to my house. From their I drew out and measured the materials. My dad volunteered to do the cutting of the wood (power saws are not my friends) and help create the box base. I painted the whole set and varnished the piece to make it water resistant (since its been raining off and one for the past couple of days).
After working a couple days, my friend and I loaded up the rabbit pieces and drove from Antioch to Golden Gate park. We found a good place to park and assemble the rabbit. Standing about 7 ft tall, Curiosity monument (aka Cody the Carrot Crusher) made his debut in the park. He was a hit with children and adults alike!

Here are some of the design sketches as well as the final!