First-Quarter Projections 2011
__"First-Quarter Projections" is an audio installation sculpture that prophesies and advertises new products. An internal microcomputer and speaker system assemble words and phrases in order to create these fictitious goods. This mysterious coupon-bearing bush appears miraculously in the night, glowing in many colors and offering dubious divinations.
The syntax of the prophesy is determined by a randomly chosen product class: food product, techno-widget, multitasking widget, or political figure. Drawing from a library of over 300 audio samples and 4 class sequences endless permutations are possible. Materials: foam, wire, natural and synthetic fibers, the uncreated energies of Consumerism, speakers, LEDs, fez panda II microcontroller, sdhc-micro memory card Original program in C# .netmicro framework |
Example Advertisement created by the sculpture:
(Techno-Widget): (greeting). (grandiose proclamation)! (imperative) (adjective) (name a) (name b) (name c) (feature), (noun) (verb) (format)! (kick) “Attention consumer. A new age has dawned! Step into the twenty first century with the revolutionary Omega-Max 3000 fast-acting, beard and mustache maximizing ray! Use as directed.” Audio sample:
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We are the space coconuts. 2011The space coconuts are interactive audio sculptures. When participants approach and engage the coconuts they respond with increasingly agitated patterns of light and sound. The installation is intended to provoke curiosity and reward it with an unexpected introduction to practical electronics. All circuits are provided open source, available onsite and online.
Materials: recycled paper, Jute fiber, plaster, rope, paint, reflective microspheres, LEDs, reclaimed electrical components, hex inverter ICs, speakers, phone charger, floppy disks. No coconuts were harmed in the making of this installation. |
The coconut circuit is a good introductory project for artists and hobbyists interested in analog electronics. The project is inexpensive, tolerant of part substitutions and demonstrates a variety of useful design solutions. At $2 or less students learn to build proximity sensors, audio synthesizers, multi-step event sequencers and more. |