kindred spirits

as an artist, i find, you're looking to articulate a clear voice that resonates with other people, that hopefully can provide a catalyst for thought, stir ideas and generate interest in the world at large. part of that desire to have a clear voice goes to striking out a unique territory. to offer the world novel outlooks, unchartered explorations and fresh ideas.

sometimes, in that quest, you stumble upon other voices that share a similar pitch. that sing in the same register. with this comes both an excitement of shared expression, of finding other people engaged in the same explorations, coupled with a slight worry that you don't want to tread on someone else's turf. of course, this could be just me. but in my effort to attempt to add something original to the ever growing historical output of artworks i'm pretty keen to also ensure those in my field of interest don't have me stumbling into their own particular efforts and producing work that's already been done. i'm sure some of this concern comes about as a consequence of doing postgraduate research, where intellectual territories are well guarded. one must always site where an idea comes from, and one must always credit those that arrived into new territories first.

anyway, the reason i mention all this is that recently i stumbled on a work that i felt immediately connected to.  on this particular occasion, it is the discovery of an artwork that is similar to what i am about to commence work on. occasionally this happens and, again, it both excites you and makes you a bit hesitant. if only temporarily, until you realise the differences that exist.

here is a wonderful sculpture by mexican artist gilberto esparza, called nomadic plants:

gilberto esparza, nomadic plants

basically, it's a plant robot. the robot seeks out contaminated water in urban environments to feed the organisms living in it. amazing! 

my next sculpture is going to be a plant robot too. not as complicated and technically advanced as this, however, but a plant robot nonetheless. working with this idea of hybridising nature and technology, and confusing the power relationship in that coupling - is the 'natural' components driving the technology or is the technology driving the 'natural' components? or are they, perhaps, symbiotic? raising those ideas in the viewers mind is the driving motivation of my recent sculptures.

seeing this work by esparza inspires me to push myself harder to make work half-way as wonderful as this one, and it also keeps me on my toes to ensure my work is my own voice.

i'll continue to post documentation of the studio progress of this next sculpture and we'll see how it shapes up.

threads that run through

i have just updated my website - www.kentwilson.net - in light of this important show at dianne tanzer gallery. i'm particularly conscious of maintaining a professional archive of my work. as part of this process i dug out a few older works that i hadn't seen for a while and was struck by how consistent the theme of my work has been. the refining of my research project for my postgrad brought to light the common thread in my work of humans engaging with 'culturalised' nature, such as pot plants, gardens, street trees. a work from 2008, during my honours year, which also had an airing in barcelona this year, struck me as a clear illustration of that theme and reiterated this growing awareness in my work, that with time a clear conceptual thread becomes more apparent.

 

the animation is set on the campus at university. the trees represented are the largest eucalypts that grow there in amongst the buildings. the work aims to expose the power of those trees, highlighting their presence which is often overshadowed or hidden amongst the 'geology' of the built environment. the character in the work is my wife lucy james, who allowed me to film her making the necessary poses which i then rotoscoped frame by frame using a drawing tablet that connects to my computer.

this has also reinforced my desire to return to some drawing projects. i have been increasingly drawn into sculptural works over the years, having started art school as a painter. in reality i entered art school as a drawer, only converting my drawings to painting to demonstrate i could paint, at the time believing drawing to be something 'less than art', something preliminary. drawing is, however, a rightful and respectable medium in its own right and can be expressed in many forms, not least digital animation (such as this work). anyway, reviewing this work has reinforced my growing desire to pursue more drawing projects. additionally, to pursue some more video work.

i've posted it to youtube for viewing - the quality, it must be noted, is quite deteriorated in that format though. you can adjust it to HD (720p) down at the bottom right to make it as good as possible for this sort of version:

invite

resolved and completed

charging is complete and ready for the show. 

 putting the plinth together

 test and configuration of electronics

 complete!

 plants rigged up with wires connected to copper probe inserted into soil, with aluminium probe on the other side of the plant

 this is the networked electronic detonation device - 

the plants are apparently running the clock device (at right),

which turns and breaks the connection on the electric eye (light bulb),

which triggers the voltage fluctuator (rear),

which also registers on the counter of the 'dynamite' branches.

water and walking

there's two situations that i find to be rich with the potential for inspiration - the shower and walking. as far as the former goes, i have heard that a flow of water generates some sort of atmospheric condition, something along the lines of increased negative ions into the air, that is conducive to improved concentration for the mind. i have also heard that due to this phenomenon, nasa, or some such similar entity in the usa has installed water fountains throughout its headquarters. when i had heard this it rang true with me as i find a great deal of ideas come to me in the shower. 

as far as walking goes, there have been an abundance of artists who attest to the mental stimulation that comes with that activity. philosophers too are famed for such belief. i often walk late at night and have found that on such occasions, when it is dark, scary and lonely, that the natural senses are amplified. always alert to danger, to simply seeing clearly and hearing clearly, sharpens the mind's focus on the reality of the present. in this condition, i find resolutions to problems, conjure new projects and feel a better grasp on contextual understanding.

i mention this because yesterday, struggling with a way to network a series of electronic devices for this sculpture i am working on, i stumbled upon the solution while out walking. and the occasion reminded me that this happens with notable frequency when i do walk.

in short - as far as the sculpture goes - i need to make the voltage fluctuator into a device for activating the electronic eye and use this activation to trigger a voltage fluctuation that at once triggers the voltage meter and activates the LED counter. i also need a regulator to modify the voltage flow to the LED counter to stop it jumping up multiple steps. 

no doubt that sounds like gobble-degook so i shall illustrate more clearly with images from the studio when i get there. but, for me, it was a eureka moment!

glitches and redesigns and thinking out loud

working with new techniques and unfamiliar technologies always creates the possibility of error or glitches. turning my hand to amateur electronics brings with it equal part exciting new discovery and hair-extracting torturous malfunctioning of sculptural potential. so far i've been successful at constructing component electronic circuits that function perfectly well - a flashing LED light, a variant voltage fluctuator, a counter and an electronic eye. that much has been fun and felt like quite an achievement. 

now, publicly declaring the difficulties one encounters in one's art practice is a risky undertaking, as it exposes the trials and tribulations the artist encounters in his/her creative process and lays bare their decision making acumen. this blog is designed to provide an insight into my practice, including the manner in which i think through my material creations, particularly for the benefit of current owners of my work and potential owners, and declaring my failures is a risky affair. however, i think it's important to reveal these inner workings, to show the dead-ends of studio research together with the successful achievements. whether these current glitches result in a cul-de-sac that i have to reverse out of, or whether they prove to be small hurdles to be overcome, only time and hard work will tell!

the tricky part in this particular construction has been combining the disparate electronic components into some sort of integrated system that serves to enhance the sculpture i'm working on. a network of components that is a functioning, interactive ensemble of circuitry that creates the illusion of a working detonation device for a homemade 'bomb'. one major issue is that the combination of the elements results in a substantial increase in consumed power and a resultant drain on batteries. the consequence of this is that the electrical parts of the sculpture function only for a day or two, before batteries need to be replaced. now this would be perfectly acceptable, if this sculpture was indeed a home made detonation device for a 'bomb'. however, it is actually an artwork and must last at least the length of a standard art exhibition which is 3 to 4 weeks. so further investigation/consideration is required in this area. 

the burning question for this particular work is this: how close to an authentic simulacra of a detonation device does it need to be?

this question has played on my mind for years with these sorts of sculptures. at what point does illusion need to be overcome by actuality? specifically for this sculpture, it is never actually ever meant to be a 'real' detonation device. in fact, it is never intended to ever really appear like one. the 'dynamite' is clearly and obviously only cut up branch segments. the sculpture is always itself only a simulation. other sculptures i have made have been created to actually appear to be authentically doing something, that in actuality they are only 'pretending' to. in contrast, this sculpture isn't really pretending to be what it appears. it is very much propositional. as if to say, imagine the power of nature.

so, in that light, pursuing authenticity beyond a particular point becomes unnecessary. one must make a judgement call about where that point is. i do not wish to give up on some of my ideas - such as having the viewer trigger the detonation counter by their proximity to the sculpture - but at a certain point, the technicalities of achieving some of these elements becomes untenable or impractical.

such are my frustrations with the work at this stage!

visually - the 'dynamite' bomb section, consisting of wired up trees branch segments, LED counter of home-made electronic circuitry, the artificial grass covered platform/plinth, the pot plants as the detonation device and the overall composition of all of these elements is very pleasing indeed. i find myself now entangled only in the finer technicalities of the last few little fragments of the work, having to resolve minor glitches and making some important judgement calls. 

and this process of thinking through this final stage, has me leaning toward a more pared down expression of the sculpture - editing out the unnecessary and perhaps ornamental aspects of the work. in which case, interactive elements, overly complex networks of circuitry and additional configurations of electronics is not going to add to the sculpture's productive meaning. these things will have their chance in future work. thinking on it further, i feel that the interactive elements are more suited to installation contexts. this sculpture is very much a stand alone piece - one work in a group show of works, presented on a plinth and designed to evoke ideas of dormant power in nature. for that end, i'm thinking now that it should be simply and clearly produced as just that.

measurement lessons

today was the day to get the plinth together for my sculpture for the dianne tanzer show and i got straight into it with constructing the framework.

 just a basic rectangular number, woodchip panels and pine struts

now, the measurement lesson came when i rolled out the artificial grass i had recently purchased and discovered i did not buy enough! rather frustrating, of course, especially with a car at the insurance assessors after the recent crash. one must always check and recheck measurements!

so, on to the next step in the preparation, which was securing the bundle of branches (for the simulated dynamite) with some rope. in order for the rope to be secured permanently and to avoid knots that look messy and upset the way in which the bundle sits, i decided to sew the rope together. i'm always amazed with the new skills one must acquire in the pursuit of one's art production!

a few more minor adjustments are required for the electrical circuitry that makes up the detonation device, together with a series of batteries to power it - so that's the next step. here is a little test of layout:

the plinth will be completely covered in artificial grass, including the top. but you get a sense now of the complete work. i have to wait until thursday to get the artificial grass from bunnings but the final touches on the circuitry can be completed and i'll have it all ready to go to the gallery!

countdown

a slight delay in production this week due to a pretty heavy road accident - fortunately Lucy and I came through relatively unscathed, but my car is still being assessed for repair or write-off status. some idiot ran a red light on dandenong rd and plowed into us.

anyway, i always ensure my production process has certain time flexibilities, usually due to my sculptures having technical components that can be susceptible to glitches in the build phase. this flexibility has allowed for me to absorb a few days off to deal with the crash and stay on track with my sculpture for the 'Experiments on Plant Hybridization' at Dianne Tanzer Gallery.

a quiet saturday in the studio with the soldering iron.

today i completed a counter that will form part of the 'detonation device' in the sculpture. 

the plan is for the counter to form an interactive component in the work. it will be connected (hopefully, my amateur electronic skills are being stretched here) to a sensor that detects a viewer getting close to the work. the conceptual idea is that this detonation device will get closer to arming itself when anyone gets close to it. so, with live plants eliciting an energy that looks as if it is charging a 'bomb', any attempt to disarm the bomb only brings it closer to detonation. the implications or evocations of this idea are open for the viewer to consider.

i've selected some plants too - typical household plants, purchased from a large warehouse retail chain. the plants are little symbols of 'the natural' but really are quite removed from nature. propagated and cultivated via techniques of mass production more aligned to factory production than the natural cycles of life, these plants straddle both natural and cultural worlds.

the plants are pilea cadierei or aluminium plants. they work nicely in name as there is aluminium conductors in the soil of the plants for the sculpture and the foliage of the leaves echoes the patterns of the circuit boards of the electronics. 

a new title

so after much deliberation, and some insightful feedback, the thematic context of my phd project, and its title, have been updated. the change in title is a necessary outcome of the refined theme but i'm a little sad to see chaos calls be replaced. it will no doubt rear its head at a later juncture.

here's an abstract for the newly articulated project, 

system synthesis: 

the ambiguous zone of the nature/culture divide 

An exploration of the nature/culture divide through an analysis of the relationship between these two highly fluid and overlapping categories. With particular focus on the way in which the use of technology filters and mediates this relationship, a set of propositional objects and installations are created from assemblages of materials that straddle the ambiguous zone of this arbitrary divide. It is the problematising of the theoretical nature/culture divide, particularly through the interrelationship of networks and systems that spans both categories, that offers us a field of inspiration from which to harvest ideas and a prism through which to examine the swirling pool of our collective understanding.