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!

exploding on to the scene

nature as a site for potentially explosive energy has manifested itself rather forcefully in this artwork. i'm rolling with the intuitive drive of this developing twist in my work and letting it run itself toward its self directed logical realisation.

again i'm trying to pursue the construction of a fluctuating voltage meter, using a better clock mechanism this time, but still struggling to get it to operate as i'd like. frankly, it's very frustrating.

i did, however, pick up an alternating flashing LED device to build for myself. the soldering iron came up and the amateur electronic construction began.

the idea here is to build a detonation and explosive device from electronics and plants. the alternating LED display and the fluctuating voltage meter are components of the sculpture that show that the device is 'active' and 'functioning', evoking an impending actualisation of the device. 

i think a simple supporting base of artificial grass will work for the sculpture. it has a way of reinforcing a sense of general artificiality that is evident in the work - a fake bomb - as well as almost fetishising the object, which i like.

as you can see from the last image, i'm working with the idea that live plants will act as the detonation mechanism, and there will be some apparent reading of life signs from the plant (LED displays flashing, hopefully a voltage meter will be 'reading' the plant activity). this will be connected to the bundle of branch sections that appear as if dynamite.

cytoarchitecture_darwinian branches

so, it turns out that cutting circles of glass, with no experience whatsoever, and sanding them into perfectly accurate shapes, then plunging them into articulated depressions in soft, green wood... well... that's a rather difficult prospect. 
after some dangerous glass splinterings, several cracked attempts and much expletives, i decided to abort that idea and place my hope in the darwinian principle of evolution - that from the occasional creative error, or aberration, advancement may occur. and with that philosophical mindset, i sat back, looked around my studio, reconsidered the ideas in the work and waited for a new creative solution.
and there it was, in a milk crate. a pile of about 20 large computer circuit boards that i had collected over a year ago from the side of the road.
the symmetry was like some sort of resonance - logs cut up from trees (themselves smaller parts of a broader 'environmental' network), discarded on the side of road; circuit boards, cut out from larger networked computer systems, discarded on the side of the road. bang! suitable collage companions.
mind you, they were still difficult to cut, and in the short time frame i had they are not as perfectly snug as one would ideally like, but they work suitably well. i hand cut about 6, breaking many coping saw blades before realising my electric jigsaw could do the task. that said, the jigsaw blade got blunt pretty quick and the last, little circles for the bundles of branch segments was cut almost exclusively by the friction of the flat, teethless saw blade.

these shots are actually from the gallery - Techno Park Studios. the lighting is a bit unkind for photography, especially for my little camera - but you get the gist.

so there it is!
i will need to take some better documentation photographs, perhaps enlist stuart for the task (http://littlesumo.wordpress.com/), as he has taken some great photos of my work previously (www.kentwilson.net).

i'm quite partial to the bundles of branch segments. i feel there might be some more work i could do in that vein. i'm still unsure as to whether i should have created a 'ground' for the piece. in the past, with these sort of sculptural works i have put down bark chips or gravel or fake grass. but in this instant i wanted it simple and have ultimately left it thus.

now, the work apparently needs no title for this show, but i always like to title my work so i've decided to call this group of sculptures - 'synapse'.