Looking at the lunar-powered work of Takuro Osaka and Luke Jerram, this paper navigates the conceptual, historical, and aesthetic significance of these projects in connection to the complex relationship between man and the the moon. By relating folklore, astrology, and other disciples of antiquity to contemporary practice, the author explores how the blurring of science and art in new media can address the continuous and evolving lunar fascination.
Have to say, I had waaay too much fun with the legos yesterday. It took me back to when I was a kid and would spend hours building, except this time I got to play with gears, cranks, and motors (when I was little we just had the basic boring set).
I started off building a platform of sorts, and I decided that I wanted to make a machine of destruction and domination, that would rule over all of the other lego projects. In every society someone is always on the top, so I decided that I would step up and make the dictator of this society, plus I thought of it first. Besides, you always need a bad guy (or in this case, girl) in a good game of legos.
On yeah, and I also worked on my other sculpture.
Yesterday’s experience was challenging and eye-opening- it also ended up being pretty satisfying. Figuring out how to make mechanisms work feels similar to figuring out a painting or sculpture, yet at the same time, it is also quite different. There were definitely some frustrating moments, like realizing something doesn’t function after spending an hour working on it. Since this is new for me, I really had a very limited amount of previous knowledge I could draw from for this project. Still, I love a challenge and will generally work on something until I am successful.
In the zone…….
Leigh and me, probably laughing about how good we are at this.
At this point, it’s actually getting somewhere!
Today’s presentation of mechanical functions in new media art was new and inspiring, albeit intimidating. I have never sought to build any kind of kinetic device before, so this is like a new language to me. I was particularly inspired by the strange and wonderful beach animals of Theo Jansen: they move in such a fantastical way. I was also entranced by the seemingly effortless movements of Arthur Ganson’s machines. For my first attempt at automata art, I would like to create a bird-like creature using a simple cam. I will base my animal design off of the beautiful and strange antique medical illustrations in my collection. The bird-creature will be able to flap its wings, the mechanical parts will be inside a box, operated by a lever.
For centuries, people have both marveled and feared the influence of the moon. Many have attempted (mostly in vain) to harness its power. These are two new media artists who do just that.
http://lukejerram.com/projects/tide
Below is a video on British artist Luke Jerram’s amazing installation Tide:
To transform the moon’s gravitational pull into sculpture and sound, Jerram collaborated with several specialists and experts: astrophysicists, designers and music theorists, to name a few.
Artist and Tide Collaborator’s Statement:
Tide Writings
Excerpt from Sensual Technologies: Embodied experience and visualization of scientific data, by Michael Hohl:
Luke Jerram’s Tide, 2001, Transforming gravity into sound
Luke Jerram’s work ‘Tide’ was created in 2001 in collaboration with specialists in astrophysics, geophysics, the history of music, glass design and vulcanology. ‘Tide’ presents the effect of the moon’s gravity upon sea levels in the English city of Bristol, using three large rotating glass spheres, similar to oversized wine glasses, filled with water. A gravimeter, measuring changes in gravity, controls the amount of water in each of the three spheres. As planet earth and moon move during the course of a day, gravity changes as well, a process that we are unaware of, as our senses are unable to detect such minute differences. Synchronous to these changes of gravity, the tide is affecting the Bristol channel where the difference between flow tide and ebb tide can reach almost 20 Meters. On the rim of each rotating glass sphere sits a friction device that makes it ‘sing’ in resonating overtones. As gravity changes over the course of a day, so do the water levels in the glasses and as a result the quality of the sound resonating within the space. For visitors entering the exhibition space, these sounds create a visceral corporeal experience, and an awareness of the continuous changes of gravity throughout the day that are imperceptible to their senses.
Jerram’s work involves sophisticated technology, yet the relationship between gravity, alternating water levels and the resulting sound is direct and clear. Felicitous has been the clear mapping in which water is used both as a medium to visualise rising and sinking sea levels and also as the medium that creates the sound. In this work, technology translates the gravimeter’s abstract scientific data into a very direct and actual experience otherwise imperceptible to the human senses. As our ears are much more susceptible to minute changes of sound than our perception of gravity, this experience reminds us of synaesthesia, a neurological phenomenon that links sensorial modalities. Individuals suffering from synaesthesia can, for example, perceive colours also as different tastes. By transforming gravity into sound, ‘Tide’ extends the human senses and creates an awareness of the changing invisible natural forces that surround us yet of which we are not consciously aware. Central to the work is a vivid bodily awareness that focusses on the process of hearing and the resonating overtones that fill the exhibition space. As no direct interaction is involved, ‘Tide’ is about contemplation, acute listening and becoming aware of cosmic forces that extend over astronomical distances. The experience stimulates the imagination through the human body and sensory perception.
http://people.brunel.ac.uk/bst/vol1001/michaelhohl/home.html
Links to Writing and Reviews of Tide:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/students/2002/10/now_festival_tide_review.shtml
http://www.hohlwelt.com/en/interact/context/ljerram.html
http://www.takuro-osaka.com/art_e/index.html
Using many mirrors on the night of a moon eclipse, Takuro Osaka harnesses moonlight to create an outdoor installation. The idea of harnessing moonbeams has been around for thousands of years, many cultures thought they had power. There are also several superstitions that warn people to stay out of the moonlight; many cultures had beliefs concerning the harmful effects of the moon’s rays. Because of these associations with moonlight, there has long been a tie between harnessing it with occult practices: many neopagans practice some form of it today. If you google drawing down the moon, you will see countless ritual sites pop up.
Google search, “drawing down the moon“.
On a different note, here’s an artist who makes art with sun-power:
I have to say that the first couple pages of this article had me at a loss. I did not see how diagrams could make things more like actual objects than the representation of objects. I found the following arguments strong (particularly on the freeing, negative space surrounding objects in diagrams and the part about how it opens up room for creative misuse). However, I am not entirely convinced. To me, an object is something completely present, it is something I can touch and theoretically use. To be fair, I have not finished the whole article yet.
When I first started reading this article, I thought it was refer to data diagrams and charts (like the kind used in marketing and corporate businesses). I was a little turned off by that. Then I saw the samples of antique diagram illustrations and it peaked my interest. I have some of these in my collection, I would be happy to bring them in for tomorrow!
