Tempe, Arizona - 2015 - Thesis Exhibition
Cast Bronze, Steel, Ash, Cocobolo, Bocote, Bubinga, Reclaimed Lumber, Redwood, Recycled Cardboard, Arduino, Sensors, Pumps, Mineral Oil.
All new Artworks were generated for an encompassing experience in experimentation as a departure from a typical art show seen in a gallery. The idea and tradition of separate objects placed on whitewashed pedestals in a whitewashed room seems alien. My work expresses and exploits the experimental interaction of systems with or without the human element. The main center piece of the exhibit is a set of counter opposing blades. Mineral Oil is pumped from a reservoir contained within the “pedestal” into hanging orbs that act as counterweights for the system. As one side was filled the other was emptied using a series of pumps controlled by an Arduino microprocessor. Once an orb was pumped full on one side the blades would descend in a cutting motion slicing into the pedestal. The system and exhibit was designed as a dynamic process with a life cycle. As the system cycled and each blade made a cutting pass through the pedestal the reservoir came closer and closer to releasing the mineral oil and lifeblood of the system. As it reached the end of its life the piece would bleed out and no longer function. An abstraction and commentary of the idea to move past art shows that exhibit small objects perched upon pedestals. A time lapse video was taken of the process over the course of two weeks.
The cardboard cells are a design I have been working on for years and act as a cellular building material for the future. I start with flat sheets of recycled cardboard and run them through the hand cranked press built and designed for manual manufacturing. A die cutting board was custom designed and made for this process. After the flat piece of cardboard comes out of the die cut process it would have indented fold lines and be separated from its flashing. The cell obtains its volume by a series of folds and when comprised is an incredibly strong structure. There are a myriad of uses for a hollow cellular structural matrix one just has to use their imagination to see where this shape and mini truss technology could be implemented both on macro and micro scales.