gravitymax in transition

kinetic sculpture by artist david bowen mimics ocean waves from a distant land. as time passes, its mechanical form and sound transform into a hypnotic rhythm, fading forward ideas of energy and infinite boundaries.

This installation draws information from the intensity and movement of the water in a remote location. Wave data is being collected in real-time from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data buoy Station 46246 (49°59’7″ N 145°5’20″ W) on the Pacific Ocean. The wave intensity and frequency is scaled and transferred to the mechanical grid structure installed at The National Museum in Wroclaw, Poland. The result was a simulation of the physical effects caused by the movement of water from this distant location.

by claude closky.

by claire l. evans 2010.

by guthrie lonergan 2006.

from dancing for mental health by will powers (a.k.a. lynn goldsmith), featuring carly simons.

by helmut smit.

amazing how artistic presentations were able to make it to late night talk shows back in the days. my jaw dropped when i realized this was actually performed live. jim henson was my childhood hero and i can still remember  the sadness i felt on the day when he died.

Humans hide themselves with the intellect as simulations to have power in society; these could be fake images and signs of vanity and emptiness. They simulate the truth and even deny the chance to unfold their inner truth to the world. In this sense, covering appearances of themselves could be compared to animals’ “camouflage” that is effected by using color, pattern and melting into the environment in order to protect themselves from predators or danger. However, animals have just one fundamental reason, survival rather than other reasons such as earning profits or fame. They have no deceptive consciousness, simulated appearance, or sense of preservation of their vanity. Only the human uses camouflaging as a way of deception.

Why do human beings deceive and camouflage themselves and what makes them hide? The primary purpose of camouflage is to hide the defects that cause one to be caught by one’s enemies. For humans, camouflage prevents them from being disturbed as a person in society. Camouflage is usually for animals that are vulnerable to predators. However, humans use it with diverse layers to cover appearances and create the simulated, metaphysical, and meaningless world as society or architectures. They take refuge inside of the fake dorm without any attempt to find out the clues of truth. Humans camouflage themselves with disguising and hiding their defects, characteristics.

Throughout these concepts of camouflage and media art, I focused on the “camouflage” as the context of my personal art project by using the metaphor of natural camouflage, “pupa.” This was inspired by people’s disguising appearance and behaviors as I discussed above. However, I’m not presenting the negative way of camouflage. I’d like to allow people to be aware of that it’s all of humans’ way of surviving lives. For me, the way of decorating the surface of one’s vanity was truly impressive and interested in terms of the approach to cover it, therefore I decided a pupa as the metaphor among all of the natural creatures.

My project is specifically an art installation work with a form of pupa and projection images. The pupa is made with fabrics, and it leads participants to remind of a white cocoon. If one enters inside of the object, the color of projection is slightly changed through sensors attached on the object, and the color will be altered. One person inside of the pupa feels comfortable and safe because of the warm and fitting shape, and people outside of it might confuse and cannot discriminate whether or not someone is inside of the pupa figure. As the change of environment and the existence of oneself, interaction and communication are formulated and changed.

camouflage yourself is an installation by UCLA MFA student yoon chung han.