I just added a new little piece to my portfolio titled “Hang on, it gets better“:
“The discovery of an image of boys climbing the rope in gym class brought back some early trauma for me. This piece takes a look at the sort of world in which such an activity could be considered relevant in preparation for adult life.”
Materials:
Equipment case, radio tuning dial cover, doorbell button, magazine clippings, voltage meters, LEDs.
I’m super excited to be able to share final images and video for my series of Cephalopods commissioned by the Monterey Bay Aquarium! The pieces are destined for the upcoming exhibit “Tentacles: The Astounding Lives of Octopuses, Squid and Cuttlefishes,” opening April 12, 2014. These pieces will help tell stories about the impacts that pollution, overfishing and habitat destruction have on these animals. The project has truly been a dream come true for me and I’ll be sure to post images of the pieces once they are installed among real sea creatures in April. I will also be displaying these pieces briefly at an open house event in my studio Saturday March 15th. Stay tuned for details to follow.
In the mean time I’ve posted details of each piece individually: Cuttlefish, Octopus, and Nautilus here on my site, and put together a quick video overview of all three (above). Below is a very cool little video that the Aquarium produced about the making of the pieces as well as a few teaser images of finished pieces:
Well, the Cuttlefish “tank” is really starting to shape up. A breakthrough moment came when I decided to throw my whole collection of stove top coffee maker lids at the ground plain. I’m not entirely sure what kind of plant they are supposed to represent, but their sheer numbers work to suggest some kind of life. I’m still on the fence about the single color changing spot light. The idea was to direct it at the large Cuttlefish’s back to suggest their color changing skin. Once I’ve added in the general “water” lights I’ll make a decision.
Here is the latest state of my Octopus diorama. LED lights have been added to the interior of the space and the little Jellies have been illuminated, as have the Octopus’ eyes.
The Octopus I posted a while back finally has a home! I settled on a deep blue fade background with beveled side mirrors to create a sort of infinity effect. The real trick was getting all of the seaweed (refrigerator coolant lines) to twist in sync with each other. This was important because I wanted to create the effect of a current running through the “tank”. They are powered by the motor from the seat adjust mechanism from a BMW sedan. I found it ran a little fast so the large gear was added to slow the speed and raise the torque of the system.
The long, ugly cuts in the center are to allow for strips of LEDs to illuminate the interior. I’m pretty anxious now to move on to that stage so I can see how it looks all lit up.
A good deal of work still remains. I hope to better develop the floor and raise the Octopus higher to better center it in the frame. More little jelly fish will also be added to the background.