digitaldeities

paint in water

Mark Mawson from Sydney captures these beautiful shots by dropping paint in water. The colors and the lighting are simply amazing! Author said that in these color shapes everyone sees what they want to see.

ELEMENTAL ANGELS ...for the holidays

For the holidays.. hugs + messages from nature... just made a store at big cartel... where one can purchase them... it will be soon connected to ELEMENTALANGELS.COM but for now you can find them here:  http://elementalangels.bigcartel.com/ 

I will be selling these little wings and the medium and small gold leafed messenger sticks on Prince Street in SoHo Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.  Come visit, if you are near!

dragon's blood tree

On my Hampton Jitney bus ride conversation yesterday, I learned of these fabulous succulent trees that are related to the agave plants.... wild looking. I was describing my love for agaves and my conversationalist friend mention these Dragon's Blood trees.  I had never heard of them before.  They are amazing looking.

original image here

original image here

original image here

original image here

The Dragon Tree is related to Agave and Yucca and makes a spectacular accent plant that blends well in either tropical or arid gardens.

The Dragon Tree is a rare subtropical tree that is endemic to Canary Islands, Madeira & Cape Verde, where only a few specimens can be found growing naturally on the islands of Tenerife and La Palma, in dry bush at the low elevations of the islands' rocky mountain ranges. Many ancient examples are 20 to 30 feet tall and believed to be up to a thousand years old.

Also known, as the Dragon's Blood Tree because when the trunk or branch is cut or scarred it produces red sap that resembles blood. The processed "Dragon's Blood" was believed to harness mystical powers and was used in the mummification process and other rituals. Because of its various medicinal and magical properties, it was sought by various cultures around the Mediterranean, Europe, and Africa. Today the Dragon's Blood is still in use to produce a hard, shiny furniture polish.

Dragon trees

• Dracaena americana - Central America Dragon Tree
• Dracaena arborea - Tree Dracaena
• Dracaena cinnabari - Socotra Dragon Tree
• Dracaena draco - Canary Islands Dragon Tree
• Dracaena ombet - Gabal Elba Dragon Tree

 

cassette tape skull

brian dettmer: cassette tape skull

Atlanta based artist Brian Dettmer creates intricate sculptural skeletons using altered, heated cassette tapes. Dettmer began creating the pieces in 2005 as he was thinking about the demise of analog media in the increasingly digital world. As well as the animal skulls, he has a series of 12 human skulls made from tapes--each with a different theme like heavy metal or hard rock. The most complex sculpture thus far is a complete human skeleton that he constructed made from over 180 cassettes. reblog from: Design Boom

mine-sniffing plant (inspiration)

I would like to sketch and make some graphics about this idea of BioSensor plants that change color when they grow over buried land mines.

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Aresa – changing the strategic focus to investments in and development of mine-affected land - still with a humanitarian scope - read the press release

Aresa has been working within plant biotechnology. The company was founded in 2001 by Carsten Meier, who is presently the Chief Scientific Officer. Aresa has its scientific outset from the Institute of Molecular Biology and Physiology, Copenhagen University, that has supported the company since its foundation with consulting, facilities and scientific staff.

By February 2006, Aresa was listed on the First North listing of the Copenhagen Stock Exchange (currently Nasdaq/OMX-group).

Aresa A/S is situated in Symbion Science Park in Copenhagen. This Science Park houses approx. 100 small companies primarily within Biotechnology and IT.

As of January 2008, Aresa has 11 employees.

Aresa has been working on the BioSensor patent protected technology
Since its establishment Aresa has developed plant based technology platforms, and in 2002 we filed two international patent applications. 

The use of the the Company’s BioSensor technology, in the shape of the product candidates RedDetect, RedDetect UXO and RedScreen have been selected to be among the most innovative ideas in the World in 2004, by the New York Times. In 2005, the Company’s Chief Scientific Officer, Carsten Meier was awarded the Annual Innovation Price of the Carl Bro Group (Danish Consultancy Firm) for the efforts in developing the Company’s technology.
For a description af the Mine Action Plant and the technology behind it, please see the Landmine Plant section.

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the first article about this subject found here

XM Satellite Radio: 4/30/06
The Osgood File (CBS Radio Network)

Scientists are engineering plants to change color when they grow over buried land mines.

Left-behind landmines kill or injure about 10,000 people per year world wide, according to U.S. State Department estimates. Landmines also keep people from using large expanses of arable land. The United Nations estimates that nations spend $200 - $300 million each year on de-mining efforts. Getting rid of the mines is dangerous work; some crews probe the ground with sticks or rely on metal detectors or dogs to find the buried mines. A Danish biotech company may have a better solution: a plant that changes color when it grows over buried mines.

The plant in question is a small weed called Arabidopsis thaliana or thale cress. One of the most-studied plants on Earth, it is a member of the mustard family and grows wild everywhere in the world except the poles. It's an annual plant and a thale cress seed can sprout and grow into a mature plant in just six weeks. In some regions, there can be two or three generations in a single summer. In nature the green leaves turn red in autumn, or when the plant is subjected to stress such as cold or drought.

Danish biologists Carsten Meier and Simon Østergaard, co-founders of Aresa Biodetection in Copenhagen, are re-engineering thale cress to turn red when exposed to the presence of a land-mine in the soil. Researchers chose natural mutants of the plant that do not turn red in response to these natural stimuli and then re-engineered the mutant's genetic make-up so that it turns red only when the roots come in contact with NO2 (nitrous oxide)—a compound that leaks out of buried land mines.

So far, the team reports they have produced a plant that changes color in greenhouse lab experiments where NO2 is applied to the soil in solution. Aresa says this may be too general a signal (NO2 is often naturally present in the soil), which means there might be the risk of false positives, so they are working to make it more selective in its responses. The next step will be more realistic field trials with actual land mines (mines that lack detonators, however). In actual de-mining applications, researchers anticipate that seeds could be sown over a suspected minefield from an airplane, or spread with a handheld seed sprayer as workers walk along in de-mined corridors

Sean Burke, Program Manager at the U.S. Humanitarian Demining Research and Development Program, says the challenge is how high the stakes are. You have to have a hundred percent detection with the lowest possible false alarms. He says if you miss one mine that could be somebody's life.

Some scientists are also concerned that bioengineered plants could "escape" into the wild and confer undesirable traits on wild plants. In response Aresa has taken these concerns into consideration and has manipulated their plants so they can't sprout unless a growth factor has been applied to the seeds. In addition, they have created plants can’t set seeds unless supplied with another growth hormone. In addition, this plant naturally is a self-pollinator, so it doesn't cross-pollinate with plants growing wild nearby.

1,000 melting people...

The world wildlife fund installed 1,000 ice figures in a berlin square recently to raise people’s awareness of the melting ice caps in greenland and antartica. the visual impact is quite impressive! the full article is in another language so you can view the translated version here via google translator. see some shots of the installation below:

Buddha Pears!

I am in love with these little buddha pears! this concept is really inspiring and makes me want to try it out myself! i am reposting this from the cakehead loves evil blog, check out the full post here.

birdcage fashion

This has to be the ultimate Fancy Dress Costume that I have seen yet!  Kasey McMahon of Southern California has created a 'Birdcage Dress' that really works!  She even has a link on her Websight on how to create your own Birdcage Dress in 25 steps!  Don't miss some of her other clever projects to be found Here!   Gives a whole new meaning to having songs at your feet!!!

re-blog from: http://ullam.typepad.com/ullabenulla/

golden ratio (up and coming fibonacci scissor series)

My goal this next few weeks is to draw a diagram in 3D (in solidWorks) of a sculpture I will build out of scissors ...  purposefully, this next concept needs to be at a level of complexity that is beyond the scope, time and measurement of my pen and paper skills.  Drawing a logarithmic spiral that has 55 clockwise spirals overlaed on top of either 34 or 89 counterclockwise spirals will give me a GOLDEN SPIRAL OF SCISSORS.  This I will build out of my confiscated recycled airport scissors.  I will use computer aided design and technology to envision and enable me to build quickly what would have previously taken months and months to calculate and create.

example of fibonacci numbers: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 601

1 + 1 =2,  2 + 1 =3, 2 + 3 =5, 3 + 5 = 8, 5 + 8 =13, 8 + 13 =21, 13 + 21 =34, 21 + 34 =55, 34 + 55 =89

Here are some of the many patterns of the golden spiral that are all around us... macrocosm to microcosm.

inside of the ear 

http://www.coasttocoastam.com/gen/page954.html

The Fibonacci numbers are Nature's numbering system. They appear everywhere in Nature, from the leaf arrangement in plants, to the pattern of the florets of a flower, the bracts of a pinecone, or the scales of a pineapple. The Fibonacci numbers are therefore applicable to the growth of every living thing, including a single cell, a grain of wheat, a hive of bees, and even all of mankind.

Stan Grist
 http://www.stangrist.com/fibonacci.htm (E)

The sequence, in which each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers is known as the Fibonacci series: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987, 1597, 2584, 4181, ...  (each number is the sum of the previous two).

The ratio of successive pairs tends to the so-called golden section  (GS) - 1.618033989 . . . . . whose reciprocal is 0.618033989 . . . . . so that we have 1/GS = 1 + GS.

The Fibonacci sequence, generated by the rule f1 = f2 = 1 , fn+1 = fn + fn-1, is well known in many different areas of mathematics and science.   However, it is quite amazing that the Fibonacci number patterns occur so frequently in nature ( flowers, shells, plants, leaves, to name a few) that this phenomenon appears to be one of the principal "laws of nature".

text above from: http://www.world-mysteries.com/sci_17.htm

3rd Bagasbas Beach International Eco-Arts Festival

I am on the new Rhizome announce RSS feed that has everyday at least 5 call for artist exhibitions .. of all kinds.  I was sent this one this morning, just after I took a walk had visions of making many other things with scissors... furniture and structures.  I am interested to learn more about this Eco-Arts festival in the Philippines.  I will apply in July, perhaps?

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Art , Environment and Community. The artist is immersed in local cultures and interactively builds large-scale bamboo and found things installations with the community members on the spectacular Bagasbas Beach in Daet, Camarines Norte over 3 days. The second section involves multimedia/video/sound art and the third section is public furniture. Please visit our website at http://www.bbieaf.org

Daet is a 1st class municipality in the province of Camarines Norte, Philippines.

.guest3 .guest4 .guest5 .guest6 .guest7

Number3 and final post about the different guest lecturers that Zach Lieberman brought into our Algorithmic Animation course- aka: makingthingsmove.org/blog this last semester at Parsons.  An amazing and inspiring selection of his friends and colleagues.  Zach was a fellow at EYEBEAM this last year and a creator of OF openFrameworks and regularly travels the world sharing his coding and artistic skills with the world.  He is an excellent teacher and mentor... and his guests re-inspired me each week.   awesome awesome awesome.

joel gathein lewis .guest3

www.joelgethinlewis.com

daito manabe .guest4

www.daito.ws
face sensors
I posted all his way cool videos earlier.. I couldn't wait until now. I was too excited about them.  search for daito in my search box.. you will find them all.. okay here are two other ones of daito's ..one that I did not post before and one that I did... he is worth sharing again.  he is even my facebook friend!

I used electric stimulus generators and myoelectric sensors. I tried to control my friends' face by using my face. I need more practice ,devices and time..

新しい楽器みたいなものだと思って下さい。 Experiment with myoelectric sensor.

theo watson & emily gobeille .guest5
funky forest 2007

Working together with the amazing Emily Gobeille, we created the interactive installation, 'Funky Forest' which premiered at the 2007 Cinekid festival in the Netherlands. 'Funky Forest' is an interactive ecosystem where children create trees with their body and then divert the water flowing from the waterfall to the trees to keep them alive. The health of the trees contributes to the overall health of the forest and the types of creatures that inhabit it. Made with openFrameworks.

videos and info here http://muonics.net

don paluska .guest6
absolut quartet

ABSOLUT QUARTET  (2008)
Jeff Lieberman and Dan Paluska
Part of the Absolut Machines campaign.

 As seen in the beginning of the video, the visitor enters a melody on their computer keyboard. The machine then uses this melody to generate an original and unique 2 1/2 minute piece of music.
Find more information at http://bea.st/sight/absolutQuartet

You will see this melody played by three instruments. The main instrument is a ballistic marimba, which launches rubber balls roughly 2m into the air, precisely aimed to bounce off of 42 chromatic wooden keys. The second instrument is an array of 35 custom-tuned wine glasses, played by robotic fingers. Finally, an array of 9 ethnic percussion instruments rounds out the ensemble.

Jeff's Site: http://bea.st .
Dan's Site: http://plainfront.com

 Fotron2000, A robotic sketch artist/photobooth [Fototron2000]
www.fotron2000.com
The Fotron2000 is currently installed at Christopher Henry Gallery in New York City.
127 Elizabeth St (Soho/Nolita)
11-6pm, Wednesday - Sunday.

from the fotron website:
ABOUT: The Fotron2000 is tomorrow's answer to today's mall photo booth. At its heart is a robotic sketch artist whose medium is LED light and whose canvas is long exposed Polaroid film. The robot draws quickly, rendering a line drawing of its subject which he or she gets to keep. This work was inspired by the classic time-lapse nighttime highway photography, the Photoshop "glowing edges" filter, and "drawing" with sparklers. The piece is a simple exploration of the ability of a robot and a computer to automate the creation of art. We are interested in the ability to provide visitors with a permanent record of their experience and engage robotic technology in an impractical way. The robot provides us with precision capabilities beyond our own, allowing us to create in ways not possible without technological assistance.

he also recommended us all to go see arthur gansen's sculptures exhibited at MIT museum

amrit pitaru .guest7

he created a digital drawing tool/musical instrument that is beyond an easy description.  this video might tell more.. but not much.  he was a very inspiring guy.  I will take a class him and zach lieberman will co-teach this spring about audio-visual systems.

Scissors Spider

on another google search for confiscated scissors.. I came up with this unexpected find...

Christopher Locke has made spider-sculptures out of scissors. Those scissors are bought from the TSA auctions, the confiscated scissors. The big spider is made from barber scissors and the smaller ones are from cuticle scissors. More pictures after the jump.

[via Boing Boing]

new DOMAINS DIAGRAM

click on diagram to see it larger

Seyed Alavi makes very cool airport carpet

 Satellite Image on Carpet

 

Aptly named “The Flying Carpet”, this installation by Seyed Alavi takes satellite images of San Francisco and places them on a nylon carpet at the local airport.

Link to artist website  +  quote from website below:

A Site Specific Public Art Project for the Sacramento International Airport

This project consists of an aerial view of the Sacramento River that is woven into a carpet for the floor of a pedestrian bridge connecting the terminal to the parking garage. This image represents approximately 50 miles of the Sacramento River starting just outside of Colusa, California and ending about 6 miles south of Chico.

In addition to recalling the experience of flight and flying, this piece, by depicting the larger geographical area, also helps to reinforce a sense of belonging and/or connection for the traveler. In this way, the carpet can also be read and experienced as a “welcome mat” for visitors arriving in Sacramento. The siting of this piece on a bridge also helps to highlight a few other conceptual aspects of the work. A bridge is a connection between two destinations; it is not a destination in and of itself; it is neither here, nor there. In this way it is similar to an airplane, or a river connecting one place to another; here to there; a moment of flight frozen in mid air; a flowing river that takes us along with its current to another destination. In this way, the piece also creates a koanic relationship between a river and a bridge, since their ordinary position have been turned around, and it is now the river that is on/above the bridge.

By working with carpeting in this context, I have been able to transform something quite ordinary into an extra-ordinary aesthetic experience. This apparently simple gesture, integrates multiple layers of harmonious meanings and references, in order to stimulate a conceptual dialog. Ultimately, however it was my intention with this project to present a fun and humorous situation for laughter and play, where travelers will feel rejuvenated and reminded of the magic of flight.

 

With Special Thanks to Charles Nelson-Cal State Chico and Ulster Carpet

by day and by night

I took these photos on my walk to and from school today .. the NE corner of Central Park .. by day and by night.    The ginko leaves are bright and beautiful and the moon was out tonight!