Thursday, September 24, 2009

Clockwork Atomics x401 - WMD 1880


Clockwork Atomics x401 is featured in my new book WMDs Of The 1880 under the section of Articulated Mobile Constructs.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

WMDs Of The 1880s


I am pleased to announce that I have finally compiled my fourth book: WMDs Of The 1880s. Collected within it are a dazzling array of destructive and world altering devices that never were. Divided into: Clockwork Machinations, Voltaic Centrifuges, Focused Ray Emitters, Clockwork Atomics, and Articulated Mobile Constructs. Think you can do a better job of running the world, because everyone else is doing such a piss poor job of it? Then this is a one stop shopping guide to 'pataphysical science dominance. Devoted to the mad scientist in all of us, when all we really want to do is dominate and rule the world....possibly with an iron hand, maybe not.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Mike's Electric Stuff: Vintage Valves

There is indeed a site for everything. I get a lot of inspiration from old mechanicals and discarded technologies and this site is a treasure trove of old gas tube, bulbs, etc. Show here are two WWII German valves. I love the fact this is how electronics used to work. It was more elegant and frankly dangerous.
http://www.electricstuff.co.uk/


Friday, August 21, 2009

Pen & Parchment: Illuminated Manuscripts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

An excellent exhibit of illuminated texts and parchments displayed in the side galleries on the second floor of the Met. Which is nice because the galleries are softly lit and sparsely occupied due tho the fact that most people cruise by to other galleries. My two favorite works by far are the Diagram with Crucifixion and Diagram with Zodiac Symbols (shown above). Drawings like this one were meant to be studied and meditated upon in order to fully understand the meaning. (It includes twenty reference contents!) The detail and the complexity are awe-inspiring. Drawing such as these with the attention to detail are definitely inspiring to my own work. I love the fact that I know something important is being communicated here, but I have absolutely no idea what it is.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

The Art of The Recession: Clockwork Atomics

The Art of the Recession is upon us and it is Clockwork Atomics. I may be overstating things, but it is kinda perfect. The works are made of materials that are normally throw away (earth friendly). The works are small (easy to find hanging space for), easy to frame (cheaper and if you have ever framed anything that is saying a lot), easy to store and transport (for when you have to move to a smaller apartment). And best of all, be it the books or the original drawings, they are affordable (because we are all strapped).

Monday, August 17, 2009

Geometric Time

"Time has dimensional and geometric properties in the same way that space does. Some of these aspects can be described as "past, present, future" and they can be thought of in same way that one thinks of "up, here, down". These conditions exist simultaneously. Just as higher dimensions exist around us without our being able to experience or interact with them purposefully, the same applies to different states or dimensions of time. So moving through time isn't a linear problem (as it does not exist in a linear form), but is rather a geometric problem."
-From the Lecture "Moving Through Time Moving Through Space", University of Kansas, 1969 - Perry Stevenson

Clockwork Atomics x231


Thursday, August 13, 2009

Tamentai no Origami

I bought this book a few years back as a present to myself. Tamentai no Origami shows the folding patterns for dozens and dozens of geometric forms. Sure it has how to do a "cube", except that is really a Regular Hexahedron or a "pyramid" is a Regular Tetrahedron. But how about a Pentagonal Isositetrahedron? Or a Heptagonal Dipyramid? And they just get crazier from there. I love this book. It is completely in Japanese and I can't read a word of it, but I love this book. Truth be told, you don't really need to be able to read Japanese to enjoy and use this book. There is very little writing. The entire book is filled with very clear diagrams that need no translation. Tamentai no Origami has been invaluable in the development of my "folded space/dimension" drawings.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

The Curta Calculator: Cranking Out The Answer

An amazing piece of machinery and engineering, the Curta calculator was thought of as one of the best portable calculators available until electronic calculators became affordable (and just portable for that mater). Conceived by Curt Herzstark in the thirties, he continually worked on perfecting the design for almost 2 decades (including the time he spent in a concentration camp). Elegant and small, the Curta is a marvel. It is even more amazing once one views the interior workings. Unfortunately for curious owners reassembling the calculator is almost as impressive a feat as its creation. To operate, numbers are entered using the slides and then the calculating is performed by cranking the top a specific number of times. Different math functions are achieved by adjusting the crank and carriage position. The Curta calculator is a part in the origin of the phrase "cranking out the answer" due to the fact it requires one to actually crank the top of the device to produce the answer.

Anything you would want to know about the Curta can be found at the very excellent Curta Calculator Page (http://www.vcalc.net/cu.htm#nice) and a great demo video on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYsOi6L_Pw4).

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Jack Kirby: The Machines of the Fantastic Four

Jack Kirby set a benchmark in the world of comics that will most likely never be equalled. Words really can not capture the amount of influence and inspiration his drawings have had on me. Even today I still have the same reaction to his work as when I first saw them as a child. His drawings of technology have a bizarre sense of depth that make them both seem possible and impossible. While these drawings exist throughout his work, my favorites are definitely from the Fantastic Four from Marvel Comics. This panel is from Fantastic Four Annual #5 page 19.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

American Genius: 19th Century Bank Locks and Time Locks


A beautiful book collecting over 400 photographs of locks from the Mossman Collection, which is housed at The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen in NYC. (Who knew?) The book also includes detailed shots of their inner workings. The locks, in a word, are amazing. Each one unique at the time and an improvement upon the previous one as inventors continually outdid on another. Many of these locks are the last of their kind due to locks and safes being melted down for raw materials during WW1. Handcrafted and many include intricate engraving and casting that would put personal watches to shame. This engraving is often continued into the interior even though it would rarely be seen. Admittedly a bit pricey, but I found a copy at the Strand at a nice discount.

Which brings me to the sad fact that the idea of craft (craftmanship) is, for the most part, lost in the modern age. This book is filled with locks that are completely functional but are works of art. This level of care and attention is rare today. Nice things are still made, but they are the exception and typically insanely expensive. I know big words from someone who draws on napkins, but I hope that, in my own way, I show a level of care, attention to detail and craft in my drawings.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Clockwork Atomics x138


Steampunk Paris Metro Station


This retro-futurist view is the walkway two stories down and directly above the Metro at the Cité station in Paris. Virtually every surface of the station is covered in these riveted panels (more things need riveted panels). The atmosphere is very Jules Verne. I'm not saying that its the Nautilus, but with the very high ceilings it is an amazing space. It is a single open area shaped like a barrel on end (you can see the curvature of the walls). From the stairs you can see the trains under your feet and the stairs continue another story or two above you.

Now onto another point, you might notice how clean it is. I live in NYC and stations aren't this clean when they are new. And they seem to lack that special smell the NYC subway tunnels create which falls somewhere between open sewer and a zoo's reptile house in summer. I could go on. Hey, I love NYC. But it doesn't mean I wish I could change a thing or two. I don't know how they do it, but the French Metro system is fantastic on every level.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Outsider Artist: George Widener at Ricco/Maresca

And this is why my job is so great, yesterday I had the pleasure of installing some of George Widener's work at Ricco/Maresca Gallery (this exact work in fact). Widener has quickly shot to the top of my favorite artists and someone I need to investigate more. A high functioning autistic savant with a taste for dates. While enjoying this piece, I was struck by how my work has similar traits to his. Kindred spirits? Who knows, but I love his work.
http://www.riccomaresca.com/artists/slideshows/george_widener.htm

Monday, August 3, 2009

Instruments For Natural Philosophy

I stumbled upon this site quite by accident and a fantastic site it is. Compiled by Thomas B. Greenslade, Jr, this site is composed of images and short descriptions of over 1800 historical physics teaching devices culled from nearly 70 collection. It is like a catalog to the greatest science exhibit that never was. This has been an ongoing project since the mid 70's and it shows. I have found endless inspiration paging through the collection.
http://physics.kenyon.edu/EarlyApparatus/index.html

Clockwork Atomics x063



Friday, July 31, 2009

Clockwork Atomics x338


Why Napkins? No Really Why?

The use of my drawing material usually brings one of a couple reactions. Sometimes people are amazed at the detail that can be achieved on such a fragile surface. Sometimes they wonder why I don't use better materials. And sometimes they wonder how in the world I think I can charge money for a doodle on a napkin.

One of the original intentions of using napkins was the idea that all great ideas are born on napkins. Inventions, math solutions, business models have all had their birth on a napkin...often fueled by the alcohol or coffee served along with the napkin. Another reason for using napkins is that I really enjoy the idea that I am repurposing a completely ordinary/disposable material. And the last reason, I will admit, is that I enjoy drawing in bars and this project gives me an excuse to go to different and tony bars that I might normally not go to.

As for charging money for these, one only needs to go to a current art show to see that this is definately not beyond the pale.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Clockwork Atomics x280


The Long Now: The Über Orrey



A planetary clock of unthought of precision. Instead of gears it uses a stack of binary mechanical computers. It is designed to show seconds, minutes, hours, years as well as track the orbits of the inner six planets for 10,000 years. A second scale prototype (shown) has been built that is 6 feet high. The final version ,which will be embeded in a mountain in Nevada or Texas, will be at least 60 feet high. Insane and brillant and beautiful.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Musee des Arts et Metiers

A fantastic museum in the heart of Paris that is often (actually completely) overlooked. Started in 1794 as "a warehouse for new and useful innovation", it is marvel to behold. Three floors organized into 7 catagories, the museum has more than 3000 inventions on display. Including a working Foucault's Pendulum (dated 1855 and used in the Universal Exhibition).

Friday, July 24, 2009

Why are there Clockwork Atomics?

In 2006 there was the second NYC blackout that I experienced. This time only effecting Queens, but it lasted a week. So to charge cellphones and MP3s, my wife and I would go a different area of the city with powerstrip in hand. During one of these ventures, I made a particularly elaborate doodle on a napkin at a coffee house while we waited. Showing my wife I joked that this should be what I produce for art. It was perfect....the materials were free and my studio could become every bar and coffee shop in NYC. The more I thought about it the more I liked it. Why can't art be on napkins? Little snapshots of what I was thinking about as I killed time across the city.(There are way worse and more stupid ideas...trust me I work in the art world.)

The drawings began as geometric designs and mathematical problems inspired by alchemy and my misadventures into the engineering world , but around 100 designs in they began to look more like machines. Always loving Orreys and other clockwork devices, I explored this vein more fully. Each drawing includes detailed notes on the operation and description of the object in question. The designs continue to evolve and change but currently can be divided into 3 veins: mathematical calculations, spacial geometry and clockwork atomics.

Currently, I continue to draw in bars and coffee shops across the city between appointments and after work.

Clockwork Atomics x302