Phys. Computation Lab: Variable Resistors/My Fantasy Device!!
This week’s lab was much easier to execute than the previous week’s. I owe it all to the PComp help session hosted by the gracious residents of ITP. Sometimes I get a little lost in class, a result of a particularly early and long day on the floor. Thus, the action of Rory opening his mouth to speak acts more like a soporific than anything I should pay attention to. I am working on getting caffeinated before class so that I can remain perky and attentive. I had no problems with this assignment, as previously mentioned, though I did have problems taking it to the next level. This means I will once again be present in PComp lab this week. Not sure how to hook up a photo cell. And I have stupid questions like, when should I result to soldering? or why am I doing what I am doing? Well, that last one has more cosmological implications that I cannot cover here.
MicroController! Variable Resistors! from Jason Aston on Vimeo.
I also had (wanted?) to make a sketch of my “fantasy device.” It’s totally G-Rated so click more and check it out!
How I came to be at ITP.
I suppose I should share a little about what drew me to the ITP program and the interactive arts in the first place. Besides moving in that direction anyways, albeit more web-centric, I had taken a side trip to Tokyo from Taiwan, where I was studying Mandarin. I happened upon a design fair that pretty much set forth my current trajectory. Really, did I see myself as a web peon for the rest of my life? Oh HELL no.
So I perambulated this arena, probably half a football field in space, and noted all of the wonderful creations from some amazing artists. Concomitant with snapping photos of the actual exhibits and wares, I also documented the authors’ names.
One exhibit that was probably the most climactic for me was one by Chris O’Shea, a successful, working interactive artist with a hand in installation and commercial art – definitely a career worth mimicking, and he’s not yet 30! Anyways, his project, Out of Bounds, was some sort of infrared sensor, a baton or flashlight, hand held device, that one would shine on a wall in which an x-ray scenario was projected onto that wall. It was sort of amazing and brought me back to the endless possibilities of this art as a sort of educational device/media art installation. Check it out!
