Keith Newstead

Another very interesting automatist who creates mechanical sculptures is Keith Newstead. At the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre he found inspiration to produce his own mechanical life-like models. What makes him stand out from other automatists is the fact that he likes the working parts to be visual. He believes that mechanical devices can look quite elegant.

Though I will not have as many mechanical devices, I will have electronic once. There are artists working with electronics who seem not to be concerned about cables, power sources and circuits that are visual. When looking at Eric Raymonds work, I personally feel that it would have been so much better, if he had found a way to hide the wires etc. , so the observer does not get distracted. I am not sure why he did not try, but maybe he intended to express something with the slightly chaotic view. Since the landscapes he shows are of a natural origin, he may seeks to show the dynamic between nature and technology.

Since that is not my intension at all, I will not follow his route, but rather try to keep technology hidden.

http://www.keithnewsteadautomata.com/broadband.htm

http://www.er.uqam.ca/nobel/k25100/linescape/linescape.html

http://www.kinetica-museum.org/new_site/index.php?ptitle=Past%20Exhibitions&mfile=event_exhibition_main.php?

Project Planning

For making the cows look like being on a stage, it is necessary to build a proper stage with curtains.

Curtain:

It turned out to be a problem finding the most appropriate fabric, so I found red tinsel instead. It looks quite striking and provides a festive touch. However, I have to be very careful when making holes in it, so it does not tear apart. Making the holes large enough to give room for the thread to get through smoothly, turns out to be quite a challenge. If it was some fabric with larger holes, moving the curtain along the string would be far more easy.

Shoe Box:

The stage itself is a shoe box. It is stout and has enough space for the Arduino and all electronics. The box should be large enough to support the three cows and to hold the curtain. I am painting the box in a friendly grass-green. Holes need to be cut out of the box, so the ping sensor can reach through the box. Flowers will be painted on the surface to hide the sensor.

Mechanics vs. Electronics

I am very much fond of mechanical projects. Automaticts such as Paul Spooner and Carlos Zapata have been creating very interesting work. The reason their work attracts me is because they kind of give an impression of being something like a toy. Moreover, the way they work is so fascinating. When you look at them you just want to find out how they might work.

Spooner’s mechanical artwork looks charming and you appear to feel sympathy for his characters straight away. It also provides a far more warm atmosphere than the metallic works of Jim Bond, for example.

http://www.jimbond.co.uk/index.html

Spooner mainly uses wood and warm colors for his works, which makes it look somehow more friendly. Though, not all of his plots make sense, his topics convey a certain type of humor. The following example, for example, is quite amusing.

The size of the work is usually quite small, which forces the observer to step very close. Sometimes the observer also needs to interact to drive on the machine. Every individual work appears to be on a little stage on their own. When you get very close, you may feel like becoming part of it. It is a rather an intimate experience.

For somebody as unexperienced as me it surely would be very hard to reproduce pieces that demand so much attention to detail and time. Therefore, I could start with producing only a few simple elements and allow the overall look of my work to be a little comparable with Spooner’s work.

Spooner’s work is usually presented within glass boxes. Unfortunately, that would be unsuitable for my project, since some sensors wont be able to work properly. Hence, I need to make sure I come up with an idea how to show my work, so interaction with the observer is possible, but also no destruction can occur. So, putting it up on a pedestal and protecting it with a surrounding fence is an acceptable solution.

Even though my Three Wise Cows project will be influenced by these mechanical applications, I will still use electrical means such as the Arduino. The result will be a mixed media object.

http://www.kinetica-museum.org/new_site/event_seminar_main.php?id=54

Cows and their traditional background

As I have already explained in a previous post, I am going to use little cows instead of monkeys for my project. I made that decision basically because the cow's depiction is very different in various traditions.

By employing cows I provide even more room for interpretation, since they have many traditional and religious meanings.

In Japan, there is a traditional toy in form of a cow that is supposed to protect against illnesses.

The Massai tribe in East Africa believe that all cows are God-given property.

Because they provide milk, in the Hindu tradition, cows are even treated with the same respect as one’s mother. They are a symbol of wealth, strength, abundance, selfless giving as well as full earthy life.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle

http://www.non-idem.de/graphics/marke.jpg

Artists dealing with the Three Wise Monkeys

Keith Haring

Keith Haring is best-known for his graffitis inspired murals all over the world. As a social activist he also established the Keith Haring Foundation supporting organizations assisting children, educational organizations and research and care related projects to AIDS.

Haring was diagnosed with AIDS himself and created arts dealing with the disease.

One of the paintings uses the three monkeys in form of three humans to convey the idea of ignorance.  I believe his approach is quite powerful. The three monkeys i.g. humans help very much to bring across his strong message.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Haring

http://www.haring.com/about_haring/bibliography/periodicals.html

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/ja08/graphics/keith_haring.gif

http://www.haring.com/cgi-bin/art_lrg.cgi?date=1988&genre=Painting&start=0&id=00604

Most other artists may use the Three Wise Monkeys, but usually far less dramatical.

Max Magnus Norman created interesting sculptures of the monkeys.

He portrays the monkeys by giving them by giving them rather modern devices. The sculptures look quite funny and surely act entertaining.

http://maxmagnusnorman.com/english/sculptures.shtml

Due to their strong expressiveness, the monkeys are also used in caricatures. Here are some examples:

http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/rmc/lowres/rmcn94l.jpg

http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/ksm0753l.jpg

A few more pictures of the monkeys that indicate the wide range of styles:

lget4001.jpg 452×320 pixels

Doug-Hyde-Three-Wise-Monkey.jpg 400×155 pixels

Image:The three monkeys.png - Wikimedia Commons

three-wise-monkeys-c11765657.jpeg 350×355 pixels

Three Wise Monkeys - Representation

Another great thing about the Three Wise Monkeys is that there are numerous ways of representation.

In Japan, for example, the proverb is seen as a Golden Rule. "Not to be snoopy, nosy or gossipy." Other early representations that link to Buddhist teaching claim "if we do not hear, see or talk evil, we ourselves shall be spared all evil." This may even be compared to the English saying "Speak of the Devil - and the Devil appears." A further depiction says that a person who does not experience evil through sight and sound, will not do any evil.

Nowadays, especially in the Western world, the words "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" describe a person ignoring bad things happening around him. This representation, in particular, has been used by artists dealing with topics as oppressive as AIDS.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_wise_monkeys#Meaning_of_the_proverb

Three Wise Monkeys - Origin

One of the things I like about the Three Wise Monkeys is that their origin is not absolutely clear. The probably eldest caving is over the door of the 17th century shrine in Japan, Nicco. However, there is evidence that the history of the proverbial principle "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" goes back even to the 8th century and the Tendai-Buddhist legend. Other theories claim that the saying initiated from a very similar Chinese phrase.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hear_speak_see_no_evil_Toshogu.jpg