You could say,

that by traversing art, design and technology, these provocative experiential installations are driven by a shared curiosity and a desire to make sense of our lives.

 

Or you could say, that it's just us, putting stuff on the wall and each took about a month to design and build, but that's too easy.

 

So it can’t be Art.

 

They are all time based media, the wall space being donated by previous installations now on the bonfire and each is named by the month in which they were made.

 

No computers, each just has a $1 microprocessor to do all the interpretation and kinetic work.

Each piece interprets the changes in the infrared environment. They translate a change in the proportion of the number of infrared photons from different areas around the canvas. It is great fun to watch how both young and old interact with the works. Each adult seems to adjust the way they connect with each piece, starting from a universal “I’m not going to look silly” via “Oh dear, did I do that?” to “YES!”. The grandchildren are different.

 

The canvases respond to how changes in their infrared environment are to be interpreted. It sounds complex but it isn't. You let the art decide what is normal, this takes a while, most settle after about 20 seconds. Then it is simply “how do I interpret a change”. Say a cloud moves across the sky, and in the case of “March” colours change across the canvas in response to the movement of the cloud due to the reduction in the number of infrared photons from that part of the sky.

 

It is that simple, the interpretation in the change of the infrared profile across the view is the Art. “March” simply enables us to view the change. Of course we can also just jump in front of the canvas to block the Sun and then do silly stuff with our arms, but who would do that?

As we all know, The Bookcase People rearrange our books after we put them on the shelves. That’s why we can never find a book again. Here on the shelves, they read about how to build stuff and then dash around dropping blocks to make various useful items. When each is built they show us how the item’s name is spelt, but they got helicopter wrong, silly Bookcase People.☺

 

After jumping up and down on the wheels to align all the green icons, the show can begin with the rainbow curtain. The Bookcase People first collect and then drop blocks to build one of ten different items inside the rainbow. The trains, rockets, cranes and other stuff are randomly generated, so we all try to guess what they are building, which usually involves a great deal of shouting. The next shelf holds books with titles from A to Z supplied by the Smarty Pants Bookcase Club from their “Pretentious Literature” series. The initial title letters are illuminated in turn by passing Bookcase People to spell the name of the item just built. Mostly correct, but luckily the grandchildren can spell better than their grandad! The top shelf is a boat that The Bookcase People kindly built. It has flashing sails and some large reference books to help navigate the voyage.

 

Grandchildren have to encourage The Bookcase People to build another item by simply jumping around when a new rainbow appears.

I designed the bottom text book shelf as a 5 character text display.

 

The idea was that each group of 15 small boxes on the spines of each set of 3 books illuminate to display a character. Most of the alphabet and all numbers can just about be identified as a 5 dot vertical and 3 dot horizontal character. It can display a single “Hello” or a series of short words, such as “Just stop doing that”, but it is very difficult to read, and so I made the shelf into a fruit machine instead.

 

As you see it's just a blur close up, but I've just got a new pair of glasses and oddly the characters seem clearer from about 5 meters away!

With a flash and a bang "January" predicts your next move. A close sweep of the canvas gives a background to the chase.

 

64 areas in front of the canvas are infrared scanned in an 8x8 matrix. As the profile changes “January” responds with a simple interpretation of your next location and a short sound.

 

Each disk also has a capacitive sensor triggered by a hand placed within 5mm of the surface and there are several combinations of colours and designs of disks which “January” interprets as linked triggers. With a close sweeping action “January” creates an interpretation of links to produce a basic drawing on the canvas.

 

A very free image interpretation and lots of running and jumping are required.

The caterpillar has a red head and a yellow, blue, purple and white body. It actually looks quite good in real life, but try as I might, this is the best image I could get!

 

The friendly caterpillar enters the maze from the left and initially heads towards the right. Along the way the caterpillar meets and is tickled by many friends. At each junction the caterpillar waits to move in the direction of your own movement.

 

So the interaction involves lots of jumping left and right. It's an easy maze, made fun by all the silly movements needed to help the caterpillar find the exit.

 

I have actually programmed it so that they always find the exit, but please don't tell anyone.

As you move across the canvas “December” creates a sweeping wave as your shadow.

 

Two opposite facing magnets in either end of the dials are located by hall sensors in the canvas to establish a default dial location. The infrared profile is simply interpreted as a left or right direction, and the dials rotate with various horizontal and vertical delayed motions, which we interpret as a wave. There are many permutations to the display and all the work is done by 128 geared electric motors.

 

Best viewed from a distance, people have said that half a mile works well.☺

Six colours are used by “March” to interpret changes in daylight.

 

The three primary's and their complementaries move in phase with the changing scene as clouds cross the sky. Using the infrared profile of daylight as seen by 8 vertical slices of the photon detector "March" adjust the canvas. The colours alter with changes in the profile, but the interpretation by “March” also limits the total illuminated area of the canvas. Panels previously set are disabled to allow new areas to light whilst capping the overall brightness. This could better be achieved by dimming earlier panels, but it is, as is. When walking past the canvas, warm parts of your body interact with the daylight infrared to also change the colours of the panels. If you stand still “March” eventually interprets you being part of the background, and now the panels will only change if the sky alters.

 

Great in real life and rubbish on camera. Even with the iris 3 stops down the colours on the video look terrible.

But like all interactive art, it comes alive when viewed in person, grandchildren first.

Spring has arrived early, and “February” wants to say hello

 

Initially the inner petal is green, the middle yellow and the outer edge white. But “February" senses your presence and responds to your kindness. And if you stand very still it will also tell you the time.

 

Sensing a 60 degree cone in front of the canvas “February” analyses infrared changes which trigger the petals to blend to white. When you move again the petals mix to green. Finally, after a few moments, returning to the original fusion of green, yellow, and white.

 

If you stay motionless “February” interprets you as part of the background and the petals change again, this time an outer leaf becomes green and an inner leaf becomes blue, the 12 petals have become our analogue clock. Each 5 minutes the green outer petal ticks to the next petal, as does the inner leaf on each hour. With any new infrared change “February” reinstates the petal display, and you then have no idea what the time is!☺

As you pass the canvas “May” seems to warmly interpret your movements with bright coloured streaks of light, but after you leave and can no longer interact “May” slowly redacts all your Art, erasing your vibrant footprint from the monochrome canvas.

 

"May" was meant to be Arty. My idea was to interpret a redaction of colourful ideas from the monochrome canvas of life. Yes I know! It’s totally pretentious!

 

“May” simply responds to the horizontal infrared profile across the canvas. As you walk past, the rate of change of the profile is interpreted by “May” as coloured horizontal and diagonal lines on the canvas. Depending on the speed of your movement “May” draws lines as proportionally dashed or solid coloured streaks. When the infrared profile is stable again "May" creates black vertical lines that slowly remove your Art.

 

Yes, you have been redacted!

 

I thought it was going to mean something. But I think all it really means is, “Pretentious? Moi!”

 

The Tube Computer has now grown beyond its design, and for me, has become an art installation in our home.

 

Every artist knows that the Turner Prize is much more than just a display of virtue signalling by the cultural elite, and I have decided to enter The Tube Computer for the prize! ☺

 

I shall write about the blank canvas of machine code, the brush with danger, the sculpture of the tube, and a broad palette load of arty stuff like that. I am sure Tate Modern will be impressed!

Completely off topic, and just a final thought, to quote Colin.

 

“Please, always show more kindness than seems necessary, because the person receiving it, needs it more than you will ever know.”

 

Best wishes, Mike and Judy