ArtBots
2005 Entry Form
Title of work: Curiously Strong
Contact name: Amanda Parkes
Contact email address: amanda@media.mit.edu
Mailing address and phone number:
148 Magazine St #2
Cambridge, MA 02139
617.510.4729
Other project members: Jessica Banks (jessical@csail.mit.edu)
What are the physical dimensions of the work and its operating
area?
The shape of the piece is flexible and the dimensions
of its operating area are site and context dependent. Basically
Curiously Strong
consists of 250 Altoids(TM) boxes strung together like a single
line of dominoes. Because each box is
2" x 4" x 1.5" and all associated circuitry and components fit
within these dimensions, the physical hardware runs about 50 feet long by 4 inches
wide. This chain, however, can snake around the art space, climbing onto the
walls, making patterns on the floor, and traveling up and over obstacles. Thus
the piece is easy to integrate with other art pieces, taking advantage of the
organization of the space and the natural flow of visitors within it. Although
Curiously Strong works well in a contained area, we feel it is best when it is
more stretched out. This way it can be experienced by many more people at the
same time, both audibly and visually. A 2’x2’ wall space at the beginning
of the chain is required for
mounting the mechanical controller for the piece. We will fit our piece to whatever
space we are allocated and work with the curators to map out its optimal configuration
when we arrive at the site.
How is your work powered? Does it have any special power needs?
The piece is powered from a variable DC power supply. This can
be easily converted to European standards.
Does your work require access to any resources (other than electrical power)
that you cannot provide yourself (e.g. a sound system, video projector, net access,
special lighting, compressed air, running water, etc.)?
We don't need access to special resources but permission to mount
in various
ways to surfaces we are installing on (e.g., walls, floor, etc.) would
be necessary.
Is your work particularly loud, bright, or active, or does your work require
extreme quiet, darkness, or other particular sound/light conditions?
The impact of the piece is determined by both its configuration and
the rate
at which it runs. Both of these parameters can be adjusted by us and affect how
visually and audibly active the experience is. The lids can pop slowly and methodically
or they can seem more like dominoes racing along their course. Neither effect
is acoustically jarring nor interferring and the piece does not require absolute
silence to be appreciated.
How long does it take you to set up your work, and how difficult is it to set
up?
Because the configuration of the piece is site dependent, the installation
is critical and time-consuming. Although each box will be previously assembled
and
tested, we need to lay them down and connect them each to the controller when
we arrive. We are prepared to show up a day or so in advance to accommodate these
requirements. We are currently working to make the set up easier. As you can see
from the video and pictures, the last installation required a great deal of wiring
which we
are now working to avoid by using stenciled circuits.
Has the piece traveled before? Do you foresee any problems transporting the
work?
The piece has been installed local to us in Cambridge, MA. It travels
as separate packable components. (All assembly required upon arrival.) We do
not
foresee
any problems with its transport.
How long can your piece run reliably? Can it run continuously for several hours
over the course of several days? Does it need frequent maintenance?
The piece can run reliably and continuously for hours without maintenance. It
is even okay if some parts of it fail over time, as this adds character. The
previous installation of Curiously Strong ran for a total of 6 hours on each
of 5 days.
Is this a completed work, or is it still being designed or built?
A first version of the work was shown at Collision Six:sense at Art
Interactive in Cambridge, MA in October 2004.
This
served
as
more of a prototype than a finished piece. We are currently implementing the
design
and installation changes that we noted during that exhibition.
If it is still in the planning stages, what is your timeline for completing
the piece?
We will have all the new installation details worked out and tested
well before the Artbots show. Since we plan on using 250 boxes instead of the
125 we used
during the prior showing, we plan to have the other half assembled by mid
June.
List any elements of your work that are potentially dangerous or may cause fire/safety
code problems in indoor spaces (gas engine, fire, hazardous chemicals, projectiles,
etc.):
As long as we manage to avoid tripping visitors, we think the piece is fairly
innocuous.
Is there anything else you think we should know about your work?
Before you even ask, no, we didn't eat all the Altoids.
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