Posts Tagged ‘Art’
Time, For a New Hobby [DIY]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on February 19th, 2010
Clayton Boyer's intricate wooden clocks are, without a doubt, incredible works of art. But here's what's even more incredible: he thinks that with his woodworking plans, you'll be able to recreate them yourself.
Yes, Boyer believes that anyone with a little determination can put together any of his clock designs, like the one shown above, the Celestial Mechanical Calendar and Orrery. "As far as skill level required," Boyer explains in the frequently asked questions section of his site, "I would suspect that if one has the tools necessary that skill is not as important as perseverance."
I'm not so sure about that myself, but thanks for the vote of confidence.
Boyer sells full schematics of his designs, of which there are a few dozen, through his website. Though some designs—the "hard" ones, ha!—are relegated to the Masochist's Corner, Boyer thinks that even a beginner woodworker could handle his projects:
When I started building these, I had almost no skill whatsoever, but that always develops after getting a little sawdust into your lungs. These are not difficult to build, but they do take some time.
So if you have some time on your hands and are looking to make a little time with your hands, Boyer's collection is definitely a good place, if a challenging one, to start. [Clayton Boyer via BoingBoing]
Zap Some Neon Life Into Your Old Photographs [Photography]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on January 2nd, 2010
The Krilian Photography Device uses high voltage discharges to capture beautiful, luminescent images directly from ordinary film. It is not a machine I'd recommend using in the darkroom.

Krilian photography, also known as electrography, isn't anything new—we've looked at the technique before—but the Krilian Photography Device wraps up all the necessary components into one machine. You just put your film on the discharge plate and the device zaps vibrant new life into your photographs.
If you've made the jump to digital, an optional transparent discharge plate lets you use the technique with any regular, printed photograph. The Krilian Photography Device is available now, for $299, for those interested in experimenting with the high voltage technique. [Scientifics Online via Oh Gizmo]
Speaker Bot: The Iron Giant Reimagined as an Artsy iPod Dock [Art]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on January 1st, 2010
This Speaker Bot is a handmade, Etsy-fied robot seemingly designed around one of those little pocket guitar amps. It's maybe not the most technologically advanced iPod dock around, but it's about as cute as robots ever get.
It's a fair-sized sculpture, the only one of its kind, about a foot and a half tall. It seems to be constructed from recycled materials, which gives it a nice weathered look. It also costs $500, which is okay for a unique sculpture but as much as a pretty decent full-sized stereo, so it's probably more for the art crowd than the omg cool robot! crowd. [Etsy via Coolest Gadgets]
Audi Traveling Shaver Concept Doesn’t Come With an R8, But It Should [Audi]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 27th, 2009
So I happen to like Audis. I drive one, and I like her fine, but nevertheless if I received this razor in my stocking, she would have developed an inferiority complex at the sight of my incessant shaving.
You see, it's that mirror sheen. And those four red rings signifying the four marques of Auto Union...it's enough to get a guy to park it in front of a mirror for hours on end.
Good thing this is just an artist's concept, as you can see above. That said, if artist Poling Huang ever gets it done, I'd love to give it a quick review. Send it over in an R8 or something. [Coroflot via Born Rich]
Lightdrawing Robot Takes the Guesswork Out Of Long Exposure Paintings [Robots]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 25th, 2009
Not everyone's a PIcasso when it comes to long exposure art—though some of you guys aren't too far off—but even Pablo himself couldn't replicate the precise, geometric light illustrations created by Nils Voelker's Lightdrawing robot.
Voelker, a German designer, says the robot is still in the prototype phase, but from the look of things it already has the Christmas tree and house routines down pat.
The prevailing "lightdrawing" technique for humans—waving a LED key chain around in the air like a madman—is not the easiest to master; at best you get a nice halo over your head, at worst you get a big ugly mess of light. But Voelker's Lightdrawer putters along, cool as a cucumber:
Robot Drawing with Light from Nils Völker on Vimeo.
Using a robot might not be the most fun way to paint a long exposure Christmas tree, but at least this way people will be able to tell it's a Christmas tree when you show them the picture. [Nils Voelker via Designboom]
Siemens Awes Autobahn Drivers With Spinning LED Christmas Star [LEDs]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 24th, 2009
With 9,000 LEDs, a little superglue and some holiday magic, Siemens and artist Michael Pendry teamed up to turn a wind turbine outside Munich into "the world's biggest revolving Christmas star." It uses as much energy as a hairdryer.
The Siemens SuperStar, which will stay spinning outside Munich through January 6th, was conceived as a project to celebrate sustainable energy and green innovation.
The SuperStar's 9000 OSRAM LEDs emit the equivalent of 22,000 candles, shining in a variety of colors and an array of spectacular patterns. Long exposure photography was used to capture the SuperStar as a vibrant spinning disk as seen above, not altogether unlike the one recently created by aliens over Norway. The video below details the process of constructing the SuperStar and shows some shots of the wheel in action.
Munich's Mayor, Christian Ude, has been an enthusiastic proponent of the energy-efficient spectacle from the start and hopes his city will be the first of its size to meet all energy requirements from renewable sources. [Siemens via Inhabitat]
This Sublimely Trippy Floor Responds to My Every Captivated Step [Geekschoolprojects]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 23rd, 2009
Here’s something beautiful: a mechanical garden that responds to your step. It makes me feel like I’m in Wonderland.
Dynamic Ground is a kinetic floor developed by Adam Lassy and Adi Marom for NYU’s ITP Winter Show. Each interconnected hexagon is operated by a central motor connected to a light censor. When someone walks on the platform and covers the sensor, the design underneath either expands or contracts, depending on its resting state. It’s not walking on sunshine so much as stepping on snowflakes. [ITP Winter Show]
Play Us a Holiday Diddy on the HTC Mobile of Mobiles [Cellphones]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 22nd, 2009
Using 50 HTC Touch handsets connected to computers with custom programming, James Theophane created a musical art installation that you can actually play via internet magic.
Just head on over to the live stream and use the virtual keyboard to play a song, something resembling a song or a random and hideous mashup of notes that ruins the holidays for everyone. The installation will be on display at the Brick Lane Studio in London through January. [Theopane via Switched via TechEBlog]
Beautiful Soviet Children’s Books Make Me Wish I Was Born Behind the Iron Curtain [Art]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 22nd, 2009
I mean, not really, but still! These wonderfully idiosyncratic illustrations, from 1989’s Hello, I’m Robot! by Stanislav Zigunenko, render our robot future in a way that conveys big ideas to children, and pure poetry to the rest of us.
Perhaps what makes these illustrations work is that they trust their young audience with difficult questions: Are our brains simply computers? Are our bodies mere machines? What is work, without agency? What is pleasure, without feeling? These are not things I was thinking about in 1989.
Or, you know, it could be the fact that they’re utterly stunning, and look like something you’d find in an art gallery, not a rotting children’s book. More at [AJourneyAroundMySkull via BoingBoing]
Beautiful Soviet Children’s Books Make Me Wish I Was Born Behind the Iron Curtain [Art]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 22nd, 2009
I mean, not really, but still! These wonderfully idiosyncratic illustrations, from 1989’s Hello, I’m Robot! by Stanislav Zigunenko, render our robot future in a way that conveys big ideas to children, and pure poetry to the rest of us.
Perhaps what makes these illustrations work is that they trust their young audience with difficult questions: Are our brains simply computers? Are our bodies mere machines? What is work, without agency? What is pleasure, without feeling? These are not things I was thinking about in 1989.
Or, you know, it could be the fact that they’re utterly stunning, and look like something you’d find in an art gallery, not a rotting children’s book. More at [AJourneyAroundMySkull via BoingBoing]


