However hard it is to believe, our Artists in Residence, Geiger-Müller Sound System and Juneau Projects , have already reached the halfway point in their residencies. Over the course of an afternoon both duos spoke about their works-in-progress and reflected on the past six weeks as well as laying out their plans for the remainder of their time in the Studio.

Geiger-Müller Sound System
Over the first part of their residency Timothy X Atack and MrUnderwood, collectively named Geiger-Müller Sound System, have spent their time researching how to develop the principals of MrUnderwood’s Sonic Graffiti project to include emotional resonance for the audience.

After much discussion, the duo became interested in an old harmonium that Timothy acquired many years ago which, riddled with woodworm, has been slowly dying in his garden. Their current plan is to deconstruct the antique instrument and re-house the individual reeds within a series of bespoke mechanical sound boxes to be left in public spaces. They imagine the boxes to be powered manually using an in-built bellow which will trigger the drone of the reed and, after about a minute of bellowing, a secondary layer of sound; perhaps a field recording of the box’s initial location.

Timothy has been considering questions of authenticity and participation; how can narrative be subtly used to make the boxes intriguing and engaging? Current plans involve making the boxes out of wood and inscribing vague yet inviting instructions on the side such as ‘Harmonium 1889, 0001, Please Maintain and Sound’. The challenges he faces are: how can the boxes be designed to protect against vandalism? How much instruction is enough? How will they be made weatherproof? Why would people pick them up?

MrUnderwood has been on a research quest to understand the mechanics of reed instruments and tackle the subject of power. With the inclusion of the additional sound box a key issue is factoring in an MP3, amplifier and power source to the design. Could the motion of the bellows power a dynamo? Would replaceable batteries be an option? Having sought expert advice on the mechanics of reed instruments, MrUnderwood is also considering the design implications of the bellow mechanism: what material would be both flexible enough and weatherproof? Which bellowing motion would work best with the box design?

Timothy and MrUnderwood were left with many on-going considerations after the talk:
How will the design encourage people to attach value to the boxes?
Where would the boxes be placed and would their journeys be tracked?
Could solar power or birthday card-style audio devices be considered?
Could a trade-off be made with the design to keep them as indoor objects?
Would they encourage the idea of a gathering of the boxes and if so, how?

Keep and eye on their project journal to learn their latest successes and discoveries.


Juneau Projects
Joining the Studio to investigate whether they could use artificial intelligence to inform the creation of an artwork, Juneau Projects have spent the first five weeks of their residency exploring whether there is a way to connect the perception of a science fiction artificial intelligence with the reality of the technology. Their current research looks at four different ways that a collaboration with AI could manifest itself:

CleverBots: an initial idea of how they could use AI was to attempt to create a piece on the instruction of a computer. After talking to the online chatbot, CleverBot, they were instructed to paint a picture of zombies, robot clothes and the colour gold (pictured). How could they use this form of AI to inform the work that they produce?

Mathematical Pattern Production: based on a set of rules, drawing systems such as the cellular automaton Conway’s Game of Life allow patterns to form by determining the conditions under which the cells become either dead (blank) or alive (coloured). The duo considered whether they could apply the same principals of these pattern-drawing systems to create their own rules for pattern production using specific digital data as the input.

Rebellious Artificial Intelligence: inspired by William Gibson’s cyberpunk novel Neuromancer, which toys with the concept of a rebellious form of AI, they investigated the possibility of creating a rogue programme which could operate in the background of the computer, clipping sections from your image files to create a new collage which reveals itself over time.

Robot Arms: building on their previous forays into robotics, they spoke to Studio resident Ad Spiers about his re-purposed robot arm and how its inaccuracy broke the mould of perceived AI and created its own signature style. Could they build and programme their own robot arm to paint authentically in a style that does not adhere to existing artistic conventions?

They too have many ongoing considerations:
Would there be a way to use the unwitting humour of cleverbots in their work?
By definition, is what they are researching AI, emergent behaviours or communication technology? Does it affect how they understand their work?
What implications on authenticity would instructing an AI to recreate a style of painting have?
Could documenting the process of learning a skill reveal a methodology behind the child-like painting style? Could this help them design the software for their drawing robot?

Keep up to date with their progress online, as the project unfolds throughout December.

 



Juneau Projects, Timothy X Atack and MrUnderwood, are supported by Watershed's Studio Residencies 2012 development programme.