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Kinetica 2012

Well it was scrum, a mixture of visitors and exhibitors. Why are they showing, why are we visiting?

I ask because is this kinetic art ?Was this a kinetic art exhibition, it certainly didn't feel like a gallery.

Perhaps it's a place to network, something I always forget to allow for, as well as do.

Those there must be to an extent self selected, and as I still know very little about the subject, it was difficult to draw any conclusions and if there are any gaps, that could just be an absence this year, or maybe the last as I went last year too.

Kinetic implies an engagement with movement - with a technological element. The earliest mechanical technology includes cogs gears and levers etc, all the movement circular in some way. of course we now have the digital, which includes everything of everyperiod, as well as this blog. There did seem to be a divide between the overtley mechanical, and things that ran off laptops as well work that conbined the two, both clearly and the not so clearly.

I remember from last year there seemd to be a lto from those training or trained in engineering, I've no idea how accurate that iompression is. this year I noticed 'Goldsmiths a few times including the phrase 'Computing and the arts' mentioned in the caption for a "Gestalt Circle." I did ask for a catalogue, but the hard copies are 'lost in africa.'

I ask this, as my one experience of trying to produce a kinetic piece was miserable. Months of work, and only to find the thing just managed to function on the night because of a tiny inaccuracy in construction - impossible to avoid in a college studio geared to clay sculpture plaster joinery casting etc, but not precision engineering. Seems to me kinetic art is just for those studying or experienced in engineering.

This seemed to me to lead to work that was clearly decorative or designed to starkly expose scientific principles or to show a geeky love of the mechanical. That's probably not fair, but it was just too packed and noisey to talk to the exhibitors.

I LOVED this. I thought it was beautiful in everyway. the delicacy of the copper wires, gave the whole thing the sense of a three dimensional drawing. I suppose I should have taken a video, but it was so packed [did I emntion that before ?] I didn't want to hog the space.

It's construction is completely open to view. [My piece wasn't - and I was continually asked to turn it off and show people how it worked.]

WuXiaoFei is currently in his final year of BA (Hons) Fine Art for Design at Batley School of Art, exploring kinetic sculptures that interact with the audience.

Nothing on the net but his entry on the exhibitors list. I did snap a video screen with a web address in his space, but it doesn't seem to lead to a website after all.

Another view of the same exhibitors space. I have seen this identical mechanism used for flying elephants, part of the limitations of these mechanism perhaps.

Paul

By Patrick Tresset.

"Paul is a robotic entity that autonomously draws members of the public in a style inspired by Patrick tresset's own drawing manner. Pail utilises some of the technologies and ideas developed in the context of Aikon - II, a research project that investigates the observational sketcjing activity through computational modelling and robotics. Aikon -II is hosted at Goldsmiths' College computing department and is funded in part by a Leverhulme Trust's 3.5 year reseacrh grant [fucking dyslexia !]

www.aikon-gold.com

There was some relationship between the camera on the right and the drawing arm on the left. there was some work nearby where the connection between drawing and algorithms was more overt, but apart from seeing it draw and the leads that went down to a black box on the floor - I've no idea how this works - or what point was being made other than portrait service that was eagerly being taken up at [I think] £20 a go. I have thought of doing a survey of Leicester Square street portraitists.

Of course drawing machines are nothing new. I found the one below via google. Clearly the mechanism is intentionally hidden in a doll [Anthropomorphic], the drawing made via a pre-determined template, not as above a recognisable portrait of a completely unknown subject. In the one below there is an intention to diguise the mechanism