#7electrons
Kim Pimmel interview coming next week
Kim creates stop motion analog vfx with things like ferrofluid, toner particles and magnets. He’s also into synths … our type of guy. Full interview coming next week!
-terry
twitter.com/7electrons
7E Guest Artist Stefanie Posavec
Stefanie Posavec is an London-based data artist with an MA in Communication Design (Central Saint Martins). With a background in book design and text visualisation, she works as a designer with a focus on data-related design, with work ranging from data visualization and information design. She is commissioned for data art and data illustration for a variety of clients. Her personal work focuses on the visual representation of language, literature, or numbers and has been exhibited internationally.
Check out her site. We love her book art.
-7E
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In the News - LACMA/Hyundai supports Art + Technology
LACMA and Hyundai Motor Company just announced The Hyundai Project - a brand new 10 year partnership in creating a Art + Technology and Korean Art Scholarships. Hyundai will be sponsoring exhibitions that address the intersection of Art + Technology and “champion technology-based artist projects through grants and in-kind support from leading technology companies.”
“For Korean art scholarships, The Hyundai Project will support three exhibitions and multiple publications planned over the next decade, ranging from historic, traditional art forms to new works created by contemporary Korean artists. The Korean Art Scholarship Initiative creates a new platform and model for research in these areas—key aspects of Korean art that have never before been explored on this scale in either exhibitions or books published outside Korea. The exhibitions, currently planned for 2018, 2022, and 2024, will each include international symposia, online scholarly publications, and exhibition catalogues.”
This partnership/support resonates with us as our blog is all about Art + Engineering plus I’m Korean American! This is a great way for Korean artists to step up and engage in this opportunity.
-Jinna
Photo: Robert Irwin, Miracle Mile 2013 LACMA.
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7E Guest Artist - Yann Seznec
Our engineering/art blog started summer of 2013 that focused on our passion and profession; art, music, technology and electronics. What started out as intimate projects that revealed our relationship/marriage has now flourished to wide variety of guest artists from all over the world.
Yann Seznec is an artist, musician and founder of Lucky Frame based in Edinburgh, Scotland. His work focuses on sound, music, physical interaction, games, and instruments.
His recent work top to bottom:
Currents is a project that is both installation and performance. It consists of 172 computerized fans of varying sizes. The fans access weather data from 6 varying global locations and recreates wind patterns for the visitor.
Spores is an installation that shines laser underneath mushrooms to clearly highlight thousands of glistening spores.
Cigar box MiDI Controller is a playful project that includes 6 potentiometers, 6 buttons, 3 toggle switches, a Gametrak string controller, and a breakout board for five capacitive touch note switches.
Thank you Yann for joining 7E!
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7E Studio Guest - Kimchee and Chips
Kimchee and Chips, is a collaborative art studio based in Seoul founded by Elliot Woods (UK) and Mimi Son (S. Korea). Their works combines technical media and/or primitive materials to create interactive exhibits. They use disciplines of visual technology such as projectors, cameras, graphical computation as well as utilizing code with traditional art materials.
“Light Barrier” (2014) is a light installation consisting of convex mirrors and light to create projection of floating graphical/animating objects.
“Line Segments Space” (2013) is a spectacular light and sound installation using projection, nylon string and code. It very much resonates with works from our past 7E featured artist Jeongmoon Choi.
“Lunar Surface” (2014) is a projection image created by a vertical flag of fabric moving in wind, displaced by curves of air pressure, swinging back and forth. “As it sweeps, it extrudes a trail of light which draws a moon floating in space. The flag renders this moon from another reality, the silk surface acts as a boundary between 2 realities, intermediating the laws of the 2 realms.”
Photos do not do justice. Be sure to watch the videos. I’m loving the wordplay on their name. Sounds pretty tasty actually.
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7E Guest Artist - Julien Leonard
Julien Leonard is a generative artist and software programmer trained in computer science and artificial intelligence. His work consists of pre-defined patterns of adjacent dots or bubbles created from code. Similar to the Pointillism technique developed during the Impressionism era in the late 1800s, his work consists of dots that form an image created from computer script. His work reflect patterns of nature like that of sea creatures or underwater plants.
For those who may be slightly trypophobic as I am, don’t worry. HIs intricate work only produces a sense of awe. Be sure to check out his interactive work on his site.
-Jinna
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7E Interview with Digital Artist Mark Dorf
We talked to digital media artist Mark Dorf, a Brooklyn NY based photographer/sculptor. Dorf explores the relationships between the natural and digital worlds. His series //_PATH uses early 3D scanning technology to create geometric forms within the plane of a landscape. We discuss his process in //_Path and his earlier works. Check out our interview:
7E: Where are the various locations that were photographed? Specifically //_Path, Axiom & Simulation, Environmental Occupation,and Host. Also, do you hire a photographer or are you working solo?
MD: //_PATH was shot in a plethora of different places: predominantly in the Redwoods of Northern California, but also in the Rockies of Colorado as well as a few images in Upstate New York. Axiom & Simulation was shot in both upstate New York and Iceland. Environmental Occupations was all shot on the coast of South Carolina and the northern coast of Georgia. Host was shot again on the coast of South Carolina, the northern coast of Georgia and additionally in the Rockies of Colorado and the Gulf Coast of Texas. As for shooting the images themselves, I work solo – all of my imagery and compositions are shot and made by me – nothing is outsourced or bought.
7E: What is the list of computer applications used? Also are all topographic triangulations projected in a 3d program? Are any hand drafted?
MD: I use quite a cocktail of computer applications including:
Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Processing, Blender, Cinema 4D, Google Sketchup and RGBD Toolkit
As for the topographic meshes that you see – in the series Axiom & Simulation, I had yet to teach myself anything about 3D rendering so those were all hand drafted. With that in mind though, some were freehand and others I would actually set markers out in the landscape in an exact grid form, photograph them for reference, then remove the markers and photograph the scene again. Later I would then overlay the two images and more or less “connect the dots” in order to get an accurate representation of the topographic information in the landscape.
The 3D meshes that you see in //_PATH are actually created using primitive 3D scanning technology using an Infrared Sensor/transmitter and using RGBD to process the information. The meshes in these images are scans of elements, such as plants, rocks, and piles of dirt, that were found in the landscape that they are collaged on top. Here I was interested in examining language: I see the landscape as the most ancient of languages. At one point it could be considered almost binary in that a life for sees one element, realizes that it is good for them and will help sustain life, and see another and know that it will hurt them. In contrast here I have included a contemporary technological eye that examines and quantifies surroundings in a highly organized manner. The scans become highly abstracted due to the fact that they are all un-manipulated raw data – a pure version of the technological eye that was used to create the scans. Typically a 3D scan is much more than just one single scan – usually it is 4+ scans composited together with finishing techniques to render a fully realized model. Here it is but the subject as seen by the technology itself.
7E: What is your process in creating a single image? Do you start with a natural environment first and formulate a synthetic art form within that composition?
MD: My processes has of course changed over the years after tackling many different subject matters and means of creating imagery. In my earlier works, like Environmental Occupations and Axiom & Simulation, I would actually draw out each composition by hand on paper before taking a single image. I knew exactly what I was looking for before I ever left the studio. Not only would I draw all of the elements that are to be created in the scene but also the landscape itself that I was looking for. If there was a compositional element that I needed that was not present in the landscape that I was in, I would move on and not even take the photo. It was a real labor of love, but one that I think results in something that is far more satisfying – why settle when you can find exactly what you want. The idea is not to create fictitious landscapes and illusion – the actual visual un-manipulated description of the landscape is very important to me.
As for later works like //_PATH – In those images, I knew what I wanted to place in the scene and the techniques that I wanted to include in the series, such as 3D composites, 3D scans and other visual geometric and digital techniques, but when shooting I did not know which one would fall in what scene. I was however aware after a few tests that I wanted central compositions and a certain quality of light – so I was searching for those compositional and photographic elements when shooting.
Emergence was different for many reasons. This was the first project that I really dove into the world of science. All of this series was made in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado while I was an artist in residence at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (a field research lab in a remote region of the Rockies). While there I was working side by side with ecologists and biologists in the field every single day living the life of the scientist and field researcher. Their process of data collection and analysis is what really influenced that work – for the most part it is exactly that: an exploration of data collection, analysis, and transformation. In light of that, I treated my photographs like my “collected data”. I would go out and do my “field research” (my photographing and exploring) and return to my studio and “analyze” the information (the photographs) that I had collected. The composited elements are all derivative of different means of data visualization or data transformation. Again I had an idea of the different processing techniques that I wanted to use, but when shooting it was not apparent to me, nor important to me as this was merely my “collected data”, which would go where– that process was very much based after the images were taken and re-examined.
7E: Where did your interest of nature and geography stem from? And is it a spiritual journey to find these landscapes in what seems very desolate areas.
MD: My interest in nature has been a life-long interest. Ever since I was little, I was always the kid that wanted to be outside playing and climbing trees – not watching TV and playing video games (though I was totally fascinated by computers). I liked to explore and go on adventures – this has stuck with me my entire life. The landscape is where I find my mind is the most clear and at ease.
As for my interest in geography and science in my creative process, I think that influence has come quite a lot form my family. My grandfather and grandmother were both photographers in the 40’s in New York City (the photographic and perhaps the technology element of my process), my aunt and uncle are both marine biologists and my father works in medicine (the science element of my process), and now I tend to mix all of the above into a single conversation. There is without a doubt a meditative and spiritual quality to my travels – like I said, the landscape is the place that I feel most at ease. I don’t mean this in a “we should return to the earth” kind of way, but rather I enjoy the solitude and perceived lack of human presence (this is of course a misconception of the landscape but a perception nonetheless). I enjoy traveling to the places where fewer feet have tread. I thoroughly enjoy the escape.
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7E Guest Artist - Eric Carl
Eric Carl is a Los Angeles based Art Director/Graphic Design Instructor at Gnomon School of Visual Effects. His work covers UI design and musical tools. In his spare time, he creates electronic music.
We first discovered Eric because he’s a fan of our pro audio company Meris! Reciprocally, we immediately became fans of him as well. We were blown away by his beautiful graphic aesthetic that resonated with us. His passion for music gear, electronics, technology and design stroke a loud chord. We love his work and we’re excited to someday meet another talented Angeleno!
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Our Art and Engineering Teaser. Meet Ottobit.
No quarters needed. Crush bits, de-rez and sonic destroy.
Early Christmas Gift
Opened an early Christmas gift from our business partner Angelo. It’s a mini Nostromo jumpsuit for my future girl growing inside me. For those who know what this is, this gift left me speechless. Touched my heart to the core. Fantastic.
Like a samurai’s rite of passage, I will await the day she can fit in it.
-Jinna
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7E Guest Artist - Sougwen Chung
New York-based Canadian/Chinese artist Sougwen Chung is an experimental artist with a background in fine art, digital and interactive media. Her work focuses on “transitional edges”- mainly the interaction between hand-made and machine-made, the performative with digital and the intuitive to the technical. She uses traditional art tools as well as digital mediums; paper and black ink, canvas and paint, charcoal and cloth, magnets, steel, rods, LEDs, wood, film acetate, silk, Photoshop, Illustrator, Cinema4D, Processing, nano-controllers, electric violin, Ardiuno, projectors, mad mapper, etc. Her work spans from installation, scupture, still image, drawing and performance.
Her work explores the intersection of organic and technology as well as shifting between what is real and what is virtual. Her style is abstract and incredibly detailed. She balances delicate lines or flourishes while maintaining a austere and mesmerizing feel.
I would love to buy a drawing from her. Her work is absolutely captivating to me. Thank you Sougwen for joining 7E. We’re honored.
-Jinna
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7E visits Days and Nights Festival 2014 with Philip Glass - Big Sur, California PLUS BIG NEWS
Last Friday on September 26th, we made a 6 hour drive to the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur to witness an Evening of Music and Spoken Word with Philip Glass and Friends.
The setting was intimate as we were seated amongst twinkling lights, stars and ancient redwood trees. While breathing the crisp night air of ocean and sequoia, we witnessed Philip Glass perform some of his works accompanied by a stellar concert band. They also performed a string trio OP. 9 No. 3 by Ludwig Beethoven. Beautiful.
Although poetry/spoken word is not something we follow, (and perhaps not appreciated enough) Jerry Quickely’s piece called Whistleblower was compelling and executed with grace.
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News to Readers: We’re well aware that we’ve been holding off on posting any new articles for several months. It’s for a good reason…
We want to announce today to our loyal 7E readers/friends very intimate news that we are expecting our first baby. :)
Days and Nights Festival was a short soulful journey. It was great to breathe the good coastal air and witness an ensemble of unique artists. I’ve been extremely sick and weak the past few month but lately I feel I’ve been gaining strength.
7E was derived from our root concept: a marriage of Art of Engineering. We’re proud to share our big news to you. We promise more art and engineering will return. Feel free to write to us!
-Jinna
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You’re nervous. Relax.
Big changes are in the horizon. We’re looking forward to announcing soon. In the meantime, I’m doing my best by filtering the good vibes from all the noise in this world.
Here’s a late summer playlist I created. It consists of down-tempo trip-hop, funk, electronica, rap, etc. Smooooth and chill.
Above: Dâm Funk - a modern funk supreme. Love him.
-Jinna
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7E Interview with Artist/Musician Dan McPharlin
Few weeks ago, we posted an article about our favorite Sci-Fi Artist Dan McPharlin. We had an opportunity to interview him about his process of art, science fiction, music, synthesizers, and gear.
7E- What is the earliest sci-fi you remember being exposed to? (Do you have a library of your favorite pasttime books, sleeves, material you could kindly share with us?) (See photo above that Dan shared with us!)
DM-When I was growing up in the late 70s, early 80s there seemed to be a lot of sci-fi around. I think many kids of that era just soaked it all in. The enthusiasm generated by the Apollo missions was still fuelling public fascination (and optimism) about space exploration and then films like Star Wars kicked things along nicely. My earliest cinematic memory was seeing Empire Strikes Back in the theatre, and I definitely remember being obsessed with Dr. Who. Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker era episodes were a nightly fixture on Australian public television for a number of years. The windswept quarries, medieval British towns juxtaposed with strange aliens and sci-fi hardware fuelled my imagination. There was something about the quaint Britishness of it all that I connected with. Then I began to discover the artwork of artists like Chris Foss and Roger Dean and there was no looking back!
7E- How do germs of ideas for new artworks usually emerge?
DM- Ideas usually emerge from an emotional rather than a technical inception. My art is about juxtapositions of the familiar and the strange, the natural and the manufactured. I try to imagine how it would feel to inhabit a particular environment, to set foot on the soil of a distant world. The figures in my pictures are a stand in for the audience (and myself) so as I’m painting I’m really exploring the landscape at the same time. I like to depict moments of quiet contemplation rather than action or violence and I don’t shy away from mystery or ambiguity.
7E- We’ve read that you primarily work digitally using Photoshop and Wacom. What are some tools you can not live without? Do you create an isolated color palette for each artwork or do you improvise your color choice as you go?
DM- Photoshop is the main software I use. I’ve worked hard to create a set of digital tools that are as analogous to traditional painting as possible. Facing a blank canvas is always daunting so I have a lot of ‘prepared canvases’ that give me a starting point. I usually come up with textures using traditional media which gets scanned in and chopped up in Photoshop. For example, with a series of pieces I just finished I created many of these textures using acrylics mixed with dishwashing soap. Sometimes I might even begin with an older piece of work and start painting over the top. The colour palette will tend to evolve as I go. I use the Photoshop colour-picker a lot, using the painting itself as my colour mixer, constantly switching brushes, opacity etc. The ‘feel’ of mark making has become more important to me over the years and I often place textured papers over the Wacom to simulate different materials.
7E- Could you list several musicians/artists you’ve been listening to lately while illustrating.
DM- Hector Zazou, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Steve Reich, a lot of the old BBC Radiophonic Workshop stuff, a bit of Krautrock and early 90s Warp releases.
I often put together playlists or mixes of favourite tracks to listen to while I work. I’ve recently started collecting these together and releasing them: https://soundcloud.com/cosmonostro/sets/transmissions-a-mix-series-by
7E- Which synth(s) do you currently own?
DM- I have a Synthesizers.com modular, Roland SH-101, Roland MKS-80 + Programmer, Ensoniq SQ-80, Nord Modular, a few digital things, Roland TR-808, Roland MC-4, Roland SPV-355, various samplers, analogue outboard, tape echoes. I think I could probably make do with just the modular, although I have something of an addiction to outboard effects units. My favourite way to make music is just to turn off all the computers and bounce voltages around the studio for 4 hours.
7E- Was there ever a “synth that got away”, or a piece of music gear you regret selling?
DM- I remember when a Moog Sonic 6 came up for sale for a really good price about 10 years ago. I probably should have jumped on it but at the time I was only buying modular gear and couldn’t really justify owning another monosynth. I’m a bit of a collector by nature (perhaps hoarder is the correct word!) and at the time I remember thinking do I really need this to make music, or do I just like the idea of owning it. I’m sure that inner struggle is familiar to many.
7E- What inspired the papercraft series?
DM- I suppose it was a way to express my love of analogue technology while trying to imagine an alternative timeline where digital synths like the DX-7 had never come to be; if analogue synths had continued to develop unchallenged, what would they look like? It was also a way for me to explore the aesthetics of technological objects using a non-technological medium like cardboard or paper. I wanted these objects to exist in the world and the only way for that to happen was to build them out of the materials I had around me.
(© all rights reserved.)
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7E Guest Director - Scott Snibbe
REWORK_ is an app album that features 11 interactive music visualizers of remixed works inspired by Philip Glass.
Theapp features interactive audiovisual remixes by critically acclaimed musicians including Beck, Tyondai Braxton, Amon Tobin, Cornelius, Dan Deacon, Johann Johannsson, Nosaj Thing, Memory Tapes, Silver Alert, My Great Ghost, and Peter Broderick.
“In addition to the visualizers, the app includes the “Glass Machine” which lets people create music inspired by Philip Glass’ early work by simply sliding two discs around side-by-side, almost like turntables. People can select different instruments – from synthesizer to piano, and generate polyrhythmic counterpoints between the two melodies.”
The app was directed by Scott Snibbe, produced by Ahna Girshick, and engineered by Graham McDermott, with music visualizer programming and design by software artist David Wicks.
Thank you Scott for joining 7E!
-Jinna
Be sure to check out the video of Philip Glass playing with REWORK_ on the iPad:
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7E Interview with Artist Dan McPharlin - Coming Soon.
Next week, 7E interviews with Artist Dan McPharlin on surrealism, electronics, sci-fi, and of course synthesizers.
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7E will be @ Days and Nights Festival - Philip Glass
It’ll be a majestic night. Philip Glass performs with world-class musicians and poetry for a unique night under the stars. At the Henry Miller Library, Big Sur on Friday, September 26.
**Famous black and white portrait by Chuck Close.
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7E Guest Artist Dan McPharlin
Inspired by Sci-Fi Illustrators and Artists from days gone by, Dan McPharlin creates surrealistically styled sci-fi illustrations in addition to miniatures and original music. He resides in Australia and is often commissioned for the album cover artwork of various musicians. Dan is also an electronic musician and synthesizer enthusiast with a love for vintage computers to boot. Check out his synthesizer and analog computer papercraft miniatures! Amazing.
Originally, we discovered McPharlin along with Kilian Eng through the Moment’s Lost project. I love sci-fi illustration and synthesizers so I’m ecstatic to be able to show Dan’s work.
-Terry
twitter.com/7Electrons
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7Electrons will be at FYF
2014 Fuck Yeah Festival lineup is spectacular. It’ll be our 3rd year of attendance. This year will be at the LA Sports Arena & Exposition Park. We’re excited. Who’s going?
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7E Guest Artist - Evan Holm
Evan is a multimedia sculptor, born in Seattle and now resides in Oakland, California. While attending UCSC, he studied double major in art/engineering and eventually steered his focus to an art degree. Evan utilizes audio components and electronics while using simple machines or custom mechanical devices. He writes, “For the most part, I make large scale sculptures that are machines and clocks of a sort. I use elements found from the natural world, and tailor them together with technological components crafted by human hands. I love merging nature and tech in a way that resolves the piece into a higher harmony. Sound is a beautiful medium in its own right. As an artist, it is a pleasure for me to move between mediums. Sound and music is a medium that I find so immediately engaging that I try to include it in most of my sculptures."
Watch Submerged TurntablefromBrian LillaonVimeo.
-7E
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Motion Artist Marco Bagni Joins 7E
Italian Motion Designer, Marco resides in Berlin, a.k.a. Lost Conversation. As a commercial artist, he focuses on infographics, storytelling, UI/UX and Direction.
Chasing Space is a an abstract animation investigating the Universe and the connection to life. He quotes the philosopher Alan Watts saying,”So we have this process, called life. It’s aware of itself, it’s aware of itself through you; you are an instrument through which the Universe looks at itself. And because of this there is always an aspect of itself that it can’t see. Like a snake pursuing his own tale. That’s what we find as we investigate the Universe: Make the microscope bigger and bigger, and we will find ever more minute things; Make the telescope bigger and bigger, and the Universe expands, because it’s running away from itself; It won’t do that if you don’t chase it!”
Watch the full animation here.
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7E Reviews Frends Taylor Headphones
In addition to our engineering/art blog, we also own and operate a Los Angeles based pro audio company Meris. Terry is an electronic engineer, founder and musician. Our partner, Angelo is a DSP Engineer with 15+ years of experience in the pro audio world. I decided to do an honest review of high end audio accessory company geared towards women. Our assessment is from the best audio engineers/designers in the field.
When I stumbled upon Frends Taylor Headphones, I was stunned by its beauty. I consulted my husband Terry to discern the sound quality through online reviews. But we couldn’t find a single constructive review about the audio quality. I figured I’d fill that void.
Verdict:
Quality - The quality and craftsmanship is superb. Leather is soft and the stitching is clean and tight. With interchangeable headphone caps, my gold headphones look high quality. Slightly heavy feel. Truly is a jewelry inspired design. Designed in Los Angeles and made in China.
Sound - Full, rich and robust in bass. I find it a bit bassy and louder than my Sony Pro MCR-7506. Fun with R&B or Rap but not quite a balanced equalization for all types of music.
Comfort - Not nearly as comfortable as my Sonys that I’ve had for 8 years. The Taylors do not cup over my ears but rather smash my earlobes. Ear set is made of memory foam and adjusts in length however this does not ease the slight tension. I find this to be one of the key deciding factors.
Features - Includes a built in 3 button mic for volume, music + phone control with thin soft fabric cord. Comes with a zippered carrying case and jewelry box packaging. Made for all Apple IOS products however not sure how it works well with Android devices.
Fashion over Function is the question. The sound quality is good however comfort scores lowest. Similar to sexy look of high heels, I’d say it’s worth the slight discomfort in this case.
-Jinna
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