Crits, readings and beast evolution

Following the class reviews on Tuesday the 16th, I have made some new decisions as to the mechanization of my "beast". Some of the issues which came up in the reviews (and that I have struggled to resolve myself) are divided into a) its activation, and b) what it does when it is activated? The MachinaKafe needs much help from human hands to fill fills itself with water, turn itself on/off and operated channels to produce steam and not boiling water. I have decided that the focus of the MachinaKafe is the steam, and I would like the machine to someway control the invisibility & visibility of steam, to inject steam into space transform it into an architectural element.

a)
Activation and self-regeneration: make the tank bigger so more water can boil for longer periods of time and therefore, produce more steam, making the tank heater run for longer periods of time (whatever heating system is embedded in the espresso tank only heats up for about five minutes and then needs to be manually unplugged, left to cool down, and then plugged in again), and being able to draw steam from the tank, again, without manual intervention. What I would like to make then is a larger tank, with some kind of water supply refilling the tank, and heating system, that altogether operates "on its own", or being switched on when it "senses" someone near it. I also need it to switch it self off when it is left alone, and prevent it from boiling itself dry.

b)
A couple of short essays on autopoetics and the weather, plus the work by the artist Olafur Eliasson have been a good source for me to think about and clarify how I will experiment with steam. I am posting below the two essays for your reading pleasure, and there's also the link to Elliason's homepage. Earlier I wrote about using the steam produced by the MachinaKafe to make itself disappear in a cloud. From the discussion we had on Tuesday, I need to expand the realm of what my machine is doing with the steam and move towards experimenting with the "structure" of the cloud, as well as letting go off certain decided outcomes of the machine's behaviour. The metaphor of the "sanctified" machine floating in a cloud is still central to my exploration of this product of 19th century industrialization. But there are also questions about how we are participants in that process of making sacred spaces with steam which I would like to integrate into the operations of the beast. (....?.....!...)

Well, for now, enjoy the lovely images.




a




b


Olafur Elliason, a, Beauty, 2003 b, Multiple Grotto, 2004

Two papers:

Jensen's Remarks on nature, super-ecology, life, production, position and other negotiations

Massey's Some times of Space

BEAST: test 2

Yesterday, I did a couple of steam tube connection tests, trying different combination of connections and valves with silicon and copper tubes, and brass valves. I copied the existing connection details in the MachinaKafe when I made the new connections.



I also did a couple of steam tests, now that I had extended the tubes. I added ten feet of tube length to the machines output, and the pressure is noticeably lighter, but still there.



I took the machine outside where the cold air would help condense the steam and make it more visible. Unfortunately, my new silicon connection blew under the pressure if the steam. I then took the length of silicon tube out of the tube path, and tried the experiment again. It worked!

BEAST: sketch and write and test

I would like if I could make my machine make itself disappear in a white cloud.





As I have earlier described in the Vivisection brief, the MachinaKafe is built from materials and operates on mechanical principles refined in 19th century manufacturing processes. In this sense, the MachinaKafe is a summary of all machines of the 19th century; in their design, fashioning and operation, machines replicated the divine act and accordingly succeeded the place of the divine figure in cultural history to this day. The consequences of such a massive cultural shift are numerous and take off in many different directions and criticism. When I began this Vivisection project, I read Paul Virilio's The Art of the Motor, and then felt sorry for myself a few days after....just kidding, but in some small measure I couldn't help but be affected by his despair over civilization unconscious submission to the sublimity of omniscient machine world around us (and now, in the 21st century, growing in us too). Machines are not just all around us, but they are idealizations of ourselves, our bodies, and our aspirations.

The Machine as Divine being, or C O F F E E___E X - M A C H I N A

If the machine is God, then how does God make himself know to us? Through his divine acts.
The MachinaKafe is shrouded in a white cloud, brought out from within to veil from us the nature of the apparition's source. The cloud essentially changes the question we ask the machine: what are you? to what do I compare you to from all the other machines around me? The cloud elevates and sanctifies the machine.

"I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the most High."
-Isaiah 14:14, King James Bible

The sketch above is a quick doodle of how I might install y machine. I would like the whole apparatus to be suspended, preferably over a bowl of water or any other body of water (it could be natural), and a series of new and delicate copper steam wands, branches springing from the original and singular tube twirl about the divine water tank. From their mouths, white steam pours out and clouds the entire construct.





I did a few tests today of what a white cloud coming out of the steam wand might look like (this puppy can fill the basement corridor with fog no problemo!)...and I am quickly learning that "making the cloud" will go through many-a-trial-and-error processes. One thing for sure is that I will probably want to install my machine in the outdoors as the cold air produces a better effect, and makes less mess in the studio (pardon the slippery floor around the front door to the Studio). Since I made the sketch above, I had the idea of installing my machine in the School courtyard. I think the peaceful enclosure would enhance the experience of encountering the "cloud".