Archive for July, 2008
{ July 31, 2008 @ 5:04 pm }
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{ painting, pop art }
{ Tags: art, art robot, painting robot, robots, pop art, science, printmaking, urban art, paintings, robot paintings, walrus }
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Introducing Robo-Walrus!!! (a Zanelle Painting)
Robo-Walrus #2, 12×16 inches, Acrylic on Canvas
My nephew put a poem together that best describes the creature featured in my latest painting.
———————-
I am a creature from the deep ocean
though I have no emotion
built by a criminal mastermind
the only one of my kind
Ray Barlow
———————-
Not sure why I am fascinated by a robotic walrus. Maybe it is because it is such a ridiculous idea. Of all the robots one could make, why would one make one of a walrus. They are so unwieldy. Anyways, the painting above is available for purchase from me for $300. There is also another version available for purchase at the Art Whino Gallery in Washington DC (www.artwhino.com).
Like all my paintings, Robo Walrus #2 was painted by Zanelle, my painting art robot. For more details and to see how she paints, click on the movie link in my links section.
Pindar
{ July 30, 2008 @ 1:48 am }
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{ development, general, painting, robot, technology }
{ Tags: art, art robot, painting, painting robot, robot, robots, science, technology }
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In a post long ago I promised to show a history of robotic heads used by my painting art robot, Zanelle. Here it finally is. Below are pictures of the first three robotic heads that were used to hold a brush and apply brush strokes to canvas. None of these are being used any longer. They have been replaced by my fourth and fifth robotic head, the fifth one is pictured even further below.
The first head was absurd (top). A hand wrapped electro magnet that worked so poorly I had to have counter weights on the opposite side of the brush. But it made cool strokes. Unfortunately it only lasted a couple of weeks before I replaced it.
The second head was awesome (middle). Completely hand made primarily with wood, this robotic head painted for over a year without failure. I just retired it today and replaced it with a new head. Its only problem was that it would overheat and loose electromagnetic strength the longer it was in operation.
The third head was acceptable (bottom). It worked O.K., but didn’t have the style of the second. Also, it would jam occasionally. That is why when the fourth robotic head was constructed, I replacedis one with it instead of the second.
The fourth robotic head (unpictured), looks very similar to the fifth robotic head which is pictured below. It was designed and fabricated by Jacobus McKenzie. It does a majority of my paintings these days.
The fifth robotic head (above), was just installed on one of my painting robots. It too was designed and fabricated by Jacobus McKenzie. I worked with him to make a couple of improvements over the fourth one. I do not know how well it works yet as it is currently in the middle of a test run.
Will keep you updated…
Pindar
{ July 26, 2008 @ 1:33 pm }
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{ art, interactive, painting, robot, technology }
{ Tags: art, painting, art robot, painting robot, robots, technology, science, interactive art, robotics, interactive robot, audience produced art }
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Multiple audience members created paintings with my art robot, Zanelle, at the opening of the FLIK Interactive Art Exhibition last night (July 26, 2008). A video of how she paints with a brush on canvas can be seen at www.vanarman.com, or in the link bar on this blog.
At times there was a line of several people waiting to give the robot a shot. At first people were shy but once samples of audience work started piling up on the robot, everyone seemed to want to make a painting with it. Below is some of my favorite audience produced work.
I particularly like the walrus. It was painted by someone who told me they could not draw very well. I told her not to worry about that and loaded a picture of a walrus into the art application that is used to control my robot. She then traced the walrus and came out with what I consider a dramatic piece.
Some people traced while others free-handed. Below is a painting of a robot called “CC6″. It was designed by a 7 year old who made 3 or 4 practice robots before finally arriving at his final design.
The second night of the opening will begin tonight at 6:00 PM (July 26, 2008). Come by the Washington D.C. National Harbor to try your hand at painting with an art robot.
Pindar
{ July 25, 2008 @ 3:46 am }
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{ art, general, interactive, painting, robot }
{ Tags: art, painting, robot, art robot, painting robot, zanelle, robots, interactive art, interactive }
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My painting art robot, Zanelle, is now interactive. If you are unfamiliar with Zanelle, she is a robot that paints on just about any flat surface with a brush and artists grade paints. You can see a video of her painting in my links tab or at www.vanarman.com. There are several samples of our art work at this link as well.
Anyways, I had it out and ready for interactive use in a pre-opening at the FLIK Interactive Art exhibition (@ Art Whino in Washington D.C.’s National Harbor). Also on display were three of my works with Zanelle…
Using either a mouse or drawing pad, people were able to use Zanelle to make their own paintings. I have the drawing interface set up at a child’s art table. I intended it for children, but as can be seen, adults and even entire families were using Zanelle to paint.
I did not know what to expect, but I thought what people chose to paint was pretty cool. I will post some samples as more are made. But people typically had a go-to image that they knew they could draw well, and they then simply tried making that image, except with the robot. Some examples: one made an R2-D2, another a pumpkin, and several just scribbled.
Near the end of the night, both the children in this family made paintings. One was a design that looked like several stars and the other was a house. I wish I had taken pictures so I could show them here…
Pindar
{ July 21, 2008 @ 8:19 pm }
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{ art, general, painting, portraits, robot, technology }
{ Tags: art, painting, robot, art robot, painting robot, zanelle, robot art, robots, portraits, robotic portraiture, einstein, einstein portrait }
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I just finished with an interview about my art robot for an international television show. It was an interesting experience. I have done interviews before, but rarely do the interviewers seem to get what I am doing. These guys really did.
Anyways one of the things that they asked me to do before the interview is demonstrate how my robot paints portraits. They suggested an image of Einstein. Below is one of three samples I made for the feature. It is 12×16 on stretched canvas…
I will post the other two portraits later. They are of the same image with different brushstrokes. Below are some pictures of the production and crew in my studio. My studio has never been cleaner…
Anyways, I will post details and a link to the feature once I get it from the producers. You never know how you will be portrayed in media until you see the actual story, and it is always interesting to see what people think about you.
Pindar
{ July 21, 2008 @ 12:13 am }
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{ art, painting, pop art, retro robots, robot }
{ Tags: art, Godzilla, kanji, mechagodzilla, painting, pop art, robot, robot painting, robotics, robots, science, science fiction, technology }
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Mechagodzilla!!! One of the staples of recent fiction (specifically cartoons) is that the show’s protagonist must face a robotic version of him/herself. It seems like this happens in at least one episode of each and every popular cartoon these days. I guess it all started with Superman and Bizarro, but I don’t feel like looking it up. Was Bizarro even a robot? Is that even how you spell his name? Anyways, the first robotic antagonist that I remember as a child was Mechagodzilla, Godzilla’s greatest foe at the time.
Mechagodzilla, 16″x12″, Acrylic on Canvas
Or was Mechagodzilla a friend? Or maybe Mechagodzilla started as a foe and then they teamed up to defeat some even greater enemy. Who cares really? It was all ridiculous and who paid attention to the plot anyways? Here is my tribute to Mechagodzilla, painted by my painting robot Zanelle.
Pindar
{ July 18, 2008 @ 5:51 am }
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{ general, technology }
{ Tags: art, art openings, interactive art, painting, painting robot, robot, robot art, zanelle }
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For anyone in the Washington D.C. area, Zanelle and some of our art will be in the FLIK Interactive Art Exhibition. As well as the robot, three of our works will be on display. Details are as follows.
Show Website:
http://artoutlet.org/content/blogcategory/47/110/
Show Details:
FLIK interactive Reception: Jul 25-26, 6:00 PM
FLIK International Movie Festival: July 25-26, 8:00 PM
Artist Dialogue: Thu, Aug 14, 7:30 PM
Interactive Exhibition: Jul 25 – Aug 29
Gallery Hours: Tue – Sat, 10:00 am – 10:00 pm, Sun – Mon, noon – 6:00 pm
Fee: US $0 – $10 (Donation Suggested)
Location:
Art Whino @ National Harbor
173 National Plaza, Suite 300
National Harbor, MD 20745
{ July 14, 2008 @ 2:32 pm }
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{ art, jet jaguar, old robots, painting, pop art, retro robots, robot, transformers }
{ Tags: animation, art, japanese, japanimation, jet jaguar, kanji, manga, painting, pop art, print making, printmaking, prints, robot, robot art, robots, science, technology, tracks, transformers }
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I love it when people get Kanji tattoos. I always think of how much trust it must take to get a tattoo of a word or symbol that someone doesn’t understand. But fact of the matter is that it doesn’t matter so much what the symbol means as much as it looks cool. It is mysterious. So recently, I have been putting random Kanji characters in my paintings of robots. (All of these have been painted by my painting robot, Zanelle.)
Well they Kanji characters are not completely random. I think they mean something, but what they mean is often ridiculous. I am going for an ironic juxtaposition. For example, when people see these, they think the symbols must have something to do with the robot. Perhaps they say something action packed, or perhaps its the name of the robot. But in reality, they say something silly. And because of this, I love the fact that these will be read differently by Japanese and English speakers. English speakers see a cool asian robot with some cool Kanji script. Japanese will see the same retro-robot, but instead of decorative script, they will be able to read the secret message.
I want viewers to figure most of my work out for themselves, but I will reveal the caption on the right. It is a portrait of Jet Jaguar. The Kanji says, “Print Maker Sushi,” or at least I think it does. I can not be sure really. I can’t read Kanji.
Pindar
{ July 13, 2008 @ 4:36 pm }
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{ astro boy, painting, pop art, retro robots, robot, technology }
{ Tags: art, astro boy, astroboy, painting, pop art, printing, printmaking, robot, robots, science, technology, zanelle }
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People have been asking me if Zanelle, my painting robot, can duplicate paintings. The interesting thing about her, is that she can, but the duplications never come out the same. There are simply too many variables including brush stiffness and painting viscosity. For example, as the paint dries, it doesn’t take to the canvas as well.
Here is an image of two works painted back to back with Zanelle. Though similar, notice how the paint became thicker in the second painting. I am not sure why that happened, but it was either because the brush became stiffer during the first painting, or that the second canvas I used was thicker. This demonstrates the level to which Zanelle can reproduce paintings.
Two other cool things about this work. The first is the speckling that is an artifact of how Zanelle paints. Check out the splatter in the details. I could fix this and remove the splatter with a mechanical dampner, but it is one of those effects that I really enjoy.
The second thing I like has to do with the theme. Nothing is cooler than retro-robots. There is also nothing cooler than asian characters whether they be from China, Japan, or most any other country in Asia. But what is funny about these characters is that us Americans often do rediculous things with them even though we can not read them. Think about all the Chinese character tattoos that people have. I love the urban legend of the asian tattoo artist that puts the symbol for “tramp” whenever a girl asks for something silly like “love.” Anyways, I have no idea what the characters next to Astro Boy say. It was the first search result when I put “Japanese Characters” into images.google.com. I will be making more. Write if you can tell me what it says. I am curious…
Pindar
{ July 12, 2008 @ 2:54 pm }
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{ art, painting, pop art, portraits, r2-d2, robot, star wars, technology }
{ Tags: art, art robots, generative art, painting, painting robots, portraits, r2-d2, robot, robot art, robots, science, star wars, technology }
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I am just posting some pictures of my robots latest R2-D2 portrait. The first picture was taken after Zanelle, my painting robot had been working for about an hour.
This next picture was taken at around the 8th hour.
And this final picture is of the completed painting.
This R2-D2 portrait took about 12 hours to complete.
Pindar
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