 |
 |
|
The Eye Mac uses HyperCard's random number generation.
|
|
|
|
|
The Eye Mac uses HyperCard's random number generation.
|
Concept
The piece stands alone as an art object that is archival and collectible. The work engages the viewer as it is nearly impossible to ignore a jittery eye that is in constant motion. As one viewer put it, "it sucks you into it's own head trip." As with any good art, a viewer brings their own interpretation to the work and enjoys in on their own level. If you want my explanation, it is below:
René Descartés separated the mind from the body causing us to see the body as a machine, and the mind as the controller of the machine. Ever since, the artist has been trying to fuse the two back together. In my work, I metaphorically place my own body back into the machine in an attempt to repair this Cartesian split. But like Frankenstien's classic attempt, the visual effect of the creation is more disturbing than elegant.
 |
|
|
|
View of work installed on the 4th floor of my old Tenderloin apartment window.
|
 |
|
View of work installed at Electrohype/ROM gallery in Malmo Sweden. |
 |
 |
|
|
||
Closeup of my work installed at ElectroHype/Rom. |
They put up my work in the windows before the show to see what it looked like. Those are 3 eyeballs staring from the second floor. |
Method
There is no video camera attached to this computer. It is merely an eye looking back. It is both a Duchamp style assisted ready-made (a re-appropriated Macintosh SE) and an archival 'multimedia' installation. I chose this particular model of computer because it is near indestructible. I have had it running for three consecutive months at one time.
An old Macintosh SE contains an application I wrote in Hypercard which displays a series of random loops of my eye in motion. I took video of my eyeball in different states, and reduced each set of motions to 4 to 5 frames and took the resolution down to 512 pixels by 342 pixels black and white to fit the format of the computer screen. I then placed each picture on sequential 'cards' (HyperCard term) to create the loops.
This is an evolution of some of my earlier work with the Mac SE.
Evolution
July 2005 - the work is displayed in the storefront window of Leather Tongue Video in San Francisco.
December 2003/January 2004 - the work is displayed in Malmo Sweden and in San Francisco simultaneously. The National Art Council of Sweden bought my work from the Malmo show.
October 2002 - the work is displayed at my open studio. One viewer's comment: "Your work is too conceptual for my taste."
September 2001 - the work is displayed in Ylem's 20th anniversary show.
January - April 2001 - the work is installed in my apartment window in the Tenderloin (San Francisco).
Future plans
I would like to set up a the Eye Mac in an apartment window with a 24 hour web cam, pointing down at the intersection of an interesting street with a link to the web cam from this page.