Mariko Mori

Mariko Mori lives and works in New York. This November, Deitch Projects will be pleased to present Tom Na H-iu, an exhibition of new work by Mariko Mori. The title of the exhibition draws its name from the monumental 4.5 meter sculpture of the same name, and will be exhibited along with two other large-scale sculptures, Flatstone and Roundstone. The works develop Mori’s continued interest in a fusion of art and technology, Buddhism, and the idea of universal spiritual consciousness. Drawing from ancient rituals and symbols, Mori uses cutting edge technology and material to create a strikingly beautiful vision for the 21st century.

Mori's last installation at Deitch Projects was Oneness in 2003, a project held in conjunction with the Public Art Fund’s installation of her Wave UFO project. Oneness is an allegory of connectedness, a representation of the disappearance of boundaries between the self and others. It is a symbol of the acceptance of otherness and a model for overcoming national and cultural borders. It also is a representation of the Buddhist concept of oneness, of the world existing as one interconnected organism.

Mariko Mori’s remarkable sculpture, Wave UFO was included in the 2005 Venice Biennale, after being exhibited in New York with the Public Art Fund and at the Palazzo Ducale, Genoa. It was recently included in her solo exhibition at The Groniger Museum. The Wave UFO is on view through January 2008, at the Aros Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Denmark, as part of Oneness, their survey of Mariko Mori’s work.

More on Deitch

More on Theo Jansen

I recently posted on Theo Jansen for his giant kinetic sculptures, always elegant, massive and impressive with their ability to be eco friendly at the same time than resembling apocalyptic robots. Yesterday, Laura Galloway, from the TED conference, offered me to exhibit the 8 min video Theo Jansen's talk at the TED conference. The video is a must see.




Theo Jansen
From TED2007

Talk summary
Dutch artist Theo Jansen demonstrates his amazingly lifelike kinetic sculptures, built from plastic tubes and lemonade bottles. His "Strandbeests" (Beach Creatures) are built to move and even survive on their own.

Bio
Dutch artist Theo Jansen has been working for 16 years to create sculptures that move on their own in eerily lifelike ways. Each generation of his "Strandbeests" is subject to the forces of evolution, with successful forms moving forward into new designs. Jansen's vision and long-term commitment to his wooden menagerie is as fascinating to observe as the beasts themselves. His newest creatures walk without assistance on the beaches of Holland, powered by wind, captured by gossamer wings that flap and pump air into old lemonade bottles that in turn power the creatures' many plastic spindly legs. The walking sculptures look alive as they move, each leg articulating in such a way that the body is steady and level. They even incorporate primitive logic gates that are used to reverse the machine's direction if it senses dangerous water or loose sand where it might get stuck.

Eco-friendly robots

Picture of Theo Jansen work found on Myninjaplease.

I am fascinated by the giant kinetic sculptures of Dutch artist Theo Jansen, always elegant, massive and impressive with their ability to be eco friendly at the same time than resembling apocalyptic robots.

Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg is the first producer of free electronic books (ebooks). Project Gutenberg reached the following milestones as per dates:

1 eBook in 1971
10 eBooks in 1991
100 eBooks in 1994
1,000 eBooks in 1997
10,000 eBooks in 2003
100,000 eBooks in 2006


Don't miss the science-fiction bookshelf!


Illustration from Ullr Uprising by H. Beam Piper

When design meets science fiction

Mariko MORI, Oneness, 2003, Technogel(Registered Trademark), cast aluminium, electric system, 135 x 75,6 x 37,4 cm. Courtesy: the artist and Deitch Projects. Photo: Jens Ziehe

An exhibition at the Mudam Luxembourg the 25 May to 24 September 2007. More on E-flux

TOMORROW NOW - when design meets science fiction is the first exhibition devoted to the relationship between design and science fiction. Homage to Luxembourg-born Hugo Gernsback, the inventor of the term "science fiction", it explores the links created between the two disciplines from the beginning of the 20th century until today.

Curated by Alexandra Midal and Björn Dahlström, the exhibition presents the territory covered by both disciplines and the richness of their combination through works created by designers, architects, artists, science fiction authors and film directors on the subject of science fiction. More than 800 pieces by more than 100 artists have been brought together and are the subject of a thematic circuit that develops through the different galleries of the museum. The show design, by Mathieu Lehanneur, is in keeping with the exhibition in that it modifies our perceptions with monumental mobile cubes at the entrance to rooms that decide whether to allow the visitor to enter or not, a mountain of unidentified material which seems to pour towards the visitor and inflatable flying objects in a geostationary state...

Video, time, sound and tangible interface

When a DJ table does the impossible! Discovered on Amsterdamn. Short film created by Double Edge Films.

Science Fiction movies and HCI

Forbidden Planet (1956): the “thought analyzer” is a device inherited from the planets former inhabitants, displays a 3 dimensional image.


Human Computer Interaction in Science Fiction Movies by Michael Schmitz in CS Seminar “Instrumented Spaces” SS 2003 A. Butz, C. Endres, W. Wahlster.

I was recently talking about the influence of HCI over science fiction movies but also the reverse situation on how science fiction movies and books can inspire researchers in HCI. This paper, available online, proposes an analysis of several science fiction movie examples related to HCI.

Abstract: Science Fiction movies have been a source for speculation about the future of technology and human computer interaction. This paper presents a survey of different kinds of interaction designs in movies during the past decades and relates the techniques of the films to existing technologies and prototypes where possible. The interactions will be categorized with respect to their domain of real-life applications and also evaluated in regard to results of current research in human computer interaction.


Minority report (2002)