INFOREFTECH.COM :: Barrie James Sutcliffe

The Silence In Between: A Study in Entropy for Observation and Interaction (Phase One)
Piano hammers, wood, motors, computers, geiger counters, brass and stainless steel hardware. 2008.

Finally here we have my 2nd term project and my final project for my first year at C:art:media.

For more information and a brief description of the project see the PDF booklet, as well as the Vimeo page. I am a bit tired writing about this so I will spare my own homepage the grief of holding yet more ramblings.

In the PDF I note, but do not emphasize, that the movement of the arms is not algorithmic due to the fact that they get their data from radioactive decay. The overall program is of course an algorithm, but the movement position of the arms cannot be described in this way. This contradiction is important to the work. In fact it is crucial.

What I have not written of elsewhere, though, is about the sound/music this thing generates, and what that means in terms of sound or musical art. There are certain things going on here in relation to the chance operation and eternal music which deserve for me to write about further. Maybe later...

While there are still some formal and technical issues to work out with this project, I am very happy with it and will continue in this direction over the summer. I have some ideas to smooth out the engineering problems with this work in particular, as well as some ideas for different works using similar mechanisms.

Over the summer I hope to revise this webpage as well. I am quite tired of how old-fashioned it is, despite my fondness for its simplicity. I definitely need more pages because this front page is getting too large to load quickly on anyone's browser! I also have much more older work to show.

Here are several pictures of the sculpture. In the background you can see the projects of my gallery mates, Pär Darrell, Ylva Carlgren and Truls Mörck.

Boit d'Oublit Video!

Boit d'Oublit

In February and March of this year me and my class at Valand did a workshop with Niklas Roy entitled "Reinventing the Television," and exhibited the results at the Rotor2 gallery. I used the opportunity to work with vacuum tubes, with Niklas teaching me quite a bit about electronics in the process.

The idea behind this work is not terribly complex, I merely wanted to bring these old tubes back to life. I wanted to display them because they really are mysterious to most people. There will be a video as soon as I get off my duff and edit the footage down.

Consciousness and the Implicate Order

click for slideshow

A slideshow of 85 images that is user-navigable or automatic (approx. 15 seconds between slides). You will need javascript activated in order to see this. This is the "digitally remastered with bonus tracks" edition. The original version, shown in December at the Rotor Gallery in Göteborg, consisted of 80 slides shown on a 35mm slide projector. Due to the white balance of slides that presentation looked and felt very different. However, the slide projector constantly malfunctioned, so I really prefer this digital version. The addition of user controls also allows a more friendly interaction with the artwork.

Production and exhibition views of the original 35mm slide presentation.

This project was the result of several months of research into both quantum ontology and consciousness research. At the very basic level I took the ontological approach of Bohm and Hiley's quantum mechanics and tried to related it to the basics of Vitiello's studies into neurology and consciousness. I am heavily indebted to the late David Bohm, whose book with BJ Hiley called "The Undivided Universe" allowed me to realize with clarity the relation between so many of my interests over the years. Consider this work one big "Aha!" Indeed it is that, constructed more quickly than almost any other major work I have made. As the dry and unadorned text demonstrates, I have not had the time yet to properly pare down the text to a poetic level I would be more satisfied with. Thus the length and large amount of reading material here. I am still researching so don't expect this to be the end of it. I might take a break from showing drawings, though. An essay is forthcoming.

The original presentation was partly set up to mimic the slide presentations one would receive at a university lecture. This put me in opposition to many of the viewers, so here I have given the audience the choice to be lectured to or to skim the textbook. Such an option is fitting for something hosted on the internet, if you get my train of thought. However it would be impractical to provide a separate link for each image.

Jan18/08

Piano hammer project made with Martin Heuser

A project for Max/MSP-controlled servo motors controlling hammers from an old piano. Made with my classmate Martin during a workshop held the last week of November. The movements are according to numbers generated by radioactive decay at www.fourmilab.ch. I was surprised with what could be done in just a week with some help! I think I will further refine the ideas in this piece in the coming semester.

"Origins" Exhibition, Dec. 2007

Major Book Works

A Dissertation on the Causal Relationship Between Will/Intent
and the Observed Comprehension of an Image: Eight Beautiful Revelations (A Dance in Nine Parts)
Two sheets per spread, each 19.69 x 15.16 inches. Relief and inkjet on paper, 2006.
view the statement that accompanied the exhibition of these images in 2006, to be taken with a grain of salt tossed over the shoulder.

An Abridged Manual Pertaining to the Interaction Between Image, Idea and Actuality Causally Resultant from the
Application of Will onto and from Forms, Space, Ideas, Observations and Sentient Entities
Two sheets per spread, each 9.15 x 11.8 inches. Relief, intaglio, and inkjet on paper, 2005.

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