All New Glitch Textiles Available for Purchase
Loads of new Glitch Textiles designs just arrived as machine knit Glitch Blankets. These and all other Glitch Textiles are available for purchase again. Just in time for winter! $300 for 40×60″ knit blankets, $400 for 53×71″Jacquard woven blankets, and $250 for 36×24″ wall hangings. Simply head over to the Glitch Textiles project page, click on the design you’d wish to purchase, and click on the “Buy Now” link.
Knit Glitch Blankets Just Arrived
I’m very excited to announce that a fresh batch of all new machine knit Glitch Blankets for the Glitch Textiles project just arrived! I’ve developed a dozen new designs and am in the process of photographing them all. For the time being, enjoy the slideshow featuring photos of a handful of the new blanket designs offered as Kickstarter rewards (link).
These will become available for purchase starting November 1, 2012. Stay Tuned!
Glitch Art Resources
I created a resource page for my class, “Doing it Wrong” at 3rd Ward. The class is a short 3-hour Glitch Art techniques primer:
https://phillipstearns.wordpress.com/glitch-art-resources/
It is by no means complete. In fact, please contact me if you’d like for me to add something. I’ll be updating this relatively frequently.
3D Printed Seashells
Listening to the Ocean on a Shore of Gypsum Sand is a collaborative project between Gene Kogan, Phillip Stearns, and Dan Tesene. Seashells are 3d printed from algorithmically generated forms for the sole purpose of listening to the “ocean”. The project questions the role of experience in the mediation of the virtual world to the real world and visa versa.
For those of us who have had the experience of listening to the sound of the ocean in actual seashells, it is a questions of lived experience shaping an approach, not only to the object (or world) at hand, but how it is perceived and acted upon. Are we to trust these shells? Do we seek out natural shells for comparison?
To those for whom their first experience of listening to the “ocean” through the digitally produced shell, the question becomes one of how the first encounter with a virtualized and simulated reality shapes the experience of lived space. This virtual shell is all I know of the real, until I encounter those found in nature—and when I see this natural shell, what then is my experience of? More broadly, how does mediated reality form our preconceptions of the world?
For some, these questions seem obvious—we may even have convinced ourselves that we have this all figured out. We are aware of the possibility that the virtual world and real world are two interacting identities, distinct ideas that maintain their individuality despite their mutual influence on one another. There is, however, a possibility that this distinction is fading with younger generations, as technologically mediated experiences permeate childhood. I wonder about the effect of this as they grown into the world.
This project will be on view at Soundwalk 2012, a sound art festival in Long Beach, CA on September 1st 6-10pm.
Announcing Glitch Tapestries
Glitch Tapestries: Year of the Glitch Edition
Three all new weavings just came back from the mill: 36″ x 24″ tapestries. Source images came from camera glitches featured in the Year of the Glitch posts 211, 198, and 192.
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I’m offering these as rewards on the Glitch Textiles kickstarter campaign at the $225 level.
Glitch Art on PBS Off Book
Is glitch art the “soul in the machine”?
Glitches are the frustrating byproduct of technology gone awry. Wildly scrambled images, frozen blue screens, and garbled sounds signify moments where we want to throw our expensive computer products out the window. Many artists and programmers, however, have embraced these crisis moments and discovered beauty in the glitch. By hacking familiar systems, they intentionally cause glitches, and manipulate them to create art. Enjoying the aesthetics of technological mistakes defies the notion that technology and entertainment has to be a seamless experience. Most importantly, glitch artists reveal a certain soulfulness that emerges when complex streams of information, visual media, and our own lives converge in the chaos of the glitch.
Featuring:
Phillip Stearns https://phillipstearns.wordpress.com/
Scott Fitzgerald http://www.ennuigo.com/
Anton Marini http://vade.info/
Daniel Temkin http://danieltemkin.com/
Full art and music credits at: http://youtu.be/gr0yiOyvas4
Produced by Kornhaber Brown: http://www.kornhaberbrown.com
Source: http://pbsarts.tumblr.com/post/29064264035/is-glitch-art-the-soul-in-the-machine-glitches
Glitch Textiles Kickstarter Campaign Launched!
Send the Glitch Textiles to the Netherlands!
I’m raising money to take the Glitch Textiles project to the Netherlands, home of the Audax Textielmuseum in Tilburg. There, I’ll be working in the amazing TextielLab on newer, greater, finer, softer, stronger, bigger and better glitch textiles.
I can’t get there without your support though, so to sweeten the pot, I’ve come up with loads of rewards!
You love glitches; you love fashion, interior design, textiles and fabric arts; you need to back Glitch Textiles on Kickstarter.
Thanks!
Inside the FujiFilm FinePix s9000
I was approached by Adam Ferriss, a Los Angeles based artist (check out his tumblr!), about some tips and tricks for circuit bending digital cameras. His work with algorithmic image processing produces images that bear a striking resemblance to those produced by my prepared digital cameras. The photography lab he runs at a college in LA was downsizing their inventory and getting rid of some antiquated FujiFilm FinePix s9000 cameras, and rather than throw them out, Adam decided to hang on to the lot and experiment with circuit bending them.
These things are beasts: fixed zoom point and shoot cameras with the look and feel of a DLSR but without any of the manual controls and flexibility. No wonder they were getting rid of these things!
In exchange for a couple of the less functional cameras, I agreed to help Adam by documenting my deconstruction process. Bonus for you since, now I’m publishing the documentation for public consumption.
Disclaimer: If you’re going to attempt to prepare/modify/circuit bend/disassemble any electronic device, be aware that you are placing yourself at risk of serious injury or death from electric shock; electronic devices may be irreversibly damaged or destroyed (for what it’s worth, it goes without saying that all warranties will be void); if any loss of property or injury occurs, it will be solely your responsibility.
Getting Started:
Before opening up the camera, there are a few items we need to have on hand.
- Precision Screwdrivers
- Spare batteries or external power supply (the s9000 uses a 5V supply or 4x AA batteries)
- A bag or containers to place screws and other bits in
- A note book and camera for documenting
- Anti-static wrist band
You’ll also need to do the following to prepare your camera.
- Remove batteries
- Remove the memory card(s)
- Put on and ground the anti static wristband
Now we can begin.
Removing the Screws:
Remove all exterior screws. Like all devices, there are screws in places you wouldn’t think to look. Start with the bottoms, then move to the sides, open all compartments and look for those hidden ones.
remove the bottom screws
remove screws hidden in the flash assembly
Once these are out of the way, you should be able to remove the assembly with the shutter release button and the power and other operation mode switches. Be careful not to pull too hard, like I did, and pull the ribbon connector out of its socket. Fortunately, mine didn’t tear, but you may not be so lucky!
removing the shutter release assembly
There are still a few screws to be removed before you can open the back panel of the camera. Both of these were revealed by removing the shutter release assembly. One is right next to the strap loop, and the other is just below the flash assembly.
screw next to strap loop
screw next to flash fitting
With these two screws out of the way, you should be able to gently coax the back panel off until you encounter some resistance from a couple of pairs of wires. The red and black wires running from the hot shoe attach to a board on the main body via a connector. There’s a speaker on two black wires that attaches to another part of the circuit board via a similar connector. Disconnect these two and the back panel should open like an oven door.
the speaker and hot shoe wires and connectors
wohoo! we’re in!
Now that we’ve partially disassembled the camera, and exposed some nice looking innards, we need to figure out if it still works. You can either use the AA batteries or a 5V power supply with a 4.0mm x 1.7mm connector. I used to do a lot of testing for Voltaic Systems and have one of their solar rechargeable V60 batteries around for powering my small electronics projects. Make sure that the main ribbon connectors from the back panel and the shutter release assembly are in place (the speaker and hot shoe wires don’t matter), then power up your camera and turn it on. (hint: check that the battery and memory card doors are closed!)
Yay it works!
What’s Inside: Poking About
Now that we have the camera partially disassembled and still working, we can have a look at some of the components inside to see where a good place to start bending would be. Upon first glance, you’ll notice that all the parts are SUPER tiny smd. This is quite a let down, but exactly what you can expect with more contemporary devices. In fact, if you’re opening up cameras released today, you’ll probably find that most all the connections on the integrated circuits are actually underneath the chips and not via pins as with older style ICs!
So what can we mess with? There’s an Analog Devices chip (AD9996) that I can’t seem to locate the datasheet for. There’s something similar to it, the AD9995, which is a 12-bit CCD signal processor. You’ll notice too that there’s a thick connector with lots of contacts. This is the CCD connection (go figure it’s so close to the signal processor).
The AD9996 12 bit CCD signal processor is in the center with the CCD connector directly below.
I actually went a few steps further in deconstructing this camera and found that further disassembling made the system unstable. So, for now, you shouldn’t have to take the camera apart any further to tweek its brains.
How do I mess with it?
Since the pins and connections on this board are so tiny, I am hesitant to solder anything to it. One technique I always go to first is using a saliva moistened finger to poke the sensitive parts and see if anything happens. For capturing, you have two choices: movie or still. You can set the quality settings however you like. If you haven’t already inserted a memory card, now would be a good time.
Other strategies for altering the image is to use a small probe to short circuit adjacent pins on the CCD connector. I found that the right hand side of the connector worked best, and that the series of little smd ICs to the left of the AD9996 gave similar results. When I get in there with a soldering iron to draw out some of those points, I’ll be starting with the ICs and using very fine magnet wire.
So here are a few preliminary images.
I’ll be sharing more of my findings on my year-long glitch-a-day project,Year of the Glitch.
DCP Series Update
An animation created using a collection of still produced during a session of circuit bending a Kodak DC215 1 megapixel digital camera.
Just uploaded 100+ new images to the DCP Series. This series is still well underway and is branching out into other cameras. Updates to the Olympus PIC series will be ready soon.
Be sure to check out the new additions to the Glitch Textiles project as well. There are currently nine blankets in the collection so far, each featuring a pattern woven directly from an image generated with the prepared cameras of the DCP Series and Year of the Glitch project.
Update: Lumen 2012
Last weekend I participated in LUMEN 2012, a light art festival which took place this year at the Atlantic Salt Co. on Staten Island. Yes, it is a uniquely Staten Island event and experience, and quite possibly the most diverse and simultaneously cohesive show I take part in. The crowd ranges from Williamsburg hipsters to Staten Island families, and the art represents every discipline from action painting, performance, video, audio-visual and more abstract light based forms (projections into clouds of smoke!).
My contribution to the event was a simplified version of a project I submitted to BAM’s Public Art Project towards the end of last year. You can find video documentation of Impact Study No. 1 here.
Tumblr’s Pick for Art Takes Times Square!
Thanks for all your support in helping get my work in front of the judges at this year’s Artists Wanted Art Takes Times Square competition.
“Selected by blog network and social media platform Tumblr, in conjunction with Paddy Johnson, founding editor of Art Fag City, Hrag Vartanian, founder of Hyperallergic, Dave Harper, curator at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), Jenny Moore, assistant curator at New Museum, and David Goerk gallery dealer at The Pace Gallery.” –Artists Wanted Website
My work will be displayed on LCD billboards in Times Square on Monday June 18th from 7-11pm. If you’re in NYC, come join the celebration at Broadway between 42nd St & 44th St!
Transmittal
"Relay" by Max Goldfarb
“free103point9 hosts, “Transmittal,” a transmission arts exhibition of local New York artists and international radio artists, in Catskill, New York this spring. “Transmittal” is curated by Galen Joseph-Hunter, free103point9’s Executive Director and author of “Transmission Arts: Artists and Airwaves” (PAJ Publications: 2011.) Works include video, sound, radio, installation, performance, and work-on-paper. An opening for “Transmittal” will be held Saturday, April 28 from 5-7 p.m., and the exhibition is open from Apr. 27 through June 1 at the Greene County Council on the Arts Gallery at 398 Main St. in Catskill.” – free103point9.org
"Deluge" by Phillip Stearns
I’ll be showing Deluge, a light and sound sculpture consists of 35 hand made modules, each containing a transistor receiver that generates white noise, an amplifier w/ speaker, and 12 LEDs. Static from a broad spectrum of unused radio frequencies is gently amplified through a small speaker, and visualized by a string of LEDs. Together the cloud of individual modules create the impression of rain.
Glitch Textiles Update: Available At Eyebeam + New Arrivals
Glitch Textiles are now available at Eyebeam Art and Technology Center’s Bookstore. They’re selling at a 25% discount from my online store prices.
Plus, three new blankets just arrived! The images DCP 02802 and DCP 02803 are from Year of the Glitch post #66 from March 7th. The third was created from an image made with a prepared Olympus C-840L digital camera, a gift from artist notendo (Jeff Donaldson).
Deluge in Progress
Currently wrapping up construction of Deluge. This project will be exhibited as part of the Transmittal group show curated by Galen Joseph-Hunter for Free103Point9 at Greene County Council on the Arts Gallery in Catskill, NY. Opening is April 28th, 2012 at 5-7pm.
Artists Wanted – Entry
Phillip Stearns. Click “Collect Me” to help me win $10,000 and a show in the most immense exhibition of art in New York City : Art Takes Times Square.
Solar Buddha Machine – Voltaic Systems
For those of you who don’t already know about the FM3 Buddha Machine, here’s the scoop:
The Buddha Machine is a small plastic box that plays meditative music composed by Christiaan Virant and Zhang Jian. (source: fm3buddhamachine.com/)
The device is inspired by electronic prayer boxes, popular in China, that play back looped recordings of Buddhist prayers. Instead of prayers, the Buddha Machine plays back various ambient music loops. The duo behind FM3 have even enlisted artists to contribute material for special editions, as in the Gristleism, developed by the industrial group, Throbbing Gristle, securing the device’s status as an alternative distribution format.
I documented and posted my modification to enable the Buddha Machine I to not only run from solar, but to charge NiMH AA batteries. It’s super simple! Check out my Solar Buddha Machine post on Voltaic System’s blog.
Cameras of Year of the Glitch
Images and information about three cameras used in recent Year of the Glitch posts and the DCP Series are now public. The Kodak DC280, DC215, and DC200/210, have played a key role in my exploration of hardware and software based image generation/corruption. In the near future, these pages will be updated with more detailed information about specific techniques and circuits involved in creating the variety of images found in both the YOTG project and DCP Series.
Cameras Featured
 Kodak DC 280 |
 Kodak DC 200/210 |
 Kodak DC 215 |
Bernard Garnicnig’s “Almost White”
Selections from Almost White by Bernhard Garnicnig (source: flickr – images taken between 29 Mar 2006 & 04 Aug 2010)
Photographs taken to set a camera’s white balance.
“Almost all cameras allow the user to set the photographic white point manually. To make this setting on some cameras, you have to shoot a picture of a usually white surface and set it as the white point reference.
These pictures, usually deleted right after confirming the setting, question the concept of subjective realities in the photographic process and document the photographers surroundings from his part unconscious, part mechanic eye. This is one of the last kinds of photography where no post processing is applied by a human while it shows how much the camera is manipulating the image already.
Its one of the last snapshots of photographic truth in the digital imaging age.” — B. Garnicnig
So much of the world is left on the cutting room floor. This is a necessary part of relating experience, whether in the transmission of factual information or the telling of story based on fact. Not every detail is needed in order to give a general picture or to convey the essence of an idea or experience, nor can every detail be captured, recalled, or communicated. Exactly what is omitted reveals the circumstances (bias) around and through which the material aspects of an experience are transformed by the process of relating and crafted into media.
Where lived subjective experience is often filled or obscured by the mediated experience of information displayed or rendered through electronics, today those scraps are increasingly difficult to find. Our culture of digitally mediated exchanges has been carefully structured to remove the perception of the framework through which we conduct our daily activities. The unwanted bits are tucked away on our hard-drives or tossed in the recycling bin—in some cases, deleted in-camera. Everything is curated, edited, cleaned and polished (even the raw webcam feed is a considered choice to convey honesty).
It’s not so much an issue of noise—the din of cellphone rings, tinny ear buds cranked way too high, the drone of our air handling systems and refrigeration units, the screeching, grinding and rumbling of our transportation machines is certainly something we will not easily rid ourselves of—the dust that imposed itself on the grooves of a record, the grain of a piece of paper and the pen-in-hand overcoming it to scrawl a letter, the grit of static and dead air between the stations, are all disappearing.
It is not so much a sense of nostalgia but a reflection, looking back on where we were but a few years ago, while understanding that today digital media strives for higher levels of fidelity (which ironically force television personalities to pursue more extreme methods to alter their physical appearance; this in addition to the artificial sharpening and saturation applied to just about every image these days) in an attempt to look forward into the potential media of the future where everything is so radically fabricated and manipulated that there is no honesty, no substance, no reality left but a simulated phantom of what once was.
What is striking to me about Bernhard’s Almost White series is that it brings to the surface issues of the photographic medium, how its digitization has been quietly accepted as Photography wholesale. The question of what makes photography different than digital imaging has been unearthed. By using these artifacts as evidence of the manipulation nearly every digital image undergoes, Bernard opens the door to questioning the honesty behind every media image. Even tempting us to ask exactly how staged are these white balance calibration shots? Has “fidelity” in the digital (dark) age become a matter of passing off artificially enhanced hyper-realism as reality? Or has it becomes something more subtle, staging reality in such a way that the extraordinary seems mundane?
New Glitch Textiles
 DCP02673 |
 DCP_0190 |
Two new additions to the Glitch Textiles series just arrived, are pictured above. To celebrate Leap Day, I’ve created a store where they can be purchased directly from me.
Going forward, I’ll be looking into patterning some textiles from my own Dither Study series of works inspired by Daniel Temkin’s Dither Studies and featured on Year of the Glitch. If you’re not already following Year of the Glitch, do so today! The project is only 4 followers shy of 1000 and it would be really awesome to make the 1000 follower milestone on Leap Day.
054 of 366
Still remix of For Daniel Temkin (Dither Study 2).
Limited edition signed 20”x30” prints available. Inquire for details.
052 of 366 (full sized GIF click here)
For Daniel Temkin (Dither Study #3)
Process:
- Start with a solid color
- Index and dither using an arbitrarily chosen color palette and dithering algorithm
- Zoom 133.33% and crop
- Repeat 2 and 3
051 of 366 (full size click here)
For Daniel Temkin (Dither Study 2)
Process:
- Start with a solid color
- Index and dither using an arbitrarily chosen color palette
- Zoom 200% and crop
- Repeat 2 and 3
Phillip Stearns 