Hasta La Ideas

At San Francisco’s Gray Area, immersive and interactive artworks reclaim surveillance technology

One of the first oral contraceptives was created by Luis Miramontes in Mexico, a nation that’s home to a large number of innovative precedents. Evidence of climate change in the ozone layer, an electronic music synthesizer, virtual reality—all of these and more were first developed in Mexico, but many people in the Western World don’t perceive it as a nation with a high output of trailblazing inventions. “Oftentimes, we think of Mexico… as being on the receiving end of innovation and technology,” says multidisciplinary electronic artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. “We almost speak of these countries as being colonized by a new wave of innovation, but what the research shows is that there is a lot of innovation [and] a lot of technology that emerges from Mexico and other countries like it.” These accomplishments form the background of his latest show, TECH-MECHS: A Survey of Mexican Technological Culture, on now through 31 May at San Francisco’s Gray Area (where viewers receive a booklet listing these technologies as well).

“For a long time I’ve been collecting short little landmarks or studies or patents or inventions that have taken place in Mexico, and the context of the work is called ‘Tech-Mechs’—like ‘Tex-Mex’ but this time we write it ‘T-e-c-h-M-e-c-h,’ because we’re trying to break certain stereotypes over what it means to be Mexican,” says Lozano-Hemmer, who was born in Mexico and immigrated to Canada. The immersive, electronic exhibit brings Mexico’s long history of advancements to light—some of which are overlooked or unrecognized. “For example, corn would not exist were it not artificially selected by Mesoamerican and Columbian cultures from grass. This is not a naturally occurring thing. It is literally a technology,” explains the artist.

“The purpose of this is not to pretend that whoever is first is the best,” he continues. “It’s not a patriotic thing. It is simply a device, especially when showing in Silicon Valley, for people who are there have this very frontiersman mentality of innovation: ‘We’re the first, we’re disrupting things, we’re inventing things.’ I think it’s really important to take a step back and understand that this is a global phenomenon.”

The 10 works in the show draw from Mexico’s cultural and technological production. In “Volute Zero,” for instance, the artist combines contemporary technology and Indigenous speech volutes found on scrolls. “Volute is basically like a turbulence that is ejected from your mouth. As you’re speaking, you’re generating this air that used to be private and now it’s public, as [Indigenous people] would represent that with these volutes that were very accurate according to fluid dynamics,” says Lozano-Hemmer. He then visualizes what is typically invisible by using laser tomography to measure density slices in the air (which are different when somebody is speaking). These are then captured digitally in a video and 3D-printed in stainless steel.

“So ‘Volute Zero’ is basically the world’s first 3D-printed speech-bubble, and a couple of things that I really love is that even the same person saying the same thing will give you a completely different shape. The shape is printed in stainless steel, almost as a kind of artifact. I’m always [trying to] make visible the intangible forms that surround and inform us,” he says. By virtue of melding forms of innovation—both contemporary 3D printing and ancient volutes—Lozano-Hemmer comes into his own kind of precedent.

Putting Mexican technology and innovation at the forefront was especially important, given the locations of the exhibit. “The Mission District is traditionally a Latino, Latinx, Latin American, Mexican American center. It’s where you hear Spanish, it’s where the community hangs out, but it’s also a site of intense duress due to gentrification and to the degree that artists are helpful in that gentrification. Gray Area is a media art center in the middle of the Mission District in a beautiful theater, and what I thought was really prudent was to try and make a set of installations which would reconnect this media art to the community. That kind of identitarian approach (which I hate normally) was important to bring here only because I have a feeling that we need to acknowledge our own complicity in what we denounce, which is gentrification,” explains Lozano-Hemmer.

The artist’s methodology reveals a pathway toward working and living with his medium: technology. Amongst the works on view (including the immense, immersive biometric installation “Pulse Topology“) re-appropriation and reclamation are front and center. In “Thermal Drift,” the thermal cameras used to track people at the US-Mexico border or at malls for shoplifting are repurposed into an interactive artwork that humanizes the subjects. The camera depicts the heat generated from each person and generative software makes each particle visible. As participants interact with the screen, the billowing particles dissipate into one another and the atmosphere, linking people together and with the world around them.

Where “Thermal Drift” playfully refashions surveillance technology (while acknowledging its power for violence), other works like “Inspired By Real Events” take a more directly subversive stance. “That’s quite an old project,” Lozano-Hemmer tells us. “It’s now 20 years old, and it was basically the documentation of an intervention I did in public space in Mexico City. In 2003, we went looking for important surveillance video cameras in Mexico in emblematic places like El Ángel de la Independencia or Independence Angel. We brought a ladder and asked volunteers to go and turn off the cameras, and so what the video is recording is people going up this ladder putting their head, their face, in front of the camera and literally turning it off and you have these deformed fingers just reaching out.”

“That’s an example of a project from a long time ago, which I’m happy to show because I keep thinking that people, especially techno-optimists, think that the solution to a lot of our problems like crime or terrorism is technology,” he explains. “The truth is anybody with some common sense knows that the solution to those problems is things like redistribution of wealth, translation, diplomacy, decolonization.”

On one hand, TECH-MECHS is a survey of the technology that has come out of and impacted Mexico, but on the other hand it asks: what do you do with information? Where do we go from here? Far from shy, the exhibit is upfront about the ways technology acts as another layer of oppression.

“The way I see it, technology is not really a tool, but rather a language—and it’s an inescapable language,” he says. “I often say that I work with technology not because it’s new, but because it’s the medium through which our war, our economy, our relationships are mediated. To work with technology is just to be consistent, coherent with what is natural. To investigate technologies is to investigate ourselves.”

Images courtesy of the artist/Gray Area

Table of Contents is a food, literature, arts and culture project from chef Evan Hanczor. The Table of Contents Community Cookbook features recipes and other works by 36 writers (including Alexander Chee, Carmen Maria Machado, Nafissa Thompson-Spires and Kaitlyn Greenidge), along with illustrations from more than 18 artists. In addition to being a diverse selection of recipes, the book is a way to give back to the community, with all proceeds going to Food Issues Group (FIG), a grassroots collective working toward an equitable and sustainable food system in New York.

An undulating crown of black and brown steelwork covers The Lucky Club bar, which architecture studio vPPR has positioned on top of the historic Stables Market in Camden, London.

Designed by vPPR for developer LabTech, the rooftop bar and restaurant curve around the northwestern edge of the 19th-century stable building.

It sits alongside the Grade II*-listed Horse Hospital that, along with the old stables, now houses Camden’s famous markets as well as various arts and club spaces.

“The existing enclave of brick buildings was created to service the Victorian railway that sprang up in Camden as it became a mecca for the transportation of goods,” explained vPPR.

“This also meant that hundreds of horses were needed to help with the hustle and bustle of nineteenth-century life, and therefore the stables and Horse Hospital became their home,” it continued.

Accessed via a former horse ramp that sweeps around the eastern side of the building, The Lucky Club provides space for 130 diners overlooking the markets below.

The bar and restaurant are framed by a structure of V-shaped supports in black steelwork, drawing from the materiality of the historical site and echoing its industrial character.

Its canopy creates a variety of different conditions for the seating areas, contrasting both open and clear-roofed sections with more enclosed spaces, while also providing support for lights, speakers and planters.

“The V-shaped metalwork that supports the roof structure acts as a playful reference to the triangular openings in stables that are used to allow horses to poke their heads out for feeding,” said the studio.

“Between the openings, a series of vertical grills take their cues from the historic Horse Hospital,” it continued. “Sculptural semicircular peaks on top of the roof are formed from the shape of the single porthole in the gable end of the Horse Hospital also.”

The bar itself is finished in grey tiles with a curved marble countertop, forming part of a pared-back approach to the interior that also includes simple marble-effect tables and woven rattan chairs.

Externally, a thin strip of black corrugated metal has been used to clad the canopy, creating a sense of continuity with the rough, industrial character of the existing brickwork below.

Architecture studio vPPR was founded in London by Tatiana von Preussen, Catherine Pease and Jessica Reynolds in 2009.

A number of its recent projects have involved responding to historical structures, including the conversion of a warehouse in Shoreditch into shops and flats and the transformation of a 130-year-old store in Surrey into a cafe.

The photography is by Lewis Ronald.

The post Wavy steel canopy shelters rooftop bar on historic stables in Camden appeared first on Dezeen.

Meet Tentsla – it’s more than just a pun, it’s a tent that fits in your Tesla’s boot, and opens up into a full-fledged tent that can be used alongside the Tesla’s Camp Mode. Designed to turn your EV into the ultimate camping experience, the Tentsla comes with all the bells and whistles, including a multi-use weather-resistant canopy, mosquito netting, and a pump to help you set up your Tentsla in minutes. Once you’re ready to make your way home, the Tentsla folds right up into a bundle small enough to fit in your EV’s frunk or boot, keeping you ever-ready for any impromptu tailgating session!

Designer: Rungen Hwang

Click Here to Buy Now: $649 $1299 (50% off). Hurry, only 4/15 left!

The Tentsla comes with a design that’s tailor-made to fit right around the Model Y’s rear (although the Tentsla team is expanding the design to fit other popular vehicles too). Pop open the rear hood and the Tentsla assembles around it, integrating the car’s interiors with the tent to create a spacious environment that benefits wonderfully from the Model Y’s Camp Mode. Setting up the Tentsla is a pretty easy ordeal, given that it comes with a pump that helps you inflate the tent’s structure in mere minutes. Once inflated, it velcro-straps to the lining of your car’s rear, creating a perfect air-tight seal that prevents rain from getting in, and cool air within the tent from leaking out.

Easy Installation – Quick and easy 5-minute setup with their pump.

Tesla Compatibility – Expertly designed and tested, their tent is molded to the newly released ‘CAMP MODE’ in a Tesla. A Triple layered trunk connection helps maintain circulation, retaining air flow and temperature.

The Tentsla benefits directly from the Model Y’s newly unveiled Camp Mode. Designed so you could effectively camp in your car, the Camp Mode keeps air circulating so that the interiors don’t get stuffy, while also letting you access the infotainment system and the USB ports for charging your gadgets. Introduce the Tentsla to the mix and you’ve now got yourself a spacious tent big enough for 4 people to comfortably live in, while the Camp Mode keeps the insides of the tent cool and breezy.

Once set up, the Tentsla boasts of a multi-canopy design that lets you block out the sun from pretty much any angle to keep your tent cool during the day. The canopies also let you mount soft solar panels on them to charge a power station, while the front and side walls of the tent come with mosquito linings that keep the critters out. The tent’s body comes made from 210D Oxford, a lightweight, flexible, yet strong nylon fabric, with an inner silver coating that helps retain heat in the cooler months. The floor, on the other hand, uses 410D anti-slip fabric, and the entire Tentsla is designed to withstand up to 6000mm of water pressure, keeping the tent’s interiors waterproof even in inclement weather.

The Tentsla was founded by a team of four EV nerds, Environmentalists, and Enthusiastic Outdoor Campers. When Tesla announced the Camp Mode for the Model Y, it seemed only natural to build an outdoor tent that utilized this feature, giving you the best of both worlds. Although designed for the Model Y, the Tentsla team is expanding their connector designs to work with the Model X and other SUVs as well as smaller cars like the Honda Civic Hatchback. The Tentsla comes as a $599 kit which also includes a manual pump, two Tentsla tees, a pair of Tentsla work gloves, and a keychain for super early bird backers.

Click Here to Buy Now: $649 $1299 (50% off). Hurry, only 4/15 left!

The post Taking your Tesla camping? This outdoor tent was designed to integrate right into your EV’s boot first appeared on Yanko Design.

The ancient art of origami involves folding a piece of paper to create intricate 3D shapes inspired by daily objects or living beings around us. So, how about employing the same technique to create an e-bike?

That’s exactly what the Stilride 1 electric scooter is since it’s made by folding a single piece of stainless steel. The makers call this the StillFold technology and we are impressed. Not only is the two-wheeler a piece of art but also environmentally conscious since it’s made using a sustainable construction process. To this accord, not a single piece is welded together to achieve the final shape which gives it another undeniable advantage; that is, ultra-lightweight aesthetics, weighing just 286 pounds including the battery.

Designer: Stilride

The Swedish startup wants to challenge the traditional techniques of automotive manufacturing with its Stilride 1 electric scooter that’s been long in the development and prototype stage. With the USP of being easily recyclable since there are fewer parts, the electric two-wheeler is a refined version of the outfit’s Sport Utility Scooter (1). The ride which somehow seems like the offspring of a Vespa and electric guitar, will eventually be custom manufactured in Stockholm and is all set for 2024 delivery to the clients for a price tag of $16,500. The first batch of the scooters will be called “Limited Founders Edition” and each one of them will be numbered.

From the side profile, the Stilride 1 resembles a swan swimming in water courtesy of the pointed looks and the seemingly feathered tail. The rear wheel-driven electric scooter is powered by an air-cooled 8kW hub motor that churns out 207 pound-feet of peak torque and hurls the ride to a top speed of 60 mph. According to Stilride, the 5.1 kWh battery can squeeze 75 miles on a single charge that’s more than enough for city commuting.

According to Tue Beijer, CTO and co-founder of Stilride, “The Stilride 1 is the culmination of many years’ ambition, passion and experimentation. It has been designed for both the motorcycle enthusiast and the design and sustainability purist. We can’t wait for our first customers to experience the pure joy of our ride and join us in setting a new gold standard for sustainable electromobility.” The maker describes the e-bike as a game-changer in its competing market and is surely the “next step in the electric mobility revolution.”

The post Origami-inspired Stilride 1 electric scooter is manufactured using sustainable construction processes first appeared on Yanko Design.