Hasta La Ideas

A freelance programmer using DIY technology as a tool to teach with Machine Project

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Catering to “overambitious amateur enthusiasts,” Machine Project conjures up an idiosyncratic fusion of classes and workshops that masterfully craft pedagogy out of the infinite realm of possibility. Hosting a range of workshops from psychic communion with plants to the typography of ransom notes, Machine Project is a non-profit arts organization that operates as an “informal educational institution” from its unassuming storefront in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles. Founder Mark Allen explains the cult appeal of the classes, stating, “We found that an engineer and a poet talking about noise music was even more interesting than a group of poets talking about poetry or a group of scientists discussing science.”

Born in Vermont, Allen received his MFA at the California Institute of the Arts and began honing his curatorial leanings towards the obscure through a series of trial and error. In Houston, Allen ran a gallery called Revolution Summer that adopted the Marxist theme of time as currency for the purchase of art works. Shortly after moving to LA, Allen became involved with the subversive art collective, C-Level (currently reincarnated as Betalevel), a group that was known for such sardonic situationist commentary as virtual cockfighting—contestants donned rooster suits with sensors—and the shock-inducing video game, Tekken Torture Tournament.

While at C-Level Allen started to combine his love for technology with a flourishing aptitude for teaching, which laid the groundwork for his philosophical approach to Machine Project. “My interest in teaching unexpected, creative and unsanctioned uses of technology in the production of art is in direct support to the idea that technology is a tool which can be used by any motivated individual,” he says. As a freelance programmer and a faculty member of the Digital Art Related Program Activities (DARPA) initiative at Pomona College, Allen relies heavily on the gestalt of technology factors in creating new courses at Machine Project, but at the same time invites a naturalistic study of the world around us.

In 2008, Machine Project took over the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for a day, and turned it inside out as a metaphorical nature center of activity, comprised of more than 60 projects that included “ambient haircuts,” musical elevators and a murder mystery entitled “A Machine Project Field Guide to the LA County Museum of Art.” Inspired by the artistry of set designers Christy McCaffrey and Sara Newey who designed the ornate gate created for the event, Allen asked the team to imagine a transformative environment for Machine Project’s own storefront. The result was an immersive forest installation that housed woodland-themed events involving banjo plucking, elf lore and “a presentation by some very dedicated Bigfoot enthusiasts.”

The inquisitive wit and spirited atmosphere at Machine Project is reflected in both the class subjects—a selection based on chance meetings with talented individuals—and the “hide-and-seek” mechanisms throughout the space. Whether it’s teaching a parent-child course on How to Steal Cars—”Our belief is that children who learn to steal cars with their parents are more likely to steal cars responsibly when they grow up,” Allen quips—or the storefront’s tree stump dumb waiter that delivers beer, Machine Project transforms the everyday into something simultaneously extraordinary and achievable.

Allen explains, “If you look around wherever you’re sitting there’s a large percentage of things whose workings are totally mysterious: cellphone, tape dispenser, refrigerator, computer. We are surrounded by a material culture where most people remain unaware of how everything that surrounds them is made. Machine Project exists to provide an opportunity for people to understand their built environment, to create a space in which accessibility to knowledge and hands-on, DIY learning experiences can happen right in our own neighborhood.”

This story is part of an editorial series sponsored and inspired by Le Meridien.
New Perspectives explores fresh ideas and distinct points of view in global art and culture.

A retrospective on the life and work of Dada’s Mama

Beatrice Wood’s “Career Woman” exhibition at the Santa Monica Museum of Art celebrates more than her prolific ouevre of gorgeous ceramics, whimsical drawings and colorful paintings. As part of Pacific Standard Time, the show tells the story of Wood’s intimate friendships with Marcel Duchamp and Henri-Pierre Roche, the discovery of her love of clay, her exploration of complicated relationships between men and women and her search for spirituality.

I came to know the “mama of Dada” during my time in Ojai, California with the Virginia Avenue Project (VAP) after-school program, whose artistic director, Leigh Curran, was lifelong friends with Wood. I met the artist on weekly studio trips with the VAP students, and began visiting the artist several times throughout the year toward the end of her life. Now, when I am asked to describe Wood, the first words that come to mind are beautiful and mischievous. From her artwork to her personality, she was feminine, strong-willed, talented and colorful. Her eyes literally sparkled, and she attributed her longevity to chocolate and young men.

I particularly treasure a note Wood sent to thank me for sending a copy of “The Last Flower” by James Thurber, with a picture of the VAP children, that sums up her pacifist views. “I am glad to have the photograph of you and some of your project girls,” she wrote. “The children look intelligent and happy. The book about the bomb and the general is much in time with what is going on in the world. I recently read that the military has thousands of aeroplanes, I mean thousands of tankers, shells, bandages, thermometers to kill and to heal the wounded that they do not know what to do with all the surplus stuff. I hope all of us that feel about bombing the way we do with make some impact on this crazy world. Love to you and the children, Beatrice.”

Recently I reread her memoir I Shock Myself that chronicles her posh childhood, bohemian coming of age, affairs with Pierre Roche and Marcel Duchamp, and unique journey to find herself living in Ojai, CA.

The details of her life transcend the typical: artistic successes and passionate affairs, her strange loyalty to two complicated men in unconsummated marriages and a new career at the age of 40, when she discovered ceramics at Hollywood High School. She had enrolled in the class to learn how to make a teapot to go with luster plates, and went on to create within the genre for more than 60 years.

Beatrice lived to the age of 105. Her adventurous story reminds us all that living can be messy, complicated, beautiful and joyful. Much like her quickly drawn stick figure thumbing his nose at the world—that Duchamp later put on the cover of his Blindman’s Ball poster—Wood lived by her own rules and lived to the fullest.

Curated by Elsa Longhauser and Lisa Melandri with exhibition design by Adam Silverman of Heath Ceramics, “Beatrice Wood: Career Woman—Drawings, Painting, Vessels, and Objects” is on view at the Santa Monica Museum of Art through 25 February 2012. A 144-page illustrated catalog accompanies the exhibition documenting her contributions to the canon of 20th century art.

All images courtesy of the Santa Monica Museum of Art. Wood photographed in her studio and with tiger by Bill Dow; Marcel Duchamp, Francis Picabia and Beatrice Wood, photographed in 1917.

Bryan McCormack’s Parisian installation uses colorful condoms to raise AIDS awareness

Starting at the facade of Paris’ Centre Pompidou and continuing up the six-floor escalator, Bryan McCormack‘s installation creates a monumental tunnel of colored light bulbs for a mesmerizing effect. The hue changes on every floor to create a dynamic rainbow of cylindrical bulbs, which are covered in glass-like plastic condoms. A grand total of 80,000 bulbs comprise the condom tapestry of the Pompidou’s moving staircase, taking the rubbers from typically intimate settings to a public neo-pop display. Their multiplication on such a massive scale changes the way we see them, and the installation, called “Preservation Is Life,” provides a beautifully thoughtful message as part of the arts center’s annual AIDS fundraising campaign.

Accompanying the visual showcase is the stunning audio of a human heartbeat to illustrate the concept of preservation as both safety and the act of staying alive. The pulsing changes along with the colors, starting as the cardiac rhythm of a fetus in the womb at the ground floor and progressing to a newborn baby’s beating heart and so on, until the sixth and final floor, where riders hear the regular ticking of the 39-year-old artist’s own heart. The French title “les sons de la vie” or “the sounds of life” refers to this aspect of the installation.

The ephemeral installation runs just through 5 December 2011, but the condom-wrapped plastic light bulbs are also available for purchase at the design boutique for around $23 each.

Exclusive Twitter giveaway of a collection of works by one of London’s most remarkable contemporary artists

Even at first glance it’s apparent that London-based artist Von has reason to keep his works in short supply. The level of detail that goes into his original works continues in the production of his limited edition prints, which are masterfully executed by one of England’s oldest printmakers, a family-run studio that dates back to 1880. Since commingling his commercial success with the fine art world a half-decade ago, Von has been producing remarkable reproductions of his work and selling them in small runs—but the latest offering is arguably the most impressive yet.

“Semblance” is a box set of five of Von’s striking prints, restricted to just 50 editions. While the packaging and material provide reason enough to purchase the collection, fans and discerning buyers have another cause for excitement: Von has randomly placed five original works within the lot.

Officially on sale tomorrow, those with quick fingers can still pre-order the set online, but one lucky CH reader could also win one in our Twitter-based giveaway. The five pieces included in the “Semblance” box set are quintessential Von works, slightly ambiguous in composition but ultimately invigorating. The way he challenges the eye intrinsically draws the viewer in, creating a heightened experience with this powerful contradiction of balance.

Those in London will have a chance to see the Semblance Collector’s Edition Box Set in person tomorrow at Protein’s 18 Hewett Street Gallery, where the works will be on display for the evening. Be sure to arrive early, a signed print will be given to the first 100 people through the door.

Semblance: Collector’s Edition Box Set is available for pre-order from ShopVon for £225. For a chance to win the set, follow Cool Hunting on Twitter and simply retweet the link to this story. Winners will be chosen at random on 25 November 2011 at 10am EST.

Sculpting with sound, an artist crafts multi-sensoral experiences

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Navigating the strata of sound, composer and visual artist Kamran Sadeghi maneuvers a digital diving bell that harmoniously discovers new territories forged between art and music. Culling sounds from eclectic sources such as found objects, a grand piano and the chamber of a nuclear cooling tower, Sadeghi weaves together an electronic topography that is both hypnotic and haunting. Sadeghi explains, “I would take the time to learn something and after doing so, I would use it for something other than what it was originally designed for, or I would just take it apart and or break it out of boredom.”

Born in Iran, Sadeghi and his family relocated to America around the time of Iran’s Islamic Revolution. Although the indigenous tones of Persian folk and pop music were prevalent, Sadeghi spent most of his time as a visual artist growing up. At the age of nineteen, Sadeghi channeled his artistic talents into music, self-educated on curiosity and record stores. “I would spend a lot of time in [record stores], talking to people and listening to new music. They were my library for many, many years,” reflects Sadeghi.

In 2000, Sadeghi began to experiment with traditional instruments and computer synthesis, culminating in four full-length albums first released in 2005 under the alias, Son of Rose. Establishing a name to evoke a spirit, Son of Rose was created to “explore and experiment with electronic music theories and techniques.” Under Son of Rose, Sadeghi deftly fuses patterns of sine wave frequencies and polymorphic rhythms with a measure of warmth and timbre. “I’m often using sound as a physical material, much like a sculptor would with their preferred materials,” elaborates Sadeghi.

Delving further into the relationship between rhythm and space, Sadeghi launched the evocative album entitled, “Through Thickness,” recorded under his given name. Released by Dragon Eye, electronic artist Yann Novak’s label, “Through Thickness” forms part of Sadeghi’s “Kha series.” Referencing the Sanskrit word for “zero,” the numeric marker in tabular arrangements, the Kha series escalates into an exotic interplay of beats and movement. Sadeghi states, “It was a way to create a platform for me to focus specifically on rhythmic structures, both for sound and image. I like to create a series of work. They become more like a study that I develop over long periods of time.”

By exploring ambient dimensions, Sadeghi has also studied how space forms sound. In 2008, Sadeghi was commissioned to create and record a musical piece inside a nuclear cooling tower. Using the tower as an instrument,Sadeghi amplified an original composition and re-recorded it with the attached echo effect; repeating the procedure to affect a lulling, drone state. Sadeghi reflects. “It was a serial experience. That night I had my first acoustic dream’ where I could almost feel the sound of that place in my sleep.” Sadeghi also explored tonal resonance through his collaboration with the dance company, Zoe | Juniper, using twelve individual speakers to spatially project his live score.

Harkening back to his visual artist roots, Sadeghi has also interwoven color and shapes into his compositions, creating installations that have been internationally displayed at galleries including the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle and the Staalplaat in Berlin. In 2010, Sadeghi showcased his animated graphical score, “Pattern Recognition” at the 4Culture Gallery, an emergent, electronic art space. “The piece is like an animated Rubik’s Cube that is being moved by the music. I wanted to explore how the eye follows the ear, or vice versa,” describes Sadeghi. Intuitively exploring sound and images, Sadeghi describes his approach: “I’m hyper aware of acoustic space. I am always listening to the difference between what it sounds like ‘over here’ compared to ‘over there.’ I like to explore the threshold of sound and music in space.”

Continuing to develop musical narratives, Sadeghi is currently working in collaboration with Soundwalk Collective on a three-part album series entitled “Medea,” which chronicles the collective’s nautical journey along the coast of the Black Sea in the mythical spirit of Medea and is due for release in 2012.

This story is part of an editorial series sponsored and inspired by Le Meridien.
New Perspectives explores fresh ideas and distinct points of view in global art and culture.