SOLAR AIRSTREAM FAB LAB: November 2014

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

JAX Volcano Tornado

Pictured above are the results of my mold making activities on site at Skidaway Island State Park in preparation for our Jacksonville visit at The University of North Florida which included the annual Iron Pour.

I used a variety of processes which included taking rubber, alginate and plaster molds from the rapid prototypes as well as preparing some of the pla prototype models for the lost wax process or I should say 'lost pla' process : the plastic prototype models will be later dipped in ceramic shell, burnt out and cast in bronze. The alginate mold is a temporary organic mold material so a plaster master was cast to keep for production of a rubber mold in order to create multiples. Upon arrival at UNF I made sand molds of the Volcano waxs.

Iron was melted up to 2650 Fahrenheit in a 100# capacity cupolette, we cast about 2500#, a really smooth pour with all of the students, visiting artists and faculty working beautifully together with everyone in their roles it was a well choreographed ballet of sweat and logistics resulting in many new sculptures.

The furnace produced a cast iron mountain of iron and slag and I cast several miniature 'Volcano Furnace Earthworks' and two larger versions. These are scaled down from a 3D scan of the 14ft high Earth Work I produced in Latvia. The miniature versions will be sold to help fund the making of a new 'Volcano Furnace Earthwork at Spoerri Sculpture Garden in Italy 2015. Please visit my blog to find out more. www.corallambert.blogspot.com.

Also whilst at UNF our Solar Airstream Fab Lab was in operation parked at the Sculpture Lab on campus.

This new work titled 'Tornado' was inspired by the UNF campus which is also a nature reserve. Whilst we were there the power went down as a tornado warning came through : the solar kicked in on the airstream and work continued as the pinecone was scanned using solar power.

A big Thank You to our hosts Jenny Hager, Lance Vickery, (pictured below) as well as the UNF Foundry Guild and all the students and faculty at UNF who welcomed us.

Next Stop Florida Atlantic University at Boca Rotan via Tomoka State Park, Ormond Beach.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

'F.R.O.N.D'

‘Fractal Rendition Of Numerical Data’

(The Fractal Geometry of Data)

Produced on site at Skidaway State Park , Savannah, Georgia. Monday 10^th November 2014

Initially we were attracted to explore and set up camp on Skidaway Island because of the Earth Works located there. These turned out to be part of a system of coastal fortifications built by slaves during the civil war.

The island was also used during prohibition where we found the remains of an old still in the magical swamped woods.

The surrounding nature of the barrier island itself overwhelmed the history and holds the key to this new work, which is an investigation of the similarities between natural and artificial structures.

These new sculptures can be seen as finished works but also as three dimensional sketches to be developed later, some of the ideas will be taken further once we return to our studios in New York.

Two versions of 'F.R.O.N.D' were produced (3D + 2.5D). All of the work produced on this tour will be available as a series of limited edition bronzes. Please contact us for further info.

Skidaway is one of many Barrier Islands off the coast of Savannah so there's more to explore before we hit the road to Jacksonville, Florida where we will be giving a public lecture at the University of North Florida on Thursday 13th Nov at 3pm.

The Fab Lab will be parked at the UNF Sculpture Studios for a few days so pop on by and say hi!

Friday, November 7, 2014

Savannah SCAD

The Sculpture Forum at the Savannah College of Art + Design invited us to stop by today. After our lecture we shared the latest work in progress at the Fab Lab.

'Object Agent Action' made at Santee State Park : home of Swamp Fox and the Santee Indian Burial Mound

Passage of spheres over time as emergent gliding automata collide with the asteroid Eros. (asteroid acquired by remote telemetric data acquisition NASA). 'The three spheres of object agent and action lack inherent existence' Madhyamaka teacher Nagarjuna c.150-250

Thanks again to our gracious hosts Matt Toole and the Sculpture Forum at SCAD.

We will be in Savannah for the next few days.

Sunday, November 2, 2014

VISITS ON THE ROAD

After leaving Kiptopeke State Park we traveled across the 17 mile long Bridge and Tunnel System of the Chesapeake Bay, our route took us through the snow white cotton fields of Virginia and North Carolina.

We set up at the Sculpture Studios of The University of North Carolina in Greensboro. The Lab was visited by many students throughout our stay where we scanned some cotton buds picked along the way. We are working on a new piece called 'CottonOpolis'.

The Lecture was well attended and it was good to revisit with the faculty Andrew Dunnill, Pat Wasserboer and Billy Lee who made us very welcome, Thank You! Next stop was Davidson College also in North Carolina.

Davidson has a beautiful campus and Art facility like a retreat we were well rested and accommodated in the guest house after our lecture and crits with the students in sculpture and digital art. Thank You to our hosts Cort Savage and Austin Shepard.

We had an open door policy as public stopped by the fab lab whilst we worked.

Currently at the edge of Lake Marion we will be on the road again soon for our next public talk is at Savannah College of Art and Design with the Sculpture Forum 2pm Alexander Hall, SCAD, Georgia.

Followed by an open studio in the Airstream with refreshments form 3pm til 5pm

About

Utilizing the mobility of the solar fab lab ; The Airstream houses Paul Higham’s custom built rapid prototype machine where he manifests objects from data, whilst Coral Lambert is enabled to work at each site developing environmental foundry processes.

Both artists are internationally recognized in their chosen fields that span the spectrum of current sculptural practice. Paul Higham comes from a highly conceptual background having studied at Goldsmiths College in the early 70's London and Coral Lambert comes from the formal steel sculpture tradition of Sir Anthony Caro in the mid 80"s. From these roots they continue to pioneer their own path.

Never wanting to be without a studio again the couple bought the Airstream after Hurricane Katrina flooded and destroyed their 33,000 sq ft home studio in New Orleans. It is not only an American icon of a utopian dream, it is also the symbol of freedom, innovation and independence that comes to life.

Please contact us if you are interested in the Solar Airstream Fab Lab visiting your institution for a lecture, demo or Airstream Exposition.

Making it Happen

This is primarily a self funded project, partially financed by giving lectures, demos and expositions if you are interested in providing additional support please note that all donations will go towards making the Solar Airstream Fab Lab more progressive and productive. As a donor you will receive a special postcard report from the road or even a visit from the Airstream itself! We will let you know how we spend the donation, it could be anything from gas to a new solar inverter or other equipment. Any amount is greatly appreciated. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

Artists Bios

PAUL HIGHAM

Is internationally recognized as a pioneer of digital sculpture and progenitor of ‘DataSculpture’ working with Virtual Sculpture and Prototyping technologies in the fine arts for over 30 years.

Born in Scotland in 1954, Whilst at Liverpool Art School in the early 70’s he was taught by Arthur Ballard. He went on to study Video and Painting at Goldsmiths, alongside Sculpture tutors Michael Craig Martin. Rather than study Art History Higham studied John Von Neumann and Wittgenstein under August Weideman, a direct pupil of the philosopher. During Higham’s time at Goldsmiths Carl Placman referred to Higham’s work as “Schematic entropy machines“. These conceptual works specifying autonomous domain states became sculptural schemas in the late 70’s. By the 80’s he was able to make these domain states truly ‘Operational’ through computation, his endeavor has remained consistent to propagate a new form of art based on self-organizing theories of artificial life.

In 1985 – 87 he became a resident at the Madhyamaka Tibetan Buddhist Monastery where he studied for the Geshe Degree {Lo-Rig} in “Mind & Cognition”, this was the first time it was offered in the west. This research has directly influenced the current work in the ‘Thought Forms’ exhibition.

Higham came to the USA in 95 to carry out advanced research residencies at the University of Minnesota in rapid prototyping and V.R. medical visualization labs: he harnessed these emergent technologies to produce digital art. During this period he was a resident artist at MVS Mayo Clinic Immersive Haptic Laparoscopy (remote surgery) utilizing haptic force feedback technologies as well as spending 3 yrs at the “Human Machine Design Lab” as resident artist building neural interfaces and data gloves. This is when he developed ‘DATA SCULPTURE’: using information theory, heuristics and real-time data mining to create emergent forms.

Also at this time he developed a relationship with Stratasys Rapid Prototype Corporation, Sensable and Geometrix using scanners to digitize objects volume by volume at a distance which Higham termed ‘Space Sampling’. The abducted coordinates of that object were then turned into a digital mesh or virtual 3D representation of conditional states. Thus following up on the inquiries he began at Goldsmiths College of Art, London.

Higham continues to use new media, sound, A.I./ virtual reality, haptic force feedback, cnc, rapid prototype and 3d printing technologies to directly engage the possibilities of algorithmic generation to make physical ‘Data Sculpture’ as well as drawings, maps, performance and interactive works for real-time, web and installations.

Higham has lived in London, Manchester, New York City, Minneapolis, Chicago, New Orleans, The Netherlands and currently resides in Upstate New York where he has an extensive digital sculpture studio. His works are in private collections and Museums.

CORAL PENELOPE LAMBERT

Is internationally known for working in cast metal as well as producing large scale outdoor pieces. Over the past 24 years she has utilized the foundry as a laboratory to explore the process of ‘speeding up the work of nature’. Responding to metals history, its weight , permanence and impermanence. In its transience liquid state, she treats it is a material with life as it breathes, oxidizes, and grows, replicating nature, emerging raw and elemental as if raised from the earth’s depths by volcanoes or formed like billion year old meteorites.

Currently Professor of Sculpture at Alfred University, New York where she directs the National Casting Center’s Foundry. She studied Sculpture in England receiving her MFA in 1990. Her work can be seen around the world at the Barbican Center, London, Franconia Sculpture Park, MN, Grounds For Sculpture, NJ, Salem Art Works, NY, Pirrkala Sculpture Park in Finland, HuiAn, China, Museum of Steel Sculpture in Ironbridge, Museum without Walls, NY, The National Metals Museum in Memphis, Governors Island, Manhattan, Salem Castle, Germany and Kidwelly Caste in Wales. She just completed her most ambitious Fire + Iron Earth Work ‘Volcano Furnace’ which is permanently sited at Pedvale Sculpture Park in Lativa.

Coral Lambert is the recipient of awards including the Gottlieb Foundation Award, Jerome Fellowship, and the Joan Mitchell Grant.