About This Project
This was a project I did to research artificial and mechanical ways of creating art. The study included results ranging from just using the natural motion of the elements, physics, and rules of gravity to controlled and uncontrolled machines and electronics.
It invoked inquiry about if we are happier creating or if it is more fascinating to watch things being made without human input.
Wind
I built a very rudimentary wind drawing “machine.” I dangled a central string from a tripod, constructed an elementary sail, and made holes to hang the drawing device of choice. I experimented with various pens, pencils, brushes, and even string dipped in paint to see what outcomes I would get. What I found had the best results were watercolor markers. They had the most astonishing bleed effect, and I was happiest with the results. I tried several colors and combinations from 1 pen up to 5 pens simultaneously. I also worked with different timing. I would experiment with leaving the drawing for an hour in less windy conditions or for short 5 to 15-minute time spans in more breezy conditions. I found a wide variety of patterns and amounts of markings doing this. The less time I left it, the more defined and centralized the patterns were (depending on the paper).
If I used multiple pens and longer times, the results were busy and much more chaotic patterns. The paper made a big difference as well. I started with thick watercolor paper. The results were not much pen movement or bleed of the ink. The line weights were very stiff, choppy, and rigid. I think this had a lot to do with the tooth of the paper not allowing the subtle glide of the pen. The paper that worked best was plain Bristol. I think it was just thin enough to allow the ink to blot up and bleed through and just smooth enough to allow the wind to drive the pens.
Power
Another exploration using objects that aren’t conventional drawing tools was with found mechanical moving machines. Items like robot toys, battery-operated fans, and the like would crawl across the paper with markers attached to random legs or robotic appendages. Once it reached the edge, I would restart it again. This led to some very similarly patterned yet still unexpected paths. I experimented with putting different colors on different attachments and lengths.
I had the idea to tether the objects somehow to see what resulted from my interaction and imposed limitations. The result was outstanding. It would keep crawling in circles, trying to gain a foothold and pull away, but all the while, the markers slipped and were marked on the paper in these magnificent round patterns. They remind me of a floral shape or some astronomical object. I played with the colors and placement of the markers on the legs and had varying results.
